Category: Judges

[9:1] Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,

[9:2] “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”

[9:3] And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

[9:4] And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

[9:5] And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.

[9:6] And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

[9:7] When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

[9:8] The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

[9:9] But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’

[9:10] And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’

[9:11] But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’

[9:12] And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’

[9:13] But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’

[9:14] Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

[9:15] And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

[9:16] “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved—

[9:17] for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,

[9:18] and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—

[9:19] if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

[9:20] But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-Millo and devour Abimelech.”

[9:21] And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

[9:22] Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

[9:23] And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

[9:24] that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

[9:25] And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.

[9:26] And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him.

[9:27] And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech.

[9:28] And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?

[9:29] Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

[9:30] When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

[9:31] And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you.

[9:32] Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field.

[9:33] Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”

[9:34] So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.

[9:35] And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.

[9:36] And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.”

[9:37] Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

[9:38] Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”

[9:39] And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.

[9:40] And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.

[9:41] And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

[9:42] On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told.

[9:43] He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them.

[9:44] Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them.

[9:45] And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

[9:46] When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-Berith.

[9:47] Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.

[9:48] And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”

[9:49] So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.

[9:50] Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it.

[9:51] But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower.

[9:52] And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

[9:53] And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

[9:54] Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

[9:55] And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.

[9:56] Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.

[9:57] And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

[10:1] After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.

[10:2] And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.

[10:3] After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.

[10:4] And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

[10:5] And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

[10:6] The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.

[10:7] So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,

[10:8] and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

[10:9] And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

[10:10] And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.”

[10:11] And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?

[10:12] The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand.

[10:13] Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more.

[10:14] Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

[10:15] And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.”

[10:16] So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

[10:17] Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah.

[10:18] And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

[11:1] Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah.

[11:2] And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”

[11:3] Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

[11:4] After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel.

[11:5] And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.

[11:6] And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.”

[11:7] But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

[11:8] And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

[11:9] Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.”

[11:10] And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.”

[11:11] So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

[11:12] Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”

[11:13] And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.”

[11:14] Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites

[11:15] and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,

[11:16] but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

[11:17] Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

[11:18] “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

[11:19] Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’

[11:20] but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.

[11:21] And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.

[11:22] And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

[11:23] So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them?

[11:24] Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.

[11:25] Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

[11:26] While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?

[11:27] I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

[11:28] But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

[11:29] Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.

[11:30] And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand,

[11:31] then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

[11:32] So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand.

[11:33] And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-Keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

[11:34] Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

[11:35] And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”

[11:36] And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.”

[11:37] So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.”

[11:38] So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains.

[11:39] And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel

[11:40] that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

[12:1] The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.”

[12:2] And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand.

[12:3] And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”

[12:4] Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

[12:5] And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,”

[12:6] they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.

[12:7] Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.

[12:8] After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

[12:9] He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

[12:10] Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

[12:11] After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years.

[12:12] Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

[12:13] After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

[12:14] He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years.

[12:15] Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

[13:1] And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

[13:2] There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

[13:3] And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

[13:4] Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

[13:5] for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

[13:6] Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,

[13:7] but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

[13:8] Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”

[13:9] And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

[13:10] So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”

[13:11] And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.”

[13:12] And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?”

[13:13] And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

[13:14] She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

[13:15] Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.”

[13:16] And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)

[13:17] And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?”

[13:18] And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

[13:19] So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.

[13:20] And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

[13:21] The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

[13:22] And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

[13:23] But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”

[13:24] And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.

[13:25] And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

[14:1] Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.

[14:2] Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”

[14:3] But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

[14:4] His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

[14:5] Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring.

[14:6] Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

[14:7] Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.

[14:8] After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

[14:9] He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

[14:10] His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do.

[14:11] As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

[14:12] And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes,

[14:13] but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.”

[14:14] And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” And in three days they could not solve the riddle.

[14:15] On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”

[14:16] And Samson’s wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?”

[14:17] She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people.

[14:18] And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.”

[14:19] And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house.

[14:20] And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.