king james study


JG-1:1  Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of

Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites

first, to fight against them?

JG-1:2  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the

land into his hand.

JG-1:3  And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot,

that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee

into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

JG-1:4  And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the

Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

JG-1:5  And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and

they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

JG-1:6  But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and

cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

JG-1:7  And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and

their great toes cut off, gathered [their meat] under my table: as I have

done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he

died.

JG-1:8  Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken

it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

JG-1:9  And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the

Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

JG-1:10  And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the

name of Hebron before [was] Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman,

and Talmai.

JG-1:11  And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the

name of Debir before [was] Kirjathsepher:

JG-1:12  And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him

will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

JG-1:13  And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and

he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

JG-1:14  And it came to pass, when she came [to him], that she moved him to

ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off [her] ass; and Caleb said

unto her, What wilt thou?

JG-1:15  And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a

south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper

springs and the nether springs.

JG-1:16  And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of

the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of

Judah, which [lieth] in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the

people.

JG-1:17  And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites

that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was

called Hormah.

JG-1:18  Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the

coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

JG-1:19  And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out [the inhabitants of]

the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because

they had chariots of iron.

JG-1:20  And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled

thence the three sons of Anak.

JG-1:21  And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that

inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in

Jerusalem unto this day.

JG-1:22  And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the

LORD [was] with them.

JG-1:23  And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the

city before [was] Luz.)

JG-1:24  And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said

unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show

thee mercy.

JG-1:25  And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the

city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

JG-1:26  And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and

called the name thereof Luz: which [is] the name thereof unto this day.

JG-1:27  Neither did Manasseh drive out [the inhabitants of] Bethshean and her

towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns,

nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo

and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

JG-1:28  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the

Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

JG-1:29  Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but

the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

JG-1:30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the

inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became

tributaries.

JG-1:31  Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the

inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of

Aphik, nor of Rehob:

JG-1:32  But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the

land: for they did not drive them out.

JG-1:33  Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor

the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the

inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of

Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

JG-1:34  And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for

they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

JG-1:35  But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in

Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became

tributaries.

JG-1:36  And the coast of the Amorites [was] from the going up to Akrabbim,

from the rock, and upward.

JG-2:1  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I

made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I

sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

JG-2:2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye

shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye

done this?

JG-2:3  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but

they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto

you.

JG-2:4  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto

all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

JG-2:5  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed

there unto the LORD.

JG-2:6  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went

every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

JG-2:7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the

days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of

the LORD, that he did for Israel.

JG-2:8  And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, [being] an

hundred and ten years old.

JG-2:9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres,

in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

JG-2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and

there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet

the works which he had done for Israel.

JG-2:11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and

served Baalim:

JG-2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them

out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people

that [were] round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the

LORD to anger.

JG-2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

JG-2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered

them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the

hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand

before their enemies.

JG-2:15  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them

for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they

were greatly distressed.

JG-2:16  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of

the hand of those that spoiled them.

JG-2:17  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a

whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly

out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the

LORD; [but] they did not so.

JG-2:18  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the

judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the

judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them

that oppressed them and vexed them.

JG-2:19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, [that] they returned,

and corrupted [themselves] more than their fathers, in following other gods to

serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings,

nor from their stubborn way.

JG-2:20  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said,

Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their

fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

JG-2:21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the

nations which Joshua left when he died:

JG-2:22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way

of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.

JG-2:23  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out

hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

JG-3:1  Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by

them, [even] as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

JG-3:2  Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to

teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

JG-3:3  [Namely], five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and

the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount

Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

JG-3:4  And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would

hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by

the hand of Moses.

JG-3:5  And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and

Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

JG-3:6  And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their

daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

JG-3:7  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and

forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

JG-3:8  Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold

them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children

of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

JG-3:9  And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised

up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, [even] Othniel

the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

JG-3:10  And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and

went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia

into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

JG-3:11  And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.


JG-3:12  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD:

and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they

had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

JG-3:13  And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went

and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

JG-3:14  So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen

years.

JG-3:15  But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised

them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and

by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

JG-3:16  But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length;

and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

JG-3:17  And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon [was] a

very fat man.

JG-3:18  And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the

people that bare the present.

JG-3:19  But he himself turned again from the quarries that [were] by Gilgal,

and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence.

And all that stood by him went out from him.

JG-3:20  And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which

he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee.

And he arose out of [his] seat.

JG-3:21  And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right

thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

JG-3:22  And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon

the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt

came out.

JG-3:23  Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the

parlour upon him, and locked them.

JG-3:24  When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that,

behold, the doors of the parlour [were] locked, they said, Surely he covereth

his feet in his summer chamber.

JG-3:25  And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not

the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened [them]: and,

behold, their lord [was] fallen down dead on the earth.

JG-3:26  And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries,

and escaped unto Seirath.

JG-3:27  And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the

mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the

mount, and he before them.

JG-3:28  And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered

your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and

took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

JG-3:29  And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty,

and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

JG-3:30  So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land

had rest fourscore years.

JG-3:31  And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the

Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

JG-4:1  And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD,

when Ehud was dead.

JG-4:2  And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that

reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host [was] Sisera, which dwelt in

Harosheth of the Gentiles.

JG-4:3  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine

hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children

of Israel.

JG-4:4  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at

that time.

JG-4:5  And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel

in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

JG-4:6  And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of

Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded,

[saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men

of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

JG-4:7  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of

Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into

thine hand.

JG-4:8  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but

if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go.

JG-4:9  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey

that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera

into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

JG-4:10  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with

ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

JG-4:11  Now Heber the Kenite, [which was] of the children of Hobab the father

in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent

unto the plain of Zaanaim, which [is] by Kedesh.

JG-4:12  And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to

mount Tabor.

JG-4:13  And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, [even] nine hundred

chariots of iron, and all the people that [were] with him, from Harosheth of

the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

JG-4:14  And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the

LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before

thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

JG-4:15  And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all [his] chariots, and all

[his] host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted

down off [his] chariot, and fled away on his feet.

JG-4:16  But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto

Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of

the sword; [and] there was not a man left.

JG-4:17  Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of

Heber the Kenite: for [there was] peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and

the house of Heber the Kenite.

JG-4:18  And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my

lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the

tent, she covered him with a mantle.

JG-4:19  And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink;

for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and

covered him.

JG-4:20  Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall

be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man

here? that thou shalt say, No.

JG-4:21  Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in

her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and

fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

JG-4:22  And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and

said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when

he came into her [tent], behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail [was] in his

temples.

JG-4:23  So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the

children of Israel.

JG-4:24  And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed

against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of

Canaan.

JG-5:1  Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

JG-5:2  Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people

willingly offered themselves.

JG-5:3  Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, [even] I, will sing unto

the LORD; I will sing [praise] to the LORD God of Israel.

JG-5:4  LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the

field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also

dropped water.

JG-5:5  The mountains melted from before the LORD, [even] that Sinai from

before the LORD God of Israel.

JG-5:6  In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the

highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

JG-5:7  [The inhabitants of] the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until

that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

JG-5:8  They chose new gods; then [was] war in the gates: was there a shield

or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

JG-5:9  My heart [is] toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves

willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.

JG-5:10  Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk

by the way.

JG-5:11  [They that are delivered] from the noise of archers in the places of

drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD,

[even] the righteous acts [toward the inhabitants] of his villages in Israel:

then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.

JG-5:12  Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and

lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

JG-5:13  Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among

the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.

JG-5:14  Out of Ephraim [was there] a root of them against Amalek; after thee,

Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of

Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

JG-5:15  And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even Issachar, and

also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben

[there were] great thoughts of heart.

JG-5:16  Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the

flocks? For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great searchings of heart.

JG-5:17  Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher

continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

JG-5:18  Zebulun and Naphtali [were] a people [that] jeoparded their lives

unto the death in the high places of the field.

JG-5:19  The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in

Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

JG-5:20  They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against

Sisera.

JG-5:21  The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river

Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

JG-5:22  Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the

prancings of their mighty ones.

JG-5:23  Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the

inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the

help of the LORD against the mighty.

JG-5:24  Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be,

blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

JG-5:25  He asked water, [and] she gave [him] milk; she brought forth butter

in a lordly dish.

JG-5:26  She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's

hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she

had pierced and stricken through his temples.

JG-5:27  At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he

fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

JG-5:28  The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the

lattice, Why is his chariot [so] long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his

chariots?

JG-5:29  Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

JG-5:30  Have they not sped? have they [not] divided the prey; to every man a

damsel [or] two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours

of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, [meet] for the

necks of [them that take] the spoil?

JG-5:31  So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them that love him

[be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty

years.

JG-6:1  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the

LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

JG-6:2  And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: [and] because of the

Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which [are] in the

mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

JG-6:3  And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up,

and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against

them;

JG-6:4  And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the

earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither

sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

JG-6:5  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as

grasshoppers for multitude; [for] both they and their camels were without

number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

JG-6:6  And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the

children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

JG-6:7  And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD

because of the Midianites,

JG-6:8  That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said

unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and

brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

JG-6:9  And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the

hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave

you their land;

JG-6:10  And I said unto you, I [am] the LORD your God; fear not the gods of

the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

JG-6:11  And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was]

in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon

threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.

JG-6:12  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The

LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

JG-6:13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why

then is all this befallen us? and where [be] all his miracles which our

fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now

the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

JG-6:14  And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and

thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

JG-6:15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?

behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's

house.

JG-6:16  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou

shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

JG-6:17  And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then

show me a sign that thou talkest with me.

JG-6:18  Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring

forth my present, and set [it] before thee. And he said, I will tarry until

thou come again.

JG-6:19  And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an

ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot,

and brought [it] out unto him under the oak, and presented [it].

JG-6:20  And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened

cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

JG-6:21  Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that [was]

in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up

fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then

the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

JG-6:22  And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the LORD, Gideon

said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to

face.

JG-6:23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not: thou

shalt not die.

JG-6:24  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it

Jehovahshalom: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

JG-6:25  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take

thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and

throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that

[is] by it:

JG-6:26  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock,

in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice

with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

JG-6:27  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had

said unto him: and [so] it was, because he feared his father's household, and

the men of the city, that he could not do [it] by day, that he did [it] by

night.

JG-6:28  And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the

altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that [was] by it, and

the second bullock was offered upon the altar [that was] built.

JG-6:29  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they

inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

JG-6:30  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he

may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut

down the grove that [was] by it.

JG-6:31  And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for

Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death

whilst [it is yet] morning: if he [be] a god, let him plead for himself,

because [one] hath cast down his altar.

JG-6:32  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead

against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

JG-6:33  Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the

east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of

Jezreel.

JG-6:34  But the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet;

and Abiezer was gathered after him.

JG-6:35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered

after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto

Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

JG-6:36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as

thou hast said,

JG-6:37  Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and] if the dew be

on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the earth [beside], then shall I

know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

JG-6:38  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the

fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

JG-6:39  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and

I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the

fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let

there be dew.

JG-6:40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and

there was dew on all the ground.

JG-7:1  Then Jerubbaal, who [is] Gideon, and all the people that [were] with

him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of

the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the

valley.

JG-7:2  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with thee [are]

too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt

themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

JG-7:3  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,

Whosoever [is] fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount

Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there

remained ten thousand.

JG-7:4  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too] many; bring

them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be,

[that] of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go

with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the

same shall not go.

JG-7:5  So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto

Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth,

him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his

knees to drink.

JG-7:6  And the number of them that lapped, [putting] their hand to their

mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon

their knees to drink water.

JG-7:7  And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped

will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the

[other] people go every man unto his place.

JG-7:8  So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he

sent all [the rest of] Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those

three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

JG-7:9  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him,

Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

JG-7:10  But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to

the host:

JG-7:11  And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be

strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his

servant unto the outside of the armed men that [were] in the host.

JG-7:12  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the

east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels

[were] without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

JG-7:13  And when Gideon was come, behold, [there was] a man that told a dream

unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of

barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote

it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

JG-7:14  And his fellow answered and said, This [is] nothing else save the

sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: [for] into his hand hath

God delivered Midian, and all the host.

JG-7:15  And it was [so], when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the

interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of

Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host

of Midian.

JG-7:16  And he divided the three hundred men [into] three companies, and he

put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the

pitchers.

JG-7:17  And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when

I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be [that], as I do, so shall ye

do.

JG-7:18  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that [are] with me, then blow

ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, [The sword] of

the LORD, and of Gideon.

JG-7:19  So Gideon, and the hundred men that [were] with him, came unto the

outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but

newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that

[were] in their hands.

JG-7:20  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers,

and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands

to blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

JG-7:21  And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all

the host ran, and cried, and fled.

JG-7:22  And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's

sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to

Bethshittah in Zererath, [and] to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

JG-7:23  And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali,

and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

JG-7:24  And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come

down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah

and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took

the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

JG-7:25  And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they

slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and

pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other

side Jordan.

JG-8:1  And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus,

that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And

they did chide with him sharply.

JG-8:2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? [Is]

not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

JG-8:3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and

Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was

abated toward him, when he had said that.

JG-8:4  And Gideon came to Jordan, [and] passed over, he, and the three

hundred men that [were] with him, faint, yet pursuing [them].

JG-8:5  And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread

unto the people that follow me; for they [be] faint, and I am pursuing after

Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

JG-8:6  And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna

now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

JG-8:7  And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and

Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the

wilderness and with briers.

JG-8:8  And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the

men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered [him].

JG-8:9  And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in

peace, I will break down this tower.

JG-8:10  Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their hosts with them,

about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of all the hosts of the

children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that

drew sword.

JG-8:11  And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east

of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.

JG-8:12  And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the

two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

JG-8:13  And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun [was

up],

JG-8:14  And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him:

and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof,

[even] threescore and seventeen men.

JG-8:15  And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and

Zalmunna with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, [Are] the hands of Zebah and

Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men [that are]

weary?

JG-8:16  And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and

briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

JG-8:17  And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

JG-8:18  Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men [were they]

whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou [art], so [were] they; each

one resembled the children of a king.

JG-8:19  And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my mother:

[as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

JG-8:20  And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, [and] slay them. But the

youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he [was] yet a youth.

JG-8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the

man [is, so is] his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna,

and took away the ornaments that [were] on their camels' necks.

JG-8:22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both

thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the

hand of Midian.

JG-8:23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my

son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

JG-8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye

would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden

earrings, because they [were] Ishmaelites.)

JG-8:25  And they answered, We will willingly give [them]. And they spread a

garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

JG-8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a

thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold; beside ornaments, and collars,

and purple raiment that [was] on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains

that [were] about their camels' necks.

JG-8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, [even] in

Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a

snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

JG-8:28  Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they

lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in

the days of Gideon.

JG-8:29  And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

JG-8:30  And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he

had many wives.

JG-8:31  And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare him a son,

whose name he called Abimelech.

JG-8:32  And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in

the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

JG-8:33  And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of

Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith

their god.

JG-8:34  And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had

delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

JG-8:35  Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, [namely],

Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.

JG-9:1  And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's

brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his

mother's father, saying,

JG-9:2  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether [is]

better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore

and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also

that I [am] your bone and your flesh.

JG-9:3  And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of

Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for

they said, He [is] our brother.

JG-9:4  And they gave him threescore and ten [pieces] of silver out of the

house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which

followed him.

JG-9:5  And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren

the sons of Jerubbaal, [being] threescore and ten persons, upon one stone:

notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid

himself.

JG-9:6  And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of

Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that

[was] in Shechem.

JG-9:7  And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of

mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken

unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

JG-9:8  The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over them; and they

said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

JG-9:9  But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness,

wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?


JG-9:10  And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

JG-9:11  But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and

my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

JG-9:12  Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

JG-9:13  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth

God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

JG-9:14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, [and] reign over

us.

JG-9:15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king

over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire

come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

JG-9:16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have

made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house,

and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;

JG-9:17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and

delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

JG-9:18  And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have

slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made

Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because

he [is] your brother;)

JG-9:19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his

house this day, [then] rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in

you:

JG-9:20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of

Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of

Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

JG-9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for

fear of Abimelech his brother.

JG-9:22  When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

JG-9:23  Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of

Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

JG-9:24  That the cruelty [done] to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal

might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew

them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his

brethren.

JG-9:25  And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the

mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was

told Abimelech.

JG-9:26  And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to

Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

JG-9:27  And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and

trode [the grapes], and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and

did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

JG-9:28  And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who [is] Abimelech, and who [is]

Shechem, that we should serve him? [is] not [he] the son of Jerubbaal? and

Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why

should we serve him?

JG-9:29  And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove

Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

JG-9:30  And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son

of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

JG-9:31  And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal

the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify

the city against thee.

JG-9:32  Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that [is] with thee,

and lie in wait in the field:

JG-9:33  And it shall be, [that] in the morning, as soon as the sun is up,

thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, [when] he and the

people that [is] with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them

as thou shalt find occasion.

JG-9:34  And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that [were] with him, by

night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.

JG-9:35  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the

gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that [were] with him,

from lying in wait.

JG-9:36  And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come

people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest

the shadow of the mountains as [if they were] men.

JG-9:37  And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the

middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.

JG-9:38  Then said Zebul unto him, Where [is] now thy mouth, wherewith thou

saidst, Who [is] Abimelech, that we should serve him? [is] not this the people

that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

JG-9:39  And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with

Abimelech.

JG-9:40  And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were

overthrown [and] wounded, [even] unto the entering of the gate.

JG-9:41  And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his

brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

JG-9:42  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the

field; and they told Abimelech.

JG-9:43  And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and

laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people [were] come forth

out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.

JG-9:44  And Abimelech, and the company that [was] with him, rushed forward,

and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two [other]

companies ran upon all [the people] that [were] in the fields, and slew them.

JG-9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the

city, and slew the people that [was] therein, and beat down the city, and

sowed it with salt.

JG-9:46  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [that], they

entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.

JG-9:47  And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem

were gathered together.

JG-9:48  And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that

[were] with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his hand, and cut down a bough

from the trees, and took it, and laid [it] on his shoulder, and said unto the

people that [were] with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, [and] do as

I [have done].

JG-9:49  And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and

followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon

them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand

men and women.

JG-9:50  Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took

it.

JG-9:51  But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all

the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut [it] to them, and gat

them up to the top of the tower.

JG-9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went

hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

JG-9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's

head, and all to brake his skull.

JG-9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said

unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew

him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

JG-9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed

every man unto his place.

JG-9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his

father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

JG-9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their

heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

JG-10:1  And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah

the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.

JG-10:2  And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried

in Shamir.

JG-10:3  And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and

two years.

JG-10:4  And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had

thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which [are] in the

land of Gilead.

JG-10:5  And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

JG-10:6  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD,

and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of

Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the

gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

JG-10:7  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them

into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of

Ammon.

JG-10:8  And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel:

eighteen years, all the children of Israel that [were] on the other side

Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which [is] in Gilead.

JG-10:9  Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also

against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that

Israel was sore distressed.

JG-10:10  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have

sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served

Baalim.

JG-10:11  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, [Did] not [I deliver

you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon,

and from the Philistines?

JG-10:12  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did

oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

JG-10:13  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will

deliver you no more.

JG-10:14  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you

in the time of your tribulation.

JG-10:15  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do

thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee,

this day.

JG-10:16  And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the

LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

JG-10:17  Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in

Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped

in Mizpeh.

JG-10:18  And the people [and] princes of Gilead said one to another, What man

[is he] that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be

head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

JG-11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he [was]

the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

JG-11:2  And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and

they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our

father's house; for thou [art] the son of a strange woman.

JG-11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob:

and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

JG-11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon

made war against Israel.

JG-11:5  And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against

Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

JG-11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may

fight with the children of Ammon.

JG-11:7  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and

expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are

in distress?

JG-11:8  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again

to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of

Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

JG-11:9  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home

again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before

me, shall I be your head?

JG-11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness

between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

JG-11:11  Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made

him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the

LORD in Mizpeh.

JG-11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon,

saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight

in my land?

JG-11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers

of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt,

from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those

[lands] again peaceably.

JG-11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of

Ammon:

JG-11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the

land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

JG-11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the

wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

JG-11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I

pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken

[thereto]. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would

not [consent]: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

JG-11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land

of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab,

and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of

Moab: for Arnon [was] the border of Moab.

JG-11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king

of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy

land into my place.

JG-11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon

gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against

Israel.

JG-11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into

the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of

the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

JG-11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even

unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

JG-11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from

before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

JG-11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to

possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them

will we possess.

JG-11:25  And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor,

king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against

them,

JG-11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her

towns, and in all the cities that [be] along by the coasts of Arnon, three

hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover [them] within that time?

JG-11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to

war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of

Israel and the children of Ammon.

JG-11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the

words of Jephthah which he sent him.

JG-11:29  Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over

Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of

Gilead he passed over [unto] the children of Ammon.

JG-11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt

without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

JG-11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my

house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall

surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

JG-11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against

them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

JG-11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, [even]

twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great

slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of

Israel.

JG-11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his

daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she [was his]

only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

JG-11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and

said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of

them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot

go back.

JG-11:36  And she said unto him, My father, [if] thou hast opened thy mouth

unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy

mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies,

[even] of the children of Ammon.

JG-11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me

alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my

virginity, I and my fellows.

JG-11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away [for] two months: and she went

with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

JG-11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto

her father, who did with her [according] to his vow which he had vowed: and

she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

JG-11:40  [That] the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of

Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

JG-12:1  And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went

northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight

against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will

burn thine house upon thee with fire.

JG-12:2  And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife

with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of

their hands.

JG-12:3  And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life in my hands,

and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them

into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against

me?

JG-12:4  Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought

with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye

Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, [and] among the

Manassites.

JG-12:5  And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the

Ephraimites: and it was [so] that when those Ephraimites which were escaped

said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, [Art] thou an

Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

JG-12:6  Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth:

for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then they took him, and slew

him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites

forty and two thousand.

JG-12:7  And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the

Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

JG-12:8  And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

JG-12:9  And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, [whom] he sent abroad,

and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel

seven years.

JG-12:10  Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

JG-12:11  And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged

Israel ten years.

JG-12:12  And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the

country of Zebulun.

JG-12:13  And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.


JG-12:14  And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore

and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

JG-12:15  And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in

Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

JG-13:1  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD;

and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

JG-13:2  And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,

whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] barren, and bare not.

JG-13:3  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her,

Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and

bear a son.

JG-13:4  Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong

drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:

JG-13:5  For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come

on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he

shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

JG-13:6  Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came

unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God,

very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his

name:

JG-13:7  But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and

now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing]: for the

child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

JG-13:8  Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of

God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do

unto the child that shall be born.

JG-13:9  And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came

again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] not

with her.

JG-13:10  And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said

unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other]

day.

JG-13:11  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and

said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I

[am].

JG-13:12  And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order

the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?

JG-13:13  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto

the woman let her beware.

JG-13:14  She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine, neither let

her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean [thing]: all that I

commanded her let her observe.

JG-13:15  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us

detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

JG-13:16  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I

will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must

offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the

LORD.

JG-13:17  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that

when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

JG-13:18  And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after

my name, seeing it [is] secret?

JG-13:19  So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a

rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife

looked on.

JG-13:20  For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off

the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And

Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground.

JG-13:21  But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his

wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD.

JG-13:22  And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have

seen God.

JG-13:23  But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he

would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands,

neither would he have showed us all these [things], nor would as at this time

have told us [such things] as these.

JG-13:24  And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child

grew, and the LORD blessed him.

JG-13:25  And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of

Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

JG-14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the

daughters of the Philistines.

JG-14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have

seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get

her for me to wife.

JG-14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there] never a

woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou

goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto

his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

JG-14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of the LORD,

that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the

Philistines had dominion over Israel.

JG-14:5  Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and

came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against

him.

JG-14:6  And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as

he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing in his hand: but he told not

his father or his mother what he had done.

JG-14:7  And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson

well.

JG-14:8  And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see

the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in

the carcase of the lion.

JG-14:9  And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his

father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them

that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

JG-14:10  So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a

feast; for so used the young men to do.

JG-14:11  And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty

companions to be with him.

JG-14:12  And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you:

if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find

[it] out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

JG-14:13  But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me thirty

sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy

riddle, that we may hear it.

JG-14:14  And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of

the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the

riddle.

JG-14:15  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's

wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn

thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have?

[is it] not [so]?

JG-14:16  And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me,

and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my

people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not

told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?

JG-14:17  And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted:

and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore

upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

JG-14:18  And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the

sun went down, What [is] sweeter than honey? and what [is] stronger than a

lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not

found out my riddle.

JG-14:19  And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to

Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change

of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled,

and he went up to his father's house.

JG-14:20  But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as

his friend.

JG-15:1  But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat

harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to

my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

JG-15:2  And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated

her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is] not her younger sister fairer

than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

JG-15:3  And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than

the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

JG-15:4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands,

and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

JG-15:5  And when he had set the brands on fire, he let [them] go into the

standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the

standing corn, with the vineyards [and] olives.

JG-15:6  Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered,

Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and

given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her

father with fire.

JG-15:7  And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be

avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

JG-15:8  And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went

down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

JG-15:9  Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread

themselves in Lehi.

JG-15:10  And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they

answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

JG-15:11  Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam,

and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines [are] rulers over

us? what [is] this [that] thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As

they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

JG-15:12  And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may

deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them,

Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

JG-15:13  And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and

deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound

him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

JG-15:14  [And] when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him:

and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that [were]

upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed

from off his hands.

JG-15:15  And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and

took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

JG-15:16  And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with

the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

JG-15:17  And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he

cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

JG-15:18  And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast

given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die

for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

JG-15:19  But God clave an hollow place that [was] in the jaw, and there came

water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived:

wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which [is] in Lehi unto this

day.

JG-15:20  And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

JG-16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto

her.

JG-16:2  [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And

they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the

city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we

shall kill him.

JG-16:3  And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the

doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar

and all, and put [them] upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of

an hill that [is] before Hebron.

JG-16:4  And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of

Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah.

JG-16:5  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her,

Entice him, and see wherein his great strength [lieth], and by what [means] we

may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give

thee every one of us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.

JG-16:6  And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great

strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

JG-16:7  And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that

were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

JG-16:8  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs

which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

JG-16:9  Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.

And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he brake

the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his

strength was not known.

JG-16:10  And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told

me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

JG-16:11  And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never

were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

JG-16:12  Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said

unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And [there were] liers in

wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a

thread.

JG-16:13  And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told

me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If

thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

JG-16:14  And she fastened [it] with the pin, and said unto him, The

Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went

away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

JG-16:15  And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine

heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not

told me wherein thy great strength [lieth].

JG-16:16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and

urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death;

JG-16:17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not

come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my

mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall

become weak, and be like any [other] man.

JG-16:18  And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent

and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he

hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto

her, and brought money in their hand.

JG-16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and

she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to

afflict him, and his strength went from him.

JG-16:20  And she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awoke

out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake

myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

JG-16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him

down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the

prison house.

JG-16:22  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was

shaven.

JG-16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to

offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said,

Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

JG-16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said,

Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our

country, which slew many of us.

JG-16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said,

Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of

the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the

pillars.

JG-16:26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me

that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon

them.

JG-16:27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the

Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand

men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

JG-16:28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me,

I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may

be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

JG-16:29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house

stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of

the other with his left.

JG-16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed

himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all

the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were

more than [they] which he slew in his life.

JG-16:31  Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and

took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in

the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

JG-17:1  And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name [was] Micah.

JG-17:2  And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred [shekels] of silver

that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in

mine ears, behold, the silver [is] with me; I took it. And his mother said,

Blessed [be thou] of the LORD, my son.

JG-17:3  And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of silver to

his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD

from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now

therefore I will restore it unto thee.

JG-17:4  Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two

hundred [shekels] of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a

graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

JG-17:5  And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and

teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

JG-17:6  In those days [there was] no king in Israel, [but] every man did

[that which was] right in his own eyes.

JG-17:7  And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of

Judah, who [was] a Levite, and he sojourned there.

JG-17:8  And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn

where he could find [a place]: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of

Micah, as he journeyed.

JG-17:9  And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I

[am] a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find [a

place].

JG-17:10  And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and

a priest, and I will give thee ten [shekels] of silver by the year, and a suit

of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

JG-17:11  And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man

was unto him as one of his sons.

JG-17:12  And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his

priest, and was in the house of Micah.

JG-17:13  Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I

have a Levite to [my] priest.

JG-18:1  In those days [there was] no king in Israel: and in those days the

tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day

[all their] inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

JG-18:2  And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their

coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and

to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came

to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

JG-18:3  When they [were] by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the

young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who

brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this [place]? and what hast thou

here?

JG-18:4  And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath

hired me, and I am his priest.

JG-18:5  And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we

may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

JG-18:6  And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD [is] your

way wherein ye go.

JG-18:7  Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people

that [were] therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the

Zidonians, quiet and secure; and [there was] no magistrate in the land, that

might put [them] to shame in [any] thing; and they [were] far from the

Zidonians, and had no business with [any] man.

JG-18:8  And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their

brethren said unto them, What [say] ye?

JG-18:9  And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have

seen the land, and, behold, it [is] very good: and [are] ye still? be not

slothful to go, [and] to enter to possess the land.

JG-18:10  When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land:

for God hath given it into your hands; a place where [there is] no want of any

thing that [is] in the earth.

JG-18:11  And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of

Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

JG-18:12  And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore

they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, [it is] behind

Kirjathjearim.

JG-18:13  And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house

of Micah.

JG-18:14  Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of

Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses

an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore

consider what ye have to do.

JG-18:15  And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man

the Levite, [even] unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

JG-18:16  And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which

[were] of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

JG-18:17  And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, [and] came

in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and

the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the

six hundred men [that were] appointed with weapons of war.

JG-18:18  And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the

ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them,

What do ye?

JG-18:19  And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy

mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: [is it] better for

thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a

tribe and a family in Israel?

JG-18:20  And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the

teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

JG-18:21  So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle

and the carriage before them.

JG-18:22  [And] when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men

that [were] in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and

overtook the children of Dan.

JG-18:23  And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their

faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a

company?

JG-18:24  And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the

priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what [is] this [that]

ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

JG-18:25  And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard

among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the

lives of thy household.

JG-18:26  And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they

[were] too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

JG-18:27  And they took [the things] which Micah had made, and the priest

which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people [that were] at quiet and

secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city

with fire.

JG-18:28  And [there was] no deliverer, because it [was] far from Zidon, and

they had no business with [any] man; and it was in the valley that [lieth] by

Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

JG-18:29  And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan

their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city [was]

Laish at the first.

JG-18:30  And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the

son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe

of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

JG-18:31  And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the

time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

JG-19:1  And it came to pass in those days, when [there was] no king in

Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount

Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

JG-19:2  And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from

him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole

months.

JG-19:3  And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto

her, [and] to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of

asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the

damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

JG-19:4  And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he

abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

JG-19:5  And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the

morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son

in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.


JG-19:6  And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for

the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry

all night, and let thine heart be merry.

JG-19:7  And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him:

therefore he lodged there again.

JG-19:8  And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the

damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until

afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

JG-19:9  And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his

servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now

the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day

groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow

get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.

JG-19:10  But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed,

and came over against Jebus, which [is] Jerusalem; and [there were] with him

two asses saddled, his concubine also [was] with him.

JG-19:11  [And] when they [were] by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the

servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this

city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

JG-19:12  And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the

city of a stranger, that [is] not of the children of Israel; we will pass over

to Gibeah.

JG-19:13  And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of

these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

JG-19:14  And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon

them [when they were] by Gibeah, which [belongeth] to Benjamin.

JG-19:15  And they turned aside thither, to go in [and] to lodge in Gibeah:

and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for [there was]

no man that took them into his house to lodging.

JG-19:16  And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at

even, which [was] also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the

men of the place [were] Benjamites.

JG-19:17  And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the

street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence

comest thou?

JG-19:18  And he said unto him, We [are] passing from Bethlehemjudah toward

the side of mount Ephraim; from thence [am] I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah,

but I [am now] going to the house of the LORD; and there [is] no man that

receiveth me to house.

JG-19:19  Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is

bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man [which

is] with thy servants: [there is] no want of any thing.

JG-19:20  And the old man said, Peace [be] with thee; howsoever [let] all thy

wants [lie] upon me; only lodge not in the street.

JG-19:21  So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses:

and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

JG-19:22  [Now] as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the

city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, [and] beat at the

door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth

the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

JG-19:23  And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said

unto them, Nay, my brethren, [nay], I pray you, do not [so] wickedly; seeing

that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

JG-19:24  Behold, [here is] my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I

will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good

unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

JG-19:25  But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine,

and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the

night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

JG-19:26  Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the

door of the man's house where her lord [was], till it was light.

JG-19:27  And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the

house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was

fallen down [at] the door of the house, and her hands [were] upon the

threshold.

JG-19:28  And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered.

Then the man took her [up] upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto

his place.

JG-19:29  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold

on his concubine, and divided her, [together] with her bones, into twelve

pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

JG-19:30  And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed

done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land

of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak [your minds].

JG-20:1  Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was

gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of

Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.

JG-20:2  And the chief of all the people, [even] of all the tribes of Israel,

presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred

thousand footmen that drew sword.

JG-20:3  (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were

gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell [us], how was this

wickedness?

JG-20:4  And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and

said, I came into Gibeah that [belongeth] to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to

lodge.

JG-20:5  And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round

about upon me by night, [and] thought to have slain me: and my concubine have

they forced, that she is dead.

JG-20:6  And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her

throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have

committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

JG-20:7  Behold, ye [are] all children of Israel; give here your advice and

counsel.

JG-20:8  And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any [of us]

go to his tent, neither will we any [of us] turn into his house.

JG-20:9  But now this [shall be] the thing which we will do to Gibeah; [we

will go up] by lot against it;

JG-20:10  And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of

Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to

fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of

Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

JG-20:11  So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit

together as one man.

JG-20:12  And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin,

saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among you?

JG-20:13  Now therefore deliver [us] the men, the children of Belial, which

[are] in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.

But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren

the children of Israel:

JG-20:14  But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the

cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

JG-20:15  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the

cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of

Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

JG-20:16  Among all this people [there were] seven hundred chosen men

lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair [breadth], and not miss.

JG-20:17  And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred

thousand men that drew sword: all these [were] men of war.

JG-20:18  And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God,

and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the

battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah [shall go

up] first.

JG-20:19  And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped

against Gibeah.

JG-20:20  And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the

men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.

JG-20:21  And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed

down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.

JG-20:22  And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set

their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array

the first day.

JG-20:23  (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until

even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle

against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against

him.)

JG-20:24  And the children of Israel came near against the children of

Benjamin the second day.

JG-20:25  And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day,

and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen

thousand men; all these drew the sword.

JG-20:26  Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and

came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and

fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings

before the LORD.

JG-20:27  And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the

covenant of God [was] there in those days,

JG-20:28  And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it

in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the

children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up;

for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

JG-20:29  And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

JG-20:30  And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin

on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other

times.

JG-20:31  And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, [and] were

drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, [and] kill,

as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God,

and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

JG-20:32  And the children of Benjamin said, They [are] smitten down before

us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw

them from the city unto the highways.

JG-20:33  And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put

themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth

out of their places, [even] out of the meadows of Gibeah.

JG-20:34  And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all

Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil [was] near them.

JG-20:35  And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of

Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an

hundred men: all these drew the sword.

JG-20:36  So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men

of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in

wait which they had set beside Gibeah.

JG-20:37  And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers

in wait drew [themselves] along, and smote all the city with the edge of the

sword.

JG-20:38  Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the

liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of

the city.

JG-20:39  And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to

smite [and] kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said,

Surely they are smitten down before us, as [in] the first battle.

JG-20:40  But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar

of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the

city ascended up to heaven.

JG-20:41  And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were

amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.

JG-20:42  Therefore they turned [their backs] before the men of Israel unto

the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which [came]

out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

JG-20:43  [Thus] they enclosed the Benjamites round about, [and] chased them,

[and] trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.

JG-20:44  And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these [were]

men of valour.

JG-20:45  And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of

Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and

pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.

JG-20:46  So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five

thousand men that drew the sword; all these [were] men of valour.

JG-20:47  But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock

Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

JG-20:48  And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin,

and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of [every] city, as

the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities

that they came to.

JG-21:1  Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not

any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

JG-21:2  And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even

before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

JG-21:3  And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel,

that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?

JG-21:4  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and

built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

JG-21:5  And the children of Israel said, Who [is there] among all the tribes

of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had

made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh,

saying, He shall surely be put to death.

JG-21:6  And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother,

and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

JG-21:7  How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn

by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

JG-21:8  And they said, What one [is there] of the tribes of Israel that came

not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from

Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

JG-21:9  For the people were numbered, and, behold, [there were] none of the

inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

JG-21:10  And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the

valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of

Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

JG-21:11  And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy

every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

JG-21:12  And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred

young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought

them unto the camp to Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan.

JG-21:13  And the whole congregation sent [some] to speak to the children of

Benjamin that [were] in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.

JG-21:14  And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which

they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed

them not.

JG-21:15  And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had

made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

JG-21:16  Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives

for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

JG-21:17  And they said, [There must be] an inheritance for them that be

escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

JG-21:18  Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the

children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [be] he that giveth a wife to

Benjamin.

JG-21:19  Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD in Shiloh

yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of Bethel, on the east side

of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of

Lebonah.

JG-21:20  Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and

lie in wait in the vineyards;

JG-21:21  And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance

in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife

of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

JG-21:22  And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us

to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our

sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not

give unto them at this time, [that] ye should be guilty.

JG-21:23  And the children of Benjamin did so, and took [them] wives,

according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they

went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt

in them.

JG-21:24  And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man

to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his

inheritance.

JG-21:25  In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that

which was] right in his own eyes.



 

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