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07JDGBSB.usfm
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\id JDG - Berean Standard Bible
\h Judges
\toc2 Judges
\toc1 Judges
\toc2 Judges
\toc3 Judges
\mt1 Judges
\c 1
\s1 The Conquest of Canaan Proceeds
\r (Joshua 13:1–7)
\p
\v 1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
\p
\v 2 “Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.”
\p
\v 3 Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, “Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory.” So the Simeonites went with them.
\p
\v 4 When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
\v 5 And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
\p
\v 6 As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
\v 7 Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
\s1 The Capture of Jerusalem and Hebron
\r (Joshua 15:13–19)
\p
\v 8 Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
\v 9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills.\f + \fr 1:9 \ft Hebrew Shephelah or lowlands; that is, the western foothills of Judea\f*
\p
\v 10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
\p
\v 11 From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher).
\v 12 And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
\v 13 So Othniel son of Calebʼs younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
\p
\v 14 One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him\f + \fr 1:14 \ft Hebrew; LXX and Vulgate and he urged her; see \+xt Joshua 15:18\+xt*.\f* to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”
\p
\v 15 “Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.”
\p So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
\p
\v 16 Now the descendants of Mosesʼ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms\f + \fr 1:16 \ft That is, Jericho\f* to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
\p
\v 17 Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction.\f + \fr 1:17 \ft Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.\f* So it was called Hormah.\f + \fr 1:17 \ft Hormah means destruction.\f*
\v 18 And Judah also captured\f + \fr 1:18 \ft Hebrew; LXX But Judah did not capture\f* Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.
\v 19 The LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron.
\p
\v 20 Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak.
\p
\v 21 The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
\p
\v 22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
\v 23 They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),
\v 24 and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.”
\p
\v 25 So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family.
\v 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.
\s1 The Failure to Complete the Conquest
\p
\v 27 At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
\v 28 When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely.
\p
\v 29 Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
\p
\v 30 Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers.
\p
\v 31 Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
\v 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out.
\p
\v 33 Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers.
\p
\v 34 The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the plain.
\v 35 And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.
\v 36 And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim\f + \fr 1:36 \ft Or the Ascent of Scorpions or Scorpion Pass\f* to Sela and beyond.
\c 2
\s1 Israel Rebuked at Bochim
\p
\v 1 Now the angel\f + \fr 2:1 \ft Or Angel; also in verse 4\f* of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
\v 2 and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’
\p Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
\v 3 So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
\p
\v 4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
\v 5 So they called that place Bochim\f + \fr 2:5 \ft Bochim means weepers.\f* and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
\s1 Joshuaʼs Death and Burial
\r (Joshua 24:29–33)
\p
\v 6 After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went out to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.
\v 7 And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
\p
\v 8 And Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
\v 9 They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres\f + \fr 2:9 \ft Timnath-heres is also known as Timnath-serah; see \+xt Joshua 19:50\+xt* and \+xt Joshua 24:30\+xt*.\f* in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
\s1 Israelʼs Unfaithfulness
\r (Isaiah 43:22–28; Jeremiah 2:23–37)
\p
\v 10 After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel.
\v 11 And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
\p
\v 12 Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger,
\v 13 for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
\p
\v 14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them.\f + \fr 2:14 \ft Literally of plunderers who plundered them\f* He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
\v 15 Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.
\s1 Judges Raised Up
\p
\v 16 Then the LORD raised up judges,\f + \fr 2:16 \ft Or governors or leaders; here and throughout the book of Judges\f* who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
\p
\v 17 Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORDʼs commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.
\p
\v 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
\v 19 But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
\p
\v 20 So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice,
\v 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
\v 22 In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did.”
\p
\v 23 That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.
\c 3
\s1 Nations Left to Test Israel
\p
\v 1 These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan,
\v 2 if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly:
\v 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
\p
\v 4 These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses.
\v 5 Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
\v 6 And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
\s1 Othniel
\p
\v 7 So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
\v 8 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim,\f + \fr 3:8 \ft That is, Mesopotamia; Aram-naharaim means Aram of the two rivers, likely the region between the Euphrates and Balih Rivers in northwestern Mesopotamia.\f* and the Israelites served him eight years.
\p
\v 9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Calebʼs younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
\v 10 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israelʼs judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
\p
\v 11 So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
\s1 Ehud
\p
\v 12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
\v 13 After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.\f + \fr 3:13 \ft That is, Jericho\f*
\p
\v 14 The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
\v 15 And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
\p
\v 16 Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long.\f + \fr 3:16 \ft A cubit is approximately 18 inches or 45.7 centimeters.\f* He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak
\v 17 and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an obese man.
\p
\v 18 After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it.
\v 19 But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
\p “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him.
\p
\v 20 Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.
\p
\v 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglonʼs belly.
\v 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglonʼs fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglonʼs bowels emptied.
\v 23 Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper room behind him.
\p
\v 24 After Ehud was gone, Eglonʼs servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.
\v 25 So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.
\p
\v 26 Ehud, however, had escaped while the servants waited. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.
\p
\v 27 On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ramʼs horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.
\v 28 “Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.”
\p So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and they did not allow anyone to cross over.
\v 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men. Not one of them escaped.
\p
\v 30 So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.
\s1 Shamgar
\p
\v 31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
\c 4
\s1 Deborah and Barak
\p
\v 1 After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD.
\v 2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
\v 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
\p
\v 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
\v 5 And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.
\p
\v 6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun.
\v 7 And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabinʼs army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
\p
\v 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
\p
\v 9 “I will certainly go with you,” Deborah replied, “but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh,
\v 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
\p
\v 11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law\f + \fr 4:11 \ft Or brother-in-law\f* of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
\p
\v 12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor,
\v 13 he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.
\p
\v 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?”
\p So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
\v 15 And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.
\p
\v 16 Then Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
\s1 Jael Kills Sisera
\p
\v 17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
\v 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
\p
\v 19 Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again.
\p
\v 20 “Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’”
\p
\v 21 But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heberʼs wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.
\p
\v 22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple.
\p
\v 23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
\v 24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
\c 5
\s1 The Song of Deborah and Barak
\r (Exodus 15:1–21)
\p
\v 1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
\q1
\v 2 “When the princes take the lead in Israel,
\q2 when the people volunteer,
\q2 bless the LORD.
\q1
\v 3 Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
\q2 I will sing to the LORD;
\q1 I will sing praise to the LORD,
\q2 the God of Israel.
\q1
\v 4 O LORD, when You went out from Seir,
\q2 when You marched from the land of Edom,
\q1 the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain,
\q2 and the clouds poured down water.
\q1
\v 5 The mountains quaked before the LORD,
\q2 the One of Sinai,
\q1 before the LORD,
\q2 the God of Israel.
\b
\q1
\v 6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
\q2 in the days of Jael,
\q1 the highways were deserted
\q2 and the travelers took the byways.
\q1
\v 7 Life in the villages ceased;
\q2 it ended in Israel,
\q1 until I, Deborah, arose,
\q2 a mother in Israel.
\q1
\v 8 When they chose new gods,
\q2 then war came to their gates.
\q1 Not a shield or spear was found
\q2 among forty thousand in Israel.
\q1
\v 9 My heart is with the princes of Israel,
\q2 with the volunteers among the people.
\q2 Bless the LORD!
\b
\q1
\v 10 You who ride white donkeys,
\q2 who sit on saddle blankets,
\q2 and you who travel the road,
\q1 ponder
\v 11 the voices of the singers\f + \fr 5:11 \ft Or archers or those who divide the sheep\f*
\q2 at the watering places.
\q1 There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD,
\q2 the righteous deeds of His villagers\f + \fr 5:11 \ft Or warriors\f* in Israel.
\b
\q1 Then the people of the LORD
\q2 went down to the gates:
\q1
\v 12 ‘Awake, awake, O Deborah!
\q2 Awake, awake, sing a song!
\q1 Arise, O Barak,
\q2 and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!’
\b
\q1
\v 13 Then the survivors came down to the nobles;
\q2 the people of the LORD came down to me against the mighty.
\q1
\v 14 Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek;
\q2 Benjamin came with your people after you.
\q1 The commanders came down from Machir,
\q2 the bearers of the marshalʼs staff from Zebulun.
\b
\q1
\v 15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah,
\q2 and Issachar was with Barak,
\q2 rushing into the valley at his heels.
\q1 In the clans of Reuben
\q2 there was great indecision.\f + \fr 5:15 \ft Or much searching of heart; also in verse 16\f*
\q1
\v 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds
\q2 to hear the whistling for the flocks?
\q1 In the clans of Reuben
\q2 there was great indecision.
\b
\q1
\v 17 Gilead remained beyond the Jordan.
\q2 Dan, why did you linger by the ships?
\q1 Asher stayed at the coast
\q2 and remained in his harbors.
\q1
\v 18 Zebulun was a people who risked their lives;
\q2 Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.
\q1
\v 19 Kings came and fought;
\q2 then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach
\q1 by the waters of Megiddo,
\q2 but they took no plunder of silver.
\b
\q1
\v 20 From the heavens the stars fought;
\q2 from their courses they fought against Sisera.
\q1
\v 21 The River Kishon swept them away,
\q2 the ancient river, the River Kishon.
\b
\q1 March on, O my soul, in strength!
\b
\q1
\v 22 Then the hooves of horses thundered—
\q2 the mad galloping of his stallions.
\q1
\v 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD.
\q2 ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants;
\q1 for they did not come to help the LORD,
\q2 to help the LORD against the mighty.’
\b
\q1
\v 24 Most blessed among women is Jael,
\q2 the wife of Heber the Kenite,
\q2 most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
\q1
\v 25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk.
\q2 In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
\q1
\v 26 She reached for the tent peg,
\q2 her right hand for the workmanʼs hammer.
\q1 She struck Sisera and crushed his skull;
\q2 she shattered and pierced his temple.
\q1
\v 27 At her feet he collapsed, he fell,
\q2 there he lay still;
\q1 at her feet he collapsed, he fell;
\q2 where he collapsed, there he fell dead.
\b
\q1
\v 28 Siseraʼs mother looked through the window;
\q2 she peered through the lattice and lamented:
\q1 ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
\q2 What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’
\q1
\v 29 Her wisest ladies answer;
\q2 indeed she keeps telling herself,
\q1
\v 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—
\q2 a girl or two for each warrior,
\q1 a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera,
\q2 the spoil of embroidered garments
\q2 for the neck of the looter?’
\b
\q1
\v 31 So may all your enemies perish,
\q2 O LORD!
\q1 But may those who love You
\q2 shine like the sun at its brightest.”
\p And the land had rest for forty years.
\c 6
\s1 Midian Oppresses Israel
\p
\v 1 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
\v 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
\p
\v 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
\v 4 encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.
\v 5 For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
\p
\v 6 Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
\p
\v 7 Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,
\v 8 He sent them a prophet, who told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
\v 9 I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
\v 10 And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear\f + \fr 6:10 \ft Or worship\f* the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.”
\s1 The Call of Gideon
\p
\v 11 Then the angel\f + \fr 6:11 \ft Or Angel; also in verses 12, 20, 21, and 22; corresponding pronouns may also be capitalized.\f* of the LORD came and sat down under the oak\f + \fr 6:11 \ft Or terebinth or great tree; also in verse 19\f* in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
\v 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
\p
\v 13 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
\p
\v 14 The LORD\f + \fr 6:14 \ft LXX The angel of the LORD or The Angel of the LORD; also in verse 16\f* turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”
\p
\v 15 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my fatherʼs house.”
\p
\v 16 “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”
\p
\v 17 Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
\v 18 Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.”
\p And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.”
\p
\v 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour.\f + \fr 6:19 \ft An ephah is approximately 20 dry quarts or 22 liters (probably about 25.5 pounds or 11.6 kilograms of flour).\f* He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak.
\p
\v 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.
\p
\v 21 Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
\p
\v 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
\p
\v 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
\p
\v 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace.\f + \fr 6:24 \ft Hebrew YHWH Shalom\f* To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
\s1 Gideon Destroys Baalʼs Altar
\p
\v 25 On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your fatherʼs young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your fatherʼs altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
\v 26 Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”
\p
\v 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his fatherʼs household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.
\p
\v 28 When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baalʼs altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar.
\v 29 “Who did this?” they said to one another.
\p And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
\p
\v 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baalʼs altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”
\p
\v 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”
\p
\v 32 So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal,\f + \fr 6:32 \ft Jerubbaal probably means let Baal contend.\f* that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baalʼs altar.
\s1 The Sign of the Fleece
\p
\v 33 Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
\p
\v 34 So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ramʼs horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
\v 35 Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.
\p
\v 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
\v 37 then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”
\p
\v 38 And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
\p
\v 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”
\p
\v 40 And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.
\c 7
\s1 Gideonʼs Army of Three Hundred
\p
\v 1 Early in the morning Jerubbaal\f + \fr 7:1 \ft Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon and probably means let Baal contend; see \+xt Judges 6:32\+xt*.\f* (that is, Gideon) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
\p
\v 2 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
\v 3 Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the men: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’”
\p So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
\p
\v 4 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
\p
\v 5 So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”
\v 6 And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.
\p
\v 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”
\p
\v 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and ramsʼ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
\s1 The Sword of Gideon
\p
\v 9 That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
\v 10 But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
\v 11 and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.
\p
\v 12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
\v 13 And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
\p
\v 14 His friend replied: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has delivered Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”
\s1 Gideon Defeats Midian
\p
\v 15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”
\v 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ramʼs horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.\f + \fr 7:16 \ft Literally and put ramsʼ horns and empty jars—large jars with torches inside—into the hand of all\f*
\p
\v 17 “Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do.
\v 18 When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
\p
\v 19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the changing of the guard. They blew their horns and broke the jars that were in their hands.
\v 20 The three companies blew their horns and shattered their jars. Holding the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
\p
\v 21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
\v 22 And when the three hundred ramsʼ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah\f + \fr 7:22 \ft Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah\f* as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
\v 23 Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
\p
\v 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.
\v 25 They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. So they pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
\c 8
\s1 Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
\p
\v 1 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
\p
\v 2 But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
\v 3 God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger\f + \fr 8:3 \ft Or their spirit\f* against him subsided.
\p
\v 4 Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
\v 5 So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
\p
\v 6 But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”
\p
\v 7 “Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”
\p
\v 8 From there he went up to Penuel\f + \fr 8:8 \ft Penuel is a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17; see \+xt Genesis 32:30\+xt*.\f* and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
\v 9 So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
\p
\v 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
\v 11 And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.
\v 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
\p
\v 13 After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
\v 14 There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
\p
\v 15 And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”
\v 16 Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
\v 17 He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
\p
\v 18 Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”
\p “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
\p
\v 19 “They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
\p
\v 20 So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.
\p
\v 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
\s1 Gideonʼs Ephod
\p
\v 22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
\p
\v 23 But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”
\p
\v 24 Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
\p
\v 25 “We will give them gladly,” they replied.
\p So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.
\v 26 The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels,\f + \fr 8:26 \ft 1,700 shekels is approximately 42.7 pounds or 19.4 kilograms.\f* in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
\p
\v 27 From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
\s1 Forty Years of Peace
\p
\v 28 In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,
\v 29 and he—Jerubbaal\f + \fr 8:29 \ft Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon and probably means let Baal contend; also in verse 35; see \+xt Judges 6:32\+xt*.\f* son of Joash—returned home and settled down.
\p
\v 30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own,\f + \fr 8:30 \ft Hebrew who came from his own loins\f* since he had many wives.
\v 31 His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
\s1 Gideonʼs Death
\p
\v 32 Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
\p
\v 33 And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
\p
\v 34 The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
\v 35 They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel.
\c 9
\s1 Abimelechʼs Conspiracy
\p
\v 1 Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal\f + \fr 9:1 \ft Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon and probably means let Baal contend; here and throughout this chapter; see \+xt Judges 6:32\+xt*.\f* went to his motherʼs brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
\v 2 “Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
\p
\v 3 And when his motherʼs brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
\v 4 So they gave him seventy shekels of silver\f + \fr 9:4 \ft 70 shekels is approximately 1.76 pounds or 797.8 grams of silver.\f* from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.
\v 5 He went to his fatherʼs house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.
\p
\v 6 Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak\f + \fr 9:6 \ft Or terebinth or great tree\f* at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
\s1 Jothamʼs Parable
\p
\v 7 When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out:
\q1 “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem,
\q2 and may God listen to you.
\b
\q1
\v 8 One day the trees set out
\q2 to anoint a king for themselves.
\q1 They said to the olive tree,
\q2 ‘Reign over us.’
\b
\q1
\v 9 But the olive tree replied,
\q2 ‘Should I stop giving my oil
\q1 that honors both God and man,
\q2 to hold sway over the trees?’
\b
\q1
\v 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
\q2 ‘Come and reign over us.’
\b
\q1
\v 11 But the fig tree replied,
\q2 ‘Should I stop giving my sweetness
\q1 and my good fruit,
\q2 to hold sway over the trees?’
\b
\q1
\v 12 Then the trees said to the grapevine,
\q2 ‘Come and reign over us.’
\b
\q1
\v 13 But the grapevine replied,
\q2 ‘Should I stop giving my wine
\q1 that cheers both God and man,
\q2 to hold sway over the trees?’
\b
\q1
\v 14 Finally all the trees said to the thornbush,
\q2 ‘Come and reign over us.’
\b
\q1
\v 15 But the thornbush replied,
\q2 ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you,
\q2 come and find refuge in my shade.
\q1 But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush
\q2 and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
\p
\v 16 Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have done to him as he deserves—
\v 17 for my father fought for you and risked his life to deliver you from the hand of Midian,
\v 18 but you have risen up against my fatherʼs house this day and killed his seventy sons on a single stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the leaders of Shechem because he is your brother—
\v 19 if you have acted faithfully and honestly toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, then may you rejoice in Abimelech, and he in you.
\p
\v 20 But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
\p
\v 21 Then Jotham ran away, escaping to Beer, and he lived there for fear of his brother Abimelech.
\s1 Gaal Conspires with the Shechemites
\p
\v 22 After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years,
\v 23 God sent a spirit of animosity\f + \fr 9:23 \ft Or a harmful spirit\f* between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully,
\v 24 in order that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the leaders of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.
\p
\v 25 The leaders of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech on the hilltops, and they robbed all who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
\p
\v 26 Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him.
\v 27 And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.
\p
\v 28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?
\v 29 If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’”\f + \fr 9:29 \ft LXX; Hebrew I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to him, “Muster your army and come out!”\f*
\s1 The Fall of Shechem
\p
\v 30 When Zebul the governor of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he burned with anger.
\v 31 So he covertly sent messengers to Abimelech\f + \fr 9:31 \ft Or he sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah; see verse 41.\f* to say, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up\f + \fr 9:31 \ft Or besieging or closing up\f* the city against you.
\v 32 Now then, tonight you and the people with you are to come and lie in wait in the fields.
\v 33 And in the morning at sunrise, get up and advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do to them whatever you are able.”
\p
\v 34 So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
\p
\v 35 Now Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his men came out from their hiding places.
\p
\v 36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!”
\p But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”
\p
\v 37 Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land,\f + \fr 9:37 \ft Literally the navel of the earth\f* and one company is coming by way of the Divinersʼ Oak.\f + \fr 9:37 \ft Or the Divinersʼ Terebinth or the divinersʼ tree\f*”
\p
\v 38 “Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”
\p
\v 39 So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,
\v 40 but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. And many Shechemites fell wounded all the way to the entrance of the gate.
\v 41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
\p
\v 42 The next day the people of Shechem went out into the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech.
\v 43 So he took his men, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose up against them and attacked them.
\p
\v 44 Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down.
\v 45 And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
\p
\v 46 On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.\f + \fr 9:46 \ft El-berith was another name for Baal-berith; see verse 4.\f*
\v 47 And when Abimelech was told that all the leaders in the tower of Shechem were gathered there,
\v 48 he and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his axe in his hand and cut a branch from the trees, which he lifted to his shoulder, saying to his men, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”
\p
\v 49 So each man also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. Then they piled the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire above them, killing everyone in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women.
\s1 Abimelechʼs Punishment
\p
\v 50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, encamped against it, and captured it.
\v 51 But there was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.
\p
\v 52 When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.
\v 53 But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelechʼs head, crushing his skull.
\v 54 He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’”
\p So Abimelechʼs armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died.
\v 55 And when the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
\p
\v 56 In this way God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father in murdering his seventy brothers.
\v 57 And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
\c 10
\s1 Tola
\p
\v 1 After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.
\p
\v 2 Tola judged\f + \fr 10:2 \ft Or governed or led; here and throughout the book of Judges\f* Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir.
\s1 Jair
\p
\v 3 Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.
\v 4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.\f + \fr 10:4 \ft Or the villages of Jair\f*
\p
\v 5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
\s1 Oppression by the Philistines and Ammonites
\p
\v 6 And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
\p
\v 7 So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,
\v 8 who that very year harassed and oppressed the Israelites, and they did so for eighteen years to all the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.
\p
\v 9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress.
\p
\v 10 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”
\p
\v 11 The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines,
\v 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites\f + \fr 10:12 \ft Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts Midianites\f* oppressed you and you cried out to Me, did I not save you from their hands?
\v 13 But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.
\v 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
\p
\v 15 “We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”
\v 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.
\p
\v 17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
\v 18 And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”
\c 11
\s1 Jephthah Delivers Israel
\p
\v 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
\v 2 And Gileadʼs wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our fatherʼs house, because you are the son of another woman.”
\p
\v 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
\p
\v 4 Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel
\v 5 and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
\v 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.”
\p
\v 7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my fatherʼs house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”
\p
\v 8 They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”
\p
\v 9 But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?”
\p
\v 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
\p
\v 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
\p
\v 12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”
\p
\v 13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthahʼs messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”
\p
\v 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites
\v 15 to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites.
\v 16 But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea\f + \fr 11:16 \ft Or the Sea of Reeds\f* and came to Kadesh.
\v 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
\p
\v 18 Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.
\p
\v 19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’
\v 20 But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
\p
\v 21 Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country,
\v 22 seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
\p
\v 23 Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it?
\v 24 Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.
\v 25 Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?
\p
\v 26 For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?
\v 27 I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
\p
\v 28 But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him.
\s1 Jephthahʼs Tragic Vow
\p
\v 29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
\p
\v 30 Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
\v 31 then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
\p
\v 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand.
\v 33 With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.
\p
\v 34 And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
\p
\v 35 As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
\p
\v 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.”
\v 37 She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”
\p
\v 38 “Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months.
\p So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.
\v 39 After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man.
\p So it has become a custom in Israel
\v 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
\c 12
\s1 Jephthah Defeats Ephraim
\p
\v 1 Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”
\p
\v 2 But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.
\v 3 When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”
\p
\v 4 Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
\p
\v 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”
\p If he answered, “No,”
\v 6 they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.”
\p If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
\p
\v 7 Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.\f + \fr 12:7 \ft LXX in his city in Gilead\f*
\s1 Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
\p
\v 8 After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
\v 9 He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.
\v 10 Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.
\p
\v 11 After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.
\v 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
\p
\v 13 After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.
\v 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
\v 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
\c 13
\s1 The Birth of Samson
\r (Numbers 6:1–21)
\v 1 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
\p
\v 2 Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
\v 3 The angel\f + \fr 13:3 \ft Or Angel; here and throughout chapter 13; corresponding pronouns may also be capitalized.\f* of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
\v 4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
\v 5 For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite\f + \fr 13:5 \ft Or set apart\f* to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
\p
\v 6 So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
\v 7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’”
\p
\v 8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”
\p
\v 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.
\v 10 The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”
\p
\v 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
\p “I am,” he said.
\p
\v 12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boyʼs rule of life and mission?”
\p
\v 13 So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her.
\v 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
\p
\v 15 “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
\p
\v 16 And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.
\p
\v 17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”
\p
\v 18 “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”
\p
\v 19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing.
\v 20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.
\p When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
\v 21 And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.
\p
\v 22 “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
\p
\v 23 But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.”
\p
\v 24 So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
\v 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan,\f + \fr 13:25 \ft Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan.\f* between Zorah and Eshtaol.
\c 14
\s1 Samsonʼs Marriage
\p
\v 1 One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
\v 2 So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
\p
\v 3 But his father and mother replied, “Canʼt you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”
\p But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.”
\v 4 (Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
\p
\v 5 Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,
\v 6 and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
\v 7 Then Samson continued on his way down and spoke to the woman, because she was pleasing to his eyes.
\s1 Samsonʼs Riddle
\p
\v 8 When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lionʼs carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey.
\v 9 So he scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. And when he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lionʼs carcass.
\p
\v 10 Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
\v 11 And when the Philistines saw him,\f + \fr 14:11 \ft Or when the brideʼs parents saw him; literally when they saw him\f* they selected thirty men to accompany him.
\p
\v 12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
\v 13 But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”
\p “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”
\p
\v 14 So he said to them:
\q1 “Out of the eater came something to eat,
\q2 and out of the strong came something sweet.”
\p For three days they were unable to explain the riddle.
\v 15 So on the fourth\f + \fr 14:15 \ft LXX and Syriac; Hebrew seventh\f* day they said to Samsonʼs wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your fatherʼs household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
\p
\v 16 Then Samsonʼs wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.”
\p “Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”
\p
\v 17 She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.
\p
\v 18 Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson:
\q1 “What is sweeter than honey?
\q2 And what is stronger than a lion?”
\p So he said to them:
\q1 “If you had not plowed with my heifer,
\q2 you would not have solved my riddle!”
\p
\v 19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his fatherʼs house,
\v 20 and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
\c 15
\s1 Samsonʼs Revenge
\p
\v 1 Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
\p
\v 2 “I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
\p
\v 3 Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”
\p
\v 4 Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails.
\v 5 Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
\p
\v 6 “Who did this?” the Philistines demanded.
\p “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.”
\p So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
\p
\v 7 And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.”
\v 8 And he struck them ruthlessly\f + \fr 15:8 \ft Literally he struck them hip and thigh\f* with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
\p
\v 9 Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.\f + \fr 15:9 \ft Literally and spread out in Lehi\f*
\p
\v 10 “Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah.
\p The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.”
\p
\v 11 In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?”
\p “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
\p
\v 12 But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.”
\p Samson replied, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
\p
\v 13 “No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
\p
\v 14 When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
\v 15 He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
\v 16 Then Samson said:
\q1 “With the jawbone of a donkey
\q2 I have piled them into heaps.\f + \fr 15:16 \ft Or I have made them into donkeys\f*
\q1 With the jawbone of a donkey
\q2 I have slain a thousand men.”
\p
\v 17 And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.\f + \fr 15:17 \ft Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone.\f*
\p
\v 18 And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
\p
\v 19 So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore,\f + \fr 15:19 \ft En-hakkore means the spring of him who calls.\f* and it remains in Lehi to this day.
\p
\v 20 And Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
\c 16
\s1 Samson Escapes Gaza
\p
\v 1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
\p
\v 2 When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”
\p
\v 3 But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.
\s1 Samson and Delilah
\p
\v 4 Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
\v 5 The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.\f + \fr 16:5 \ft 1,100 shekels is approximately 27.6 pounds or 12.5 kilograms of silver.\f*”
\p
\v 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
\p
\v 7 Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”
\p
\v 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.
\v 9 While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
\p But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.
\p
\v 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”
\p
\v 11 He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”
\p
\v 12 So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
\p But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.
\p
\v 13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.”
\p He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.\f + \fr 16:13 \ft See LXX and Vulgate; Hebrew does not include and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.\f*”
\p
\v 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web.\f + \fr 16:14 \ft See LXX and Vulgate; Hebrew does not include So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web.\f*Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
\p But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.
\s1 Delilah Learns the Secret
\p
\v 15 “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
\p
\v 16 Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death,
\v 17 Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my motherʼs womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
\p
\v 18 When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.”
\p Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands.
\p
\v 19 And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him,\f + \fr 16:19 \ft Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts he began to grow weak\f* and his strength left him.
\v 20 Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
\p When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
\p
\v 21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.
\p
\v 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.
\s1 Samsonʼs Vengeance and Death
\p
\v 23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
\p
\v 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: