Yahuwah Bible

¹ It happened after the death of Yahushua, the children of Yisra’el asked of Yahuwah, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Kanaanites, to fight against them?”
² Yahuwah said, “Yehudah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”
³ Yehudah said to Shimon his brother, “Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Kanaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot.” So Shimon went with him.
⁴ Yehudah went up; and Yahuwah delivered the Kanaanites and the Perizites into their hand: and they struck of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
⁵ They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they struck the Kanaanites and the Perizites.
⁶ But Adoni-Bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
⁷ Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, scavenged under my table: as I have done, so Elohim has requited me.” They brought him to Yerushalayim, and he died there.
⁸ The children of Yehudah fought against Yerushalayim, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
⁹ Afterward the children of Yehudah went down to fight against the Kanaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
¹⁰ Yehudah went against the Kanaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriat Arba); and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
¹¹ From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir before was Kiriat Sefer.)
¹² Kaleb said, “He who strikes Kiriat Sefer, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.”
¹³ Othniel the son of Kenaz, Kaleb‘s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
¹⁴ It happened, when she came, that she got him to ask her father for a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Kaleb said to her, “What would you like?”
¹⁵ She said to him, “Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water.” Then Kaleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
¹⁶ The children of the Kenite, Moshe‘ brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Yehudah into the wilderness of Yehudah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
¹⁷ Yehudah went with Shimon his brother, and they struck the Kanaanites who inhabited Zefath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.
¹⁸ Also Yehudah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border.
¹⁹ Yahuwah was with Yehudah; and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
²⁰ They gave Hebron to Kaleb, as Moshe had spoken: and he drove out there the three sons of Anak.
²¹ The children of Binyamin did not drive out the Yebusites who inhabited Yerushalayim; but the Yebusites dwell with the children of Binyamin in Yerushalayim to this day.
²² The house of Yosef, they also went up against Beit-El ; and Yahuwah was with them.
²³ The house of Yosef sent to spy out Beit-El . (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
²⁴ The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”
²⁵ He showed them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
²⁶ The man went into the land of the Hitites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
²⁷ Menasheh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beit Shean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megido and its towns; but the Kanaanites would dwell in that land.
²⁸ It happened, when Yisra’el had grown strong, that they put the Kanaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
²⁹ Efrayim didn’t drive out the Kanaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Kanaanites lived in Gezer among them.
³⁰ Zebulun didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Kanaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
³¹ Asher didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Ako, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Afik, nor of Rehob;
³² but the Asherites lived among the Kanaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
³³ Naftali didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beit Shemes, nor the inhabitants of Beit Anat; but he lived among the Kanaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beit Shemes and of Beit Anat became subject to forced labor.
³⁴ The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
³⁵ but the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres, in Ayalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Yosef prevailed, so that they became subject to forced labor.
³⁶ The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabim, from the rock, and upward.

¹ Melech Yahuwah (King Yahuwah) (transl.: the Angel of the Lord) came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, “I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you:
² and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to my voice: why have you done this?
³ Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their elohim shall be a snare to you.”
⁴ It happened, when Melech Yahuwah spoke these words to all the children of Yisra’el, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
⁵ They called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to Yahuwah.
⁶ Now when Yahushua had sent the people away, the children of Yisra’el went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.
⁷ The people served Yahuwah all the days of Yahushua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Yahushua, who had seen all the great work of Yahuwah that he had worked for Yisra’el.
⁸ Yahushua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahuwah, died, being one hundred ten years old.
⁹ They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnat Heres, in the hill country of Efrayim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
¹⁰ Also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who didn’t know Yahuwah, nor yet the work which he had worked for Yisra’el.
¹¹ The children of Yisra’el did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah, and served the Baals;
¹² and they forsook Yahuwah, the Elohim of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other elohim, of the elohim of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them: and they provoked Yahuwah to anger.
¹³ They forsook Yahuwah, and served Baal and the Ashtarot.
¹⁴ The anger of Yahuwah was kindled against Yisra’el, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers who despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
¹⁵ Wherever they went out, the hand of Yahuwah was against them for evil, as Yahuwah had spoken, and as Yahuwah had sworn to them: and they were very distressed.
¹⁶ Yahuwah raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who despoiled them.
¹⁷ Yet they didn’t listen to their judges; for they played the prostitute after other elohim, and bowed themselves down to them: they turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Yahuwah. They didn’t do so.
¹⁸ When Yahuwah raised them up judges, then Yahuwah was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it grieved Yahuwah because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.
¹⁹ But it happened, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other elohim to serve them, and to bow down to them; they didn’t cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.
²⁰ The anger of Yahuwah was kindled against Yisra’el; and he said, “Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not listened to my voice;
²¹ I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Yahushua left when he died;
²² that by them I may prove Yisra’el, whether they will keep the way of Yahuwah to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not.”
²³ So Yahuwah left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Yahushua.

¹ Now these are the nations which Yahuwah left, to prove Yisra’el by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Kanaan;
² only that the generations of the children of Yisra’el might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of it:
³ the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Kanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.
⁴ They were left to test Yisra’el by them, to know whether they would listen to the commandments of Yahuwah, which he commanded their fathers by Moshe.
⁵ The children of Yisra’el lived among the Kanaanites, the Hitites, and the Amorites, and the Perizites, and the Hivites, and the Yebusites:
⁶ and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their elohim.
⁷ The children of Yisra’el did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah, and forgot Yahuwah their Elohim, and served the Baals and the Asherot.
⁸ Therefore the anger of Yahuwah was kindled against Yisra’el, and he sold them into the hand of Kushan Rishataim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Yisra’el served Kushan Rishathaim eight years.
⁹ When the children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah, Yahuwah raised up a savior to the children of Yisra’el, who saved them, even Otniel the son of Kenaz, Kaleb‘s younger brother.
¹⁰ The Spirit of Yahuwah came on him, and he judged Yisra’el; and he went out to war, and Yahuwah delivered Kushan Rishataim king of Mesopotamia into his hand: and his hand prevailed against Kushan Rishataim.
¹¹ The land had rest forty years. Otniel the son of Kenaz died.
¹² The children of Yisra’el again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah: and Yahuwah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Yisra’el, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah.
¹³ He gathered to him the children of Amon and Amalek; and he went and struck Yisra’el, and they possessed the city of palm trees.
¹⁴ The children of Yisra’el served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
¹⁵ But when the children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah, Yahuwah raised them up a savior, Ehud the son of Gera, the Binyaminite, a man left-handed. The children of Yisra’el sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
¹⁶ Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he wore it under his clothing on his right thigh.
¹⁷ He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man.
¹⁸ When he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people who bore the tribute.
¹⁹ But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret errand to you, king.” The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him went out from him.
²⁰ Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from Elohim to you.” He arose out of his seat.
²¹ Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body:
²² and the handle also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade, for he didn’t draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind.
²³ Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room on him, and locked them.
²⁴ Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and behold, the doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, “Surely he is covering his feet in the upper room.”
²⁵ They waited until they were ashamed; and behold, he didn’t open the doors of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened them, and behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
²⁶ Ehud escaped while they waited, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirah.
²⁷ It happened, when he had come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Efrayim; and the children of Yisra’el went down with him from the hill country, and he before them.
²⁸ He said to them, “Follow me; for Yahuwah has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” They followed him, and took the fords of the Yarden against the Moabites, and didn’t allow any man to pass over.
²⁹ They struck of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man.
³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Yisra’el. The land had rest eighty years.
³¹ After him was Shamgar the son of Anat, who struck of the Philistines six hundred men with an oxgoad: and he also saved Yisra’el.

¹ The children of Yisra’el again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah, when Ehud was dead.
² Yahuwah sold them into the hand of Yabin king of Kanaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Haroshet of the Gentiles.
³ The children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Yisra’el.
⁴ Now Dvorah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidot, she judged Yisra’el at that time.
⁵ She lived under the palm tree of Dvorah between Ramah and Beit-El in the hill country of Efrayim: and the children of Yisra’el came up to her for judgment.
⁶ She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naftali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el, commanded, ‘Go and draw to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naftali and of the children of Zebulun?
⁷ I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Yabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
⁸ Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
⁹ She said, “I will surely go with you: nevertheless, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for Yahuwah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Dvorah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
¹⁰ Barak called Zebulun and Naftali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Dvorah went up with him.
¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moshe, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaananim, which is by Kedesh.
¹² They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor.
¹³ Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Haroshet of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon.
¹⁴ Dvorah said to Barak, “Go; for this is the day in which Yahuwah has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn’t Yahuwah gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
¹⁵ Yahuwah confused Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
¹⁶ But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Haroshet of the Gentiles: and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
¹⁷ However Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Yael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Yabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
¹⁸ Yael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; don’t be afraid.” He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
¹⁹ He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
²⁰ He said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’”
²¹ Then Yael Heber‘s wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died.
²² Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Yael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.
²³ So Elohim subdued on that day Yabin the king of Kanaan before the children of Yisra’el.
²⁴ The hand of the children of Yisra’el prevailed more and more against Yabin the king of Kanaan, until they had destroyed Yabin king of Kanaan.

¹ Then Dvorah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
² “Because the leaders took the lead in Yisra’el, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahuwah!
³ “Hear, you kings! Give ear, you princes! I, even I, will sing to Yahuwah. I will sing praise to Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el.
⁴ “Yahuwah, when you went forth out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water.
⁵ The mountains quaked at the presence of Yahuwah, even Sinai, at the presence of Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el.
⁶ “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anat, in the days of Yael, the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through byways.
⁷ The rulers ceased in Yisra’el. They ceased until I, Dvorah, arose; Until I arose a mother in Yisra’el.
⁸ They chose new elohim. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Yisra’el?
⁹ My heart is toward the governors of Yisra’el, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Yahuwah!
¹⁰ “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.
¹¹ Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, there they will rehearse the righteous acts of Yahuwah, the righteous acts of his rule in Yisra’el. “Then the people of Yahuwah went down to the gates.
¹² ‘Awake, awake, Dvorah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.’
¹³ “Then a remnant of the nobles and the people came down. Yahuwah came down for me against the mighty.
¹⁴ Those whose root is in Amalek came out of Efrayim, after you, Binyamin, among your peoples. Governors come down out of Machir. Those who handle the marshal’s staff came out of Zebulun.
¹⁵ The princes of Yisachar were with Dvorah. As was Yisachar, so was Barak. They rushed into the valley at his feet. By the watercourses of Re’uben, there were great resolves of heart.
¹⁶ Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the whistling for the flocks? At the watercourses of Re’uben There were great searchings of heart.
¹⁷ Gilead lived beyond the Yarden. Why did Dan remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, and lived by his creeks.
¹⁸ Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the deaths; Naftali also, on the high places of the field.
¹⁹ “The kings came and fought, then the kings of Kanaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megido. They took no plunder of silver.
²⁰ From the sky the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against Sisera.
²¹ The river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. My soul, march on with strength.
²² Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones.
²³ ‘Curse Meroz,’ said Melech Yahuwah (King Yahuwah) (transl.: the Angel of the Lord). ‘Curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they didn’t come to help Yahuwah, to help Yahuwah against the mighty.’
²⁴ “Yael shall be blessed above women, the wife of Heber the Kenite; blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
²⁵ He asked for water. She gave him milk. She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
²⁶ She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer. With the hammer she struck Sisera. She struck through his head. Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples.
²⁷ At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
²⁸ “Through the window she looked out, and cried: Sisera‘s mother looked through the lattice. ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots wait?’
²⁹ Her wise ladies answered her, Yes, she returned answer to herself,
³⁰ ‘Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A lady, two ladies to every man; to Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, a spoil of dyed garments embroidered, of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?’
³¹ “So let all your enemies perish, Yahuwah, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises forth in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years.

¹ The children of Yisra’el did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah: and Yahuwah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
² The hand of Midian prevailed against Yisra’el; and because of Midian the children of Yisra’el made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
³ So it was, when Yisra’el had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;
⁴ and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance in Yisra’el, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey.
⁵ For they came up with their livestock and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.
⁶ Yisra’el was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah.
⁷ It happened, when the children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah because of Midian,
⁸ that Yahuwah sent a prophet to the children of Yisra’el: and he said to them, “Thus says Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el, ‘I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;
¹⁰ and I said to you, “I am Yahuwah your Elohim; you shall not fear the elohim of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not listened to my voice.’”
¹¹ Melech Yahuwah (King Yahuwah) (transl.: the Angel of the Lord) came, and sat under the oak which was in Ofrah, that pertained to Yoash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
¹² Melech Yahuwah appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahuwah is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
¹³ Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if Yahuwah is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t Yahuwah bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahuwah has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
¹⁴ Yahuwah looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Yisra’el from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”
¹⁵ He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Yisra’el? Behold, my family is the poorest in Menasheh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
¹⁶ Yahuwah said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
¹⁷ He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.
¹⁸ Please don’t go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.” He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
¹⁹ Gideon went in, and prepared a young goat, and unleavened cakes of an eifah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
²⁰ The Melech of Elohim (angel-messenger-king) said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” He did so.
²¹ Then Melech Yahuwah stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock, and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and Melech Yahuwah departed out of his sight.
²² Gideon saw that he was Melech Yahuwah; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord Yahuwah! Because I have seen Melech Yahuwah face to face!”
²³ Yahuwah said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.”
²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahuwah, and called it “Yahuwah is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ofrah of the Abiezrites.
²⁵ It happened the same night, that Yahuwah said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;
²⁶ and build an altar to Yahuwah your Elohim on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”
²⁷ Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahuwah had spoken to him: and it happened, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
²⁸ When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
²⁹ They said one to another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Yoash has done this thing.”
³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Yoash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.”
³¹ Yoash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death by morning. If he is an elohim, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar.”
³² Therefore on that day he named him Yerub–Baal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.”
³³ Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Yezreel.
³⁴ But the Spirit of Yahuwah came on Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.
³⁵ He sent messengers throughout all Menasheh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naftali; and they came up to meet them.
³⁶ Gideon said to Elohim, “If you will save Yisra’el by my hand, as you have spoken,
³⁷ behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Yisra’el by my hand, as you have spoken.”
³⁸ It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
³⁹ Gideon said to Elohim, “Don’t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
⁴⁰ Elohim did so that night: for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

¹ Then Yerubaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
² Yahuwah said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Yisra’el vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
³ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” Twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
⁴ Yahuwah said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. It shall be, that of whom I tell you, ‘This shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, ‘This shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”
⁵ So he brought down the people to the water; and Yahuwah said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, like a dog laps, you shall set him by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”
⁶ The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
⁷ Yahuwah said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, each to his own place.”
⁸ So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Yisra’el every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
⁹ It happened the same night, that Yahuwah said to him, “Arise, go down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.
¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp:
¹¹ and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.” Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.
¹² The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude.
¹³ When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
¹⁴ His fellow answered, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Yoash, a man of Yisra’el. Elohim has delivered Midian into his hand, with all the army.”
¹⁵ It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped; and he returned into the camp of Yisra’el, and said, “Arise; for Yahuwah has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”
¹⁶ He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
¹⁷ He said to them, “Watch me, and do likewise. Behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do.
¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, ‘For Yahuwah and for Gideon!’”
¹⁹ So Gideon, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
²⁰ The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they shouted, “The sword of Yahuwah and of Gideon!”
²¹ They each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
²² They blew the three hundred trumpets, and Yahuwah set every man’s sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beit Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
²³ The men of Yisra’el were gathered together out of Naftali, and out of Asher, and out of all Menasheh, and pursued after Midian.
²⁴ Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Efrayim, saying, “Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beit Barah, even the Yarden!” So all the men of Efrayim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beit Barah, even the Yarden.
²⁵ They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Ze’ev; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Ze’ev they killed at the winepress of Ze’ev, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Ze’ev to Gideon beyond the Yarden.

¹ The men of Efrayim said to him, “Why have you treated us this way, that you didn’t call us, when you went to fight with Midian?” They rebuked him sharply.
² He said to them, “What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn’t the gleaning of the grapes of Efrayim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
³ Elohim has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Ze’ev! What was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
⁴ Gideon came to the Yarden, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
⁵ He said to the men of Sukot, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmuna, the kings of Midian.”
⁶ The princes of Sukot said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmuna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”
⁷ Gideon said, “Therefore when Yahuwah has delivered Zebah and Zalmuna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
⁸ He went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Sukot had answered.
⁹ He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmuna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.
¹¹ Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Yogbehah, and struck the army; for the army was secure.
¹² Zebah and Zalmuna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmuna, and confused all the army.
¹³ Gideon the son of Yoash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
¹⁴ He caught a young man of the men of Sukot, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Sukot, and its elders, seventy-seven men.
¹⁵ He came to the men of Sukot, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmuna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmuna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’”
¹⁶ He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Sukot.
¹⁷ He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
¹⁸ Then he said to Zebah and Zalmuna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you. Each one resembled the children of a king.”
¹⁹ He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahuwah lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.”
²⁰ He said to Yeter his firstborn, “Get up, and kill them!” But the youth didn’t draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was yet a youth.
²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmuna said, “Rise and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmuna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.
²² Then the men of Yisra’el said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
²³ Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahuwah shall rule over you.”
²⁴ Gideon said to them, “I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
²⁵ They answered, “We will willingly give them.” They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his spoil into it.
²⁶ The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
²⁷ Gideon made an efod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ofrah: and all Yisra’el played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the children of Yisra’el, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
²⁹ Yerubaal the son of Yoash went and lived in his own house.
³⁰ Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives.
³¹ His concubine who was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
³² Gideon the son of Yoash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Yoash his father, in Ofrah of the Abiezrites.
³³ It happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Yisra’el turned again, and played the prostitute after the Baals, and made Baal Berit their Elohim.
³⁴ The children of Yisra’el didn’t remember Yahuwah their Elohim, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
³⁵ neither did they show kindness to the house of Yerubaal, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Yisra’el.

¹ Abimelech the son of Yerubaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
² “Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Yerubaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
³ His mother’s brothers spoke 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.”
⁴ They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berit, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
⁵ He went to his father’s house at Ofrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Yerubaal, being seventy persons, on one stone: but Yotam the youngest son of Yerubaal was left; for he hid himself.
⁶ All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
⁷ When they told it to Yotam, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that Elohim may listen to you.
⁸ The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
⁹ “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor Elohim and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’
¹⁰ “The trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and reign over us.’
¹¹ “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’
¹² “The trees said to the vine, ‘Come and reign over us.’
¹³ “The vine said to them, ‘Should I leave my new wine, which cheers Elohim and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’
¹⁴ “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’
¹⁵ “The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Yerubaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands
¹⁷ (for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
¹⁸ and you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother);
¹⁹ if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Yerubaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
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.”
²¹ Yotam ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
²² Abimelech was prince over Yisra’el three years.
²³ Elohim sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
²⁴ that the violence done to the seventy sons of Yerubaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
²⁵ The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
²⁶ Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
²⁷ They went out into the field, and harvested their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their Elohim, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
²⁸ Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Yerubaal? and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?
²⁹ Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” He said to Abimelech, “Increase your army, and come out!”
³⁰ When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
³¹ He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they incite the city against you.
³² Now therefore, go up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field:
³³ and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and rush on the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion.”
³⁴ Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
³⁵ Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.
³⁶ When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Zebul said to him, “You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
³⁷ Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.”
³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Now where is your mouth, that you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Isn’t this the people that you have despised? Please go out now and fight with them.”
³⁹ Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
⁴⁰ Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many fell wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.
⁴¹ Abimelech lived at Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
⁴² It happened on the next day, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
⁴³ He took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field; and he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; He rose up against them, and struck them.
⁴⁴ Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed on all who were in the field, and struck them.
⁴⁵ Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
⁴⁶ When all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of Elberit.
⁴⁷ It was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
⁴⁸ Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder: and he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done!”
⁴⁹ All the people likewise each cut down his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them at the base of the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
⁵⁰ Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and there fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and went up to the roof of the tower.
⁵² Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
⁵³ A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech‘s head, and broke his skull.
⁵⁴ Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ His young man thrust him through, and he died.”
⁵⁵ When the men of Yisra’el saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.
⁵⁶ Thus Elohim requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in killing his seventy brothers;
⁵⁷ and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did Elohim requite on their heads: and on them came the curse of Yotam the son of Yerubaal.

¹ After Abimelech there arose to save Yisra’el Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Yisachar; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Efrayim.
² He judged Yisra’el twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
³ After him arose Yair, the Gileadite; and he judged Yisra’el twenty-two years.
⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Yair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
⁵ Yair died, and was buried in Kamon.
⁶ The children of Yisra’el again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah, and served the Baals, and the Ashtarot, and the elohim of Syria, and the elohim of Sidon, and the elohim of Moab, and the elohim of the children of Amon, and the elohim of the Philistines; and they forsook Yahuwah, and didn’t serve him.
⁷ The anger of Yahuwah was kindled against Yisra’el, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Amon.
⁸ They troubled and oppressed the children of Yisra’el that year. For eighteen years, they oppressed all the children of Yisra’el that were beyond the Yarden in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
⁹ The children of Amon passed over the Yarden to fight also against Yehudah, and against Binyamin, and against the house of Efrayim; so that Yisra’el was very distressed.
¹⁰ The children of Yisra’el cried to Yahuwah, saying, “We have sinned against you, even because we have forsaken our Elohim, and have served the Baals.”
¹¹ Yahuwah said to the children of Yisra’el, “Didn’t I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Amon, and from the Philistines?
¹² The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand.
¹³ Yet you have forsaken me, and served other elohim: therefore I will save you no more.
¹⁴ Go and cry to the elohim which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
¹⁵ The children of Yisra’el said to Yahuwah, “We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, please, this day.”
¹⁶ They put away the foreign elohim from among them, and served Yahuwah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Yisra’el.
¹⁷ Then the children of Amon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. The children of Yisra’el assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mitzpah.
¹⁸ The people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, “What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Amon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

¹ Now Yeftah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prostitute: and Gilead became the father of Yeftah.
² Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove out Yeftah, and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.”
³ Then Yeftah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Yeftah, and they went out with him.
⁴ It happened after a while, that the children of Amon made war against Yisra’el.
⁵ It was so, that when the children of Amon made war against Yisra’el, the elders of Gilead went to get Yeftah out of the land of Tob;
⁶ and they said to Yeftah, “Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Amon.”
⁷ Yeftah said to the elders of Gilead, “Didn’t you hate me, and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Yeftah, “Therefore we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Amon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
⁹ Yeftah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Amon, and Yahuwah deliver them before me, shall I be your head?”
¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to Yeftah, “Yahuwah shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do.”
¹¹ Then Yeftah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them: and Yeftah spoke all his words before Yahuwah in Mitzpah.
¹² Yeftah sent messengers to the king of the children of Amon, saying, “What have you to do with me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”
¹³ The king of the children of Amon answered to the messengers of Yeftah, “Because Yisra’el took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Yabok, and to the Yarden: now therefore restore that territory again peaceably.”
¹⁴ Yeftah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Amon;
¹⁵ and he said to him, “Thus says Yeftah: Yisra’el didn’t take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Amon,
¹⁶ but when they came up from Egypt, and Yisra’el went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;
¹⁷ then Yisra’el sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let me pass through your land;’ but the king of Edom didn’t listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab; but he would not: and Yisra’el stayed in Kadesh.
¹⁸ Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn’t come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
¹⁹ Yisra’el sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Yisra’el said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to my place.’
²⁰ But Sihon didn’t trust Yisra’el to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Yahaz, and fought against Yisra’el.
²¹ Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Yisra’el, and they struck them: so Yisra’el possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
²² They possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Yabok, and from the wilderness even to the Yarden.
²³ So now Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Yisra’el, and should you possess them?
²⁴ Won’t you possess that which Chemosh your Elohim gives you to possess? So whoever Yahuwah our Elohim has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.
²⁵ Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zipor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Yisra’el, or did he ever fight against them?
²⁶ While Yisra’el lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why didn’t you recover them within that time?
²⁷ I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. Yahuwah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Yisra’el and the children of Amon.”
²⁸ However the king of the children of Amon didn’t listen to the words of Yeftah which he sent him.
²⁹ Then the Spirit of Yahuwah came on Yeftah, and he passed over Gilead and Menasheh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Amon.
³⁰ Yeftah vowed a vow to Yahuwah, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Amon into my hand,
³¹ then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Amon, it shall be Yahuwah‘s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
³² So Yeftah passed over to the children of Amon to fight against them; and Yahuwah delivered them into his hand.
³³ He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Amon were subdued before the children of Yisra’el.
³⁴ Yeftah came to Mitzpah to his house; and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
³⁵ It happened, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahuwah, and I can’t go back.”
³⁶ She said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to Yahuwah; do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth, because Yahuwah has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even on the children of Amon.”
³⁷ She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.”
³⁸ He said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
³⁹ It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she was a virgin. It was a custom in Yisra’el,
⁴⁰ that the daughters of Yisra’el went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Yeftah the Gileadite four days in a year.

¹ The men of Efrayim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Yeftah, “Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Amon, and didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house around you with fire!”
² Yeftah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the children of Amon; and when I called you, you didn’t save me out of their hand.
³ When I saw that you didn’t save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Amon, and Yahuwah delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?”
⁴ Then Yeftah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Efrayim; and the men of Gilead struck Efrayim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Efrayim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Efrayim, and in the midst of Menasheh.”
⁵ The Gileadites took the fords of the Yarden against the Efrayimites. It was so, that when the fugitives of Efrayim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Efrayimite?” If he said, “No;”
⁶ then they said to him, “Now say ‘Shibboleth;’” and he said “Sibboleth;” for he couldn’t manage to pronounce it right: then they siezed him, and killed him at the fords of the Yarden. At that time, forty-two thousand of Efrayim fell.
⁷ Yeftah judged Yisra’el six years. Then Yeftah the Gileadite died, and was buried in the cities of Gilead.
⁸ After him Ibzan of Beit-Lechem judged Yisra’el.
⁹ He had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. He judged Yisra’el seven years.
¹⁰ Ibzan died, and was buried at Beit-Lechem .
¹¹ After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Yisra’el; and he judged Yisra’el ten years.
¹² Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Ayalon in the land of Zebulun.
¹³ After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Yisra’el.
¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons, who rode on seventy donkey colts: and he judged Yisra’el eight years.
¹⁵ Abdon the son of Hilel the Piratonite died, and was buried in Piraton in the land of Efrayim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

¹ The children of Yisra’el again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah; and Yahuwah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
² There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoach; and his wife was barren, and didn’t bear.
³ Melech Yahuwah (King Yahuwah) (transl.: the Angel of the Lord) appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren, and don’t bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
⁴ Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don’t eat any unclean thing:
⁵ for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to Elohim from the womb: and he shall begin to save Yisra’el out of the hand of the Philistines.”
⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of Elohim came to me, and his face was like the face of the Melech of Elohim (angel-messenger-king), very awesome; and I didn’t ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name:
⁷ but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to Elohim from the womb to the day of his death.’”
⁸ Then Manoach entreated Yahuwah, and said, “Oh, Lord, please let the man of Elohim whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born.”
⁹ Elohim listened to the voice of Manoach; and the Melech of Elohim came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoach, her husband, wasn’t with her.
¹⁰ The woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, “Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me that day.”
¹¹ Manoach arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” He said, “I am.”
¹² Manoach said, “Now let your words happen. What shall the child’s way of life and mission be?”
¹³ Melech Yahuwah said to Manoach, “Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
¹⁴ She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.”
¹⁵ Manoach said to Melech Yahuwah, “Please, let us detain you, that we may make a young goat ready for you.”
¹⁶ Melech Yahuwah said to Manoach, “Though you detain me, I won’t eat of your bread; and if you will prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to Yahuwah.” For Manoach didn’t know that he was Melech Yahuwah.
¹⁷ Manoach said to Melech Yahuwah, “What is your name, that when your words happen, we may honor you?”
¹⁸ Melech Yahuwah said to him, “Why do you ask about my name, since it is wonderful?”
¹⁹ So Manoach took the young goat with the meal offering, and offered it on the rock to Yahuwah. Then the angel did a wonderful thing as Manoach and his wife looked on.
²⁰ For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that Melech Yahuwah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoach and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
²¹ But Melech Yahuwah didn’t appear to Manoach or to his wife any more. Then Manoach knew that he was Melech Yahuwah.
²² Manoach said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen Elohim.”
²³ But his wife said to him, “If Yahuwah were pleased to kill us, he wouldn’t have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.”
²⁴ The woman bore a son, and named him Shimshon: and the child grew, and Yahuwah blessed him.
²⁵ the Spirit of Yahuwah began to move him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹ Shimshon went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
² He came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me as wife.”
³ Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there never a woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?” Shimshon said to his father, “Get her for me; for she pleases me well.”
⁴ But his father and his mother didn’t know that it was of Yahuwah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Yisra’el.
⁵ Then went Shimshon down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and behold, a young lion roared against him.
⁶ the Spirit of Yahuwah came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat; and he had nothing in his hand: but he didn’t tell his father or his mother what he had done.
⁷ He went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Shimshon well.
⁸ After a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.
⁹ He took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave to them, and they ate: but he didn’t tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
¹⁰ His father went down to the woman: and Shimshon made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
¹¹ It happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
¹² Shimshon said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;
¹³ but if you can’t declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” They said to him, “Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it.”
¹⁴ He said to them, “Out of the eater came forth food. Out of the strong came forth sweetness.” They couldn’t in three days declare the riddle.
¹⁵ It happened on the seventh day, that they said to Shimshon‘s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you called us to impoverish us? Is it not so?”
¹⁶ Shimshon‘s wife wept before him, and said, “You just hate me, and don’t love me. You have put forth a riddle to the children of my people, and haven’t told it me.” He said to her, “Behold, I haven’t told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?”
¹⁷ She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it happened on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him severely; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
¹⁸ The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” He said to them, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have found out my riddle.”
¹⁹ the Spirit of Yahuwah came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and struck thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
²⁰ But Shimshon‘s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

¹ But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Shimshon visited his wife with a young goat; and he said, “I will go in to my wife into the room.” But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in.
² Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.”
³ Shimshon said to them, “This time I will be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I harm them.”
⁴ Shimshon went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between every two tails.
⁵ When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
⁶ Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” They said, “Shimshon, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion.” The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
⁷ Shimshon said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.”
⁸ He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
⁹ Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Yehudah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
¹⁰ The men of Yehudah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Shimshon, to do to him as he has done to us.”
¹¹ Then three thousand men of Yehudah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Shimshon, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” He said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”
¹² They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Shimshon said to them, “Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.”
¹³ They spoke to him, saying, “No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand; but surely we will not kill you.” They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahuwah came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
¹⁵ He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
¹⁶ Shimshon said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.”
¹⁷ It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramat Lehi.
¹⁸ He was very thirsty, and called on Yahuwah, and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?”
¹⁹ But Elohim split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called Ein Hakore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
²⁰ He judged Yisra’el in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

¹ Shimshon went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
² The Gazites were told, “Shimshon is here!” They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, “Wait until morning light, then we will kill him.”
³ Shimshon lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
⁴ It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
⁵ The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
⁶ Delilah said to Shimshon, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and what you might be bound to afflict you.”
⁷ Shimshon said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”
⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
⁹ Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Shimshon!” He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
¹⁰ Delilah said to Shimshon, “Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now please tell me with which you might be bound.”
¹¹ He said to her, “If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”
¹² So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Shimshon!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
¹³ Delilah said to Shimshon, “Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.”
¹⁴ She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Shimshon!” He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
¹⁵ She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
¹⁶ It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death.
¹⁷ He told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to Elohim from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”
¹⁸ 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 has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
¹⁹ She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Shimshon!” He awoke out of his sleep, and said, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that Yahuwah had departed from him.
²¹ The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
²² However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
²³ The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their Elohim, and to rejoice; for they said, “Our Elohim has delivered Shimshon our enemy into our hand.”
²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their Elohim; for they said, “Our Elohim has delivered our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us, into our hand.”
²⁵ It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Shimshon, that he may entertain us.” They called for Shimshon out of the prison; and he performed before them. They set him between the pillars;
²⁶ and Shimshon said to the boy who held him by the hand, “Allow me to feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them.”
²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Shimshon performed.
²⁸ Shimshon called to Yahuwah, and said, “Lord Yahuwah, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, Elohim, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
²⁹ Shimshon took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
³⁰ Shimshon said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
³¹ Then his brothers 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 burial site of Ma Noach his father. He judged Yisra’el twenty years.

¹ There was a man of the hill country of Efrayim, whose name was Micah.
² He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” His mother said, “Blessed be my son of Yahuwah.”
³ He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahuwah from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”
⁴ When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.
⁵ The man Micah had a house of elohim, and he made an efod, and terafim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
⁶ In those days there was no king in Yisra’el: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
⁷ There was a young man out of Beit-Lechem Yehudah, of the family of Yehudah, who was a Levite; and he lived there.
⁸ The man departed out of the city, out of Beit-Lechem Yehudah, to live where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Efrayim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.
⁹ Micah said to him, “Where did you come from?” He said to him, “I am a Levite of Beit-Lechem Yehudah, and I am looking for a place to live.”
¹⁰ Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went in.
¹¹ The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.
¹² Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
¹³ Then Micah said, “Now know I that Yahuwah will do good to me, since I have a Levite to my priest.”

¹ In those days there was no king in Yisra’el: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Yisra’el.
² The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Efrayim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
³ When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”
⁴ He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest.”
⁵ They said to him, “Please ask counsel of Elohim, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
⁶ The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Yahuwah.”
⁷ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.
⁸ They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, “What do you say?”
⁹ They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.
¹⁰ When you go, you shall come to a secure people, and the land is large; for Elohim has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.”
¹¹ There set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
¹² They went up, and encamped in Kiriat Yearim, in Yehudah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan, to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriat Yearim.
¹³ They passed there to the hill country of Efrayim, and came to the house of Micah.
¹⁴ Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an efod, and terafim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”
¹⁵ They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.
¹⁶ The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.
¹⁷ The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the efod, and the terafim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
¹⁸ When these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the engraved image, the efod, and the terafim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
¹⁹ They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Yisra’el?”
²⁰ The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the efod, and the terafim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.
²¹ So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.
²² When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
²³ They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”
²⁴ He said, “You have taken away my elohim which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, ‘What ails you?’”
²⁵ The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”
²⁶ The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
²⁷ They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
²⁸ There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beit Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein.
²⁹ They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Yisra’el: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.
³⁰ The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Yonatan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moshe, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
³¹ So they set them up Micah’s engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of Elohim was in Shiloh.

¹ It happened in those days, when there was no king in Yisra’el, that there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Efrayim, who took to him a concubine out of Beit-Lechem Yehudah.
² His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Beit-Lechem Yehudah, and was there the space of four months.
³ Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
⁴ His father-in-law, the young lady’s father, retained him; and he stayed with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there.
⁵ It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.”
⁶ So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together: and the young lady’s father said to the man, “Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”
⁷ The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
⁸ He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady’s father said, “Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines;” and they both ate.
⁹ When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go on your way early, that you may go home.”
¹⁰ But the man wouldn’t stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Yebus (the same is Yerushalayim): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.
¹¹ When they were by Yebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Yebusites, and lodge in it.”
¹² His master said to him, “We won’t turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Yisra’el; but we will pass over to Gibeah.”
¹³ He said to his servant, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.”
¹⁴ So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Binyamin.
¹⁵ They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to lodge.
¹⁶ Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening: now the man was of the hill country of Efrayim, and he lived in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Binyaminite.
¹⁷ He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
¹⁸ He said to him, “We are passing from Beit-Lechem Yehudah to the farther side of the hill country of Efrayim. I am from there, and I went to Beit-Lechem Yehudah. I am going to the house of Yahuwah; and there is no man who takes me into his house.
¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything.”
²⁰ The old man said, “Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don’t lodge in the street.”
²¹ So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet, and ate and drink.
²² As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may have sex with him!”
²³ The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, don’t do this folly.
²⁴ Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man don’t do any such folly.”
²⁵ But the men wouldn’t listen to him: so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning: and when the day began to dawn, they let her go.
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, until it was light.
²⁷ 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, with her hands on the threshold.
²⁸ He said to her, “Get up, and let us be going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.
²⁹ When he had come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Yisra’el.
³⁰ It was so, that all who saw it said, “There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Yisra’el came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

¹ Then all the children of Yisra’el went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahuwah at Mitzpah.
² The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Yisra’el, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of Elohim, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword.
³ (Now the children of Binyamin heard that the children of Yisra’el had gone up to Mitzpah.) The children of Yisra’el said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness happen?”
⁴ The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, “I came into Gibeah that belongs to Binyamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
⁵ The men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house by night. They thought to have slain me, and they forced my concubine, and she is dead.
⁶ I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Yisra’el; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Yisra’el.
⁷ Behold, you children of Yisra’el, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.”
⁸ All the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, neither will any of us turn to his house.
⁹ But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot;
¹⁰ and we will take ten men of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Yisra’el, and one hundred of one thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to get food for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Binyamin, according to all the folly that they have worked in Yisra’el.”
¹¹ So all the men of Yisra’el were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
¹² The tribes of Yisra’el sent men through all the tribe of Binyamin, saying, “What wickedness is this that is happen among you?
¹³ Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Yisra’el.” But Binyamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Yisra’el.
¹⁴ The children of Binyamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Yisra’el.
¹⁵ The children of Binyamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
¹⁶ Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
¹⁷ The men of Yisra’el, besides Binyamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all these were men of war.
¹⁸ The children of Yisra’el arose, and went up to Beit-El , and asked counsel of Elohim; and they said, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Binyamin?” Yahuwah said, “Yehudah first.”
¹⁹ The children of Yisra’el rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
²⁰ The men of Yisra’el went out to battle against Binyamin; and the men of Yisra’el set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
²¹ The children of Binyamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Yisra’elites on that day twenty-two thousand men.
²² The people, the men of Yisra’el, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.
²³ The children of Yisra’el went up and wept before Yahuwah until evening; and they asked of Yahuwah, saying, “Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Binyamin my brother?” Yahuwah said, “Go up against him.”
²⁴ The children of Yisra’el came near against the children of Binyamin the second day.
²⁵ Binyamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Yisra’el again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
²⁶ Then all the children of Yisra’el, and all the people, went up, and came to Beit-El , and wept, and sat there before Yahuwah, and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahuwah.
²⁷ The children of Yisra’el asked of Yahuwah (for the ark of the covenant of Elohim was there in those days,
²⁸ and Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aharon, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Binyamin my brother, or shall I cease?” Yahuwah said, “Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.”
²⁹ Yisra’el set ambushes all around Gibeah.
³⁰ The children of Yisra’el went up against the children of Binyamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
³¹ The children of Binyamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Beit-El , and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Yisra’el.
³² The children of Binyamin said, “They are struck down before us, as at the first.” But the children of Yisra’el said, “Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.”
³³ All the men of Yisra’el rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal Tamar: and the ambushers of Yisra’el broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba.
³⁴ There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Yisra’el, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that evil was close on them.
³⁵ Yahuwah struck Binyamin before Yisra’el; and the children of Yisra’el destroyed of Binyamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.
³⁶ So the children of Binyamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Yisra’el gave place to Binyamin, because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah.
³⁷ The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.
³⁸ Now the appointed sign between the men of Yisra’el and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.
³⁹ The men of Yisra’el turned in the battle, and Binyamin began to strike and kill of the men of Yisra’el about thirty persons; for they said, “Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.”
⁴⁰ But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Binyaminite looked behind them; and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the sky.
⁴¹ The men of Yisra’el turned, and the men of Binyamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them.
⁴² Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Yisra’el to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in its midst.
⁴³ They surrounded the Binyaminite, chased them, and trod them down at their resting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrise.
⁴⁴ There fell of Binyamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.
⁴⁵ They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.
⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Binyamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.
⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and stayed in the rock of Rimmon four months.
⁴⁸ The men of Yisra’el turned again on the children of Binyamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the livestock, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.

¹ Now the men of Yisra’el had sworn in Mitzpah, saying, “There shall not any of us give his daughter to Binyamin as wife.”
² The people came to Beit-El , and sat there until evening before Elohim, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.
³ They said, “Yahuwah, the Elohim of Yisra’el, why has this happened in Yisra’el, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Yisra’el?”
⁴ It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
⁵ The children of Yisra’el said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Yisra’el who didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahuwah?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn’t come up to Yahuwah to Mitzpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”
⁶ The children of Yisra’el grieved for Binyamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Yisra’el this day.
⁷ How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by Yahuwah that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”
⁸ They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Yisra’el who didn’t come up to Yahuwah to Mitzpah?” Behold, there came none to the camp from Yabesh Gilead to the assembly.
⁹ For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Yabesh Gilead there.
¹⁰ The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Yabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
¹¹ This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.”
¹² They found among the inhabitants of Yabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Kanaan.
¹³ The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Binyamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
¹⁴ Binyamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Yabesh Gilead: and yet so they weren’t enough for them.
¹⁵ The people grieved for Binyamin, because that Yahuwah had made a breach in the tribes of Yisra’el.
¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Binyamin?”
¹⁷ They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Binyamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Yisra’el.
¹⁸ However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Yisra’el had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Binyamin.’”
¹⁹ They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahuwah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beit-El , on the east side of the highway that goes up from Beit-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”
²⁰ They commanded the children of Binyamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
²¹ and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Binyamin.
²² It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we didn’t take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.’”
²³ The children of Binyamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.
²⁴ The children of Yisra’el departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.
²⁵ In those days there was no king in Yisra’el: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.