The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
So Gideon and his servant Purah went to the edge of the camp. 12Midian, Amalek, and all of Kedem were spread out in the valley like a swarm of locusts. There were so many camels that they could not be counted. They were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Judges 8
1The men from Ephraim strongly protested Gideon’s actions. They said, “Why did you do this to us? You didn’t invite us to go fight Midian with you.”
2Gideon replied, “I haven’t done anything compared with what you have done. Aren’t the grapes that Ephraim picked after the harvest better than all the grapes in Abiezer’s entire harvest? 3God handed Oreb and Zeeb, Midian’s commanders, over to you. What have I done compared with that?” When they heard what Gideon said, they weren’t angry with him anymore.
4Gideon and his 300 men headed toward the Jordan River. They were exhausted when they crossed it, but they kept pursuing the enemy. 5So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give me some food for the men under my command. They’re exhausted, and I’m pursuing King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian.”
6The generals at Succoth replied, “We shouldn’t give your army food. You haven’t captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”
7Gideon responded, “Alright, then. When the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I’ll whip your bodies with thorns and thistles from the desert.”
8Then Gideon went to Penuel and asked the people there for the same help. But they gave him the same reply that the men of Succoth gave. 9So he told them, “When I come back after my victory, I’ll tear down this tower.”
10Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with an army of about 15,000 men. This was all that was left of Kedem’s entire army. In the battle, 120,000 soldiers died. 11So Gideon went up Tent Dwellers Road, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and defeated the unsuspecting Midianite army. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled as Gideon pursued them. He captured King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian, and the whole Midianite army panicked.
13Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass 14and captured a young man from Succoth. He questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the 77 officials and leaders of Succoth. 15Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me when you said, ‘We shouldn’t give your exhausted men food before you’ve captured Zebah and Zalmunna.’ ” 16So Gideon took the leaders of the city and taught them a lesson using thorns and thistles from the desert. 17Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of that city.
18He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”
They answered, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”
19Gideon replied, “They were my brothers, my mother’s sons. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not have to kill you now.” 20Then he told Jether, his firstborn son, “Get up and kill them!” But Jether didn’t draw his sword. He was afraid because he was only a young man.
21Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and do it yourself! It’s a man’s job!” So Gideon got up and killed them. Then he took the half-moon ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
Gideon Makes a Gold Idol
22The men of Israel said to Gideon, “You, then your son, and then your grandson, must rule us. You rescued us from Midian.”
23Gideon replied, “I will not rule you nor will my son. The Lord will rule you.” 24Then Gideon said to them, “Do me a favor. Each of you give me the earrings from your loot.” (Their enemies, the Ishmaelites, wore gold earrings.)
25The men of Israel answered, “Yes, we’ll give them to you.” So they spread out a coat. Each man took the earrings from his loot and dropped them on it. 26The gold earrings Gideon had asked for weighed 40 pounds. This did not include the half-moon ornaments, the earrings, the purple clothes worn by the kings of Midian, and the chains from their camels’ necks. 27Then Gideon used the gold to make an idol (Or “ephod,” a technical term for a part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.) and placed it in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel chased after it there as though it were a prostitute. It became a trap for Gideon and his family.
28The power of Midian was crushed by the people of Israel, and Midian never again became a threat. So the land had peace for 40 years during Gideon’s life.
29Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went home to live. 30Gideon had 70 sons because he had many wives. 31His concubine (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) at Shechem also gave birth to a son. That son was named Abimelech.
32Gideon, son of Joash, died at a very old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah, the city belonging to Abiezer’s family.
33As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel chased after other gods—the Baals—as though they were prostitutes. They made Baal Berith their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies around them. 35And they were not kind to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) despite all the good he had done for Israel.
Judges 9
Abimelech Kills His Brothers
1Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal [Gideon], went to Shechem to see the uncles on his mother’s side of the family. He spoke to them and his mother’s whole family. 2He said, “Please ask all citizens of Shechem, ‘What seems best to you? Do you really want all of Jerubbaal’s 70 sons to rule you or just one man? Remember, I’m your own flesh and blood.’ ”
3His uncles repeated everything he said to all citizens of Shechem. They were persuaded to follow Abimelech because he was their relative. 4So they gave him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of Baal Berith. With the silver, Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men to follow him. 5Then he went to his father’s home in Ophrah. There he executed his 70 brothers, Jerubbaal’s sons. But Jotham, Jerubbaal’s youngest son, survived because he hid. 6All the citizens from Shechem and Beth Millo united. They went to the oak tree that was still standing in Shechem and proclaimed Abimelech king.
Jotham’s Story
7When Jotham was told about this, he went to a high spot on Mount Gerizim. He shouted to them, “Listen to me, you citizens of Shechem, so that God might listen to you.
8 “The trees went to anoint someone to be king over them.
They said to the olive tree,
‘Be our king!’
9 But the olive tree responded,
‘Should I stop producing oil,
which people use to honor gods and humans,
in order to rule the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You come and be our king!’
11 But the fig tree responded,
‘Should I stop producing my good, sweet fruit
in order to rule the trees?’
12 Then the trees said to the grapevine,
‘You come and be our king!’
13 But the grapevine responded,
‘Should I stop producing my wine,
which makes gods and humans happy,
in order to rule the trees?’
14 Then all the trees said to the thornbush,
‘You come and be our king!’
15 But the thornbush responded to the trees,
‘If you really want to anoint me to be your king,
then come and take shelter in my shade.
But if not, fire will come out of the thornbush
and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.’
16“If you acted with sincerity and integrity when you made Abimelech king, ⌞be happy.⌟ If you treated Jerubbaal and his family well, if you treated him as he deserved, be happy. 17My father fought for you. He risked his life and rescued you from Midian. 18But today you have attacked my father’s family. You have executed his 70 sons. You have made Abimelech, who is the son of my father’s slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem just because he’s your brother. 19So if you are now acting with sincerity and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his family, then be happy with Abimelech and let Abimelech be happy with you. 20But if that’s not the case, let fire come out of Abimelech and burn up citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo. Also let fire come out of citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo and burn up Abimelech.”
21Then Jotham ran away quickly. He went to Beerah and lived there ⌞to avoid⌟ his brother Abimelech.
Abimelech’s Battles
22Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23Then God sent an evil spirit to cause problems between Abimelech and citizens of Shechem. So citizens of Shechem turned against Abimelech. 24God did this so that the bloody violence committed against Jerubbaal’s 70 sons would happen to Abimelech and citizens of Shechem. Citizens of Shechem had helped Abimelech execute his brothers.
25So citizens of Shechem set ambushes for Abimelech on top of the mountains. They also robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. This was reported to Abimelech.
26Then Gaal (son of Ebed) and his brothers moved into Shechem. Citizens of Shechem trusted him. 27They went into the country and harvested grapes in the vineyards to make wine. Then they made an offering of praise in the temple of their gods. They ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. 28Gaal (son of Ebed) said, “Who’s Abimelech, and who are we, the people of Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he Jerubbaal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his officer? Serve the descendants of Hamor, Shechem’s father! Why should we serve Abimelech? 29How I wish I controlled these people! Then I’d get rid of Abimelech. I would tell him, (Greek; Masoretic Text “So he said to Abimelech.”) ‘Get yourself a big army and come out.’ ”
30Zebul, Shechem’s ruler, heard what Gaal (son of Ebed) had said, and he became angry. 31He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech. “Watch out! Gaal (son of Ebed) and his brothers have come to Shechem. They have turned the city against you. 32You and your men must start out tonight. Set an ambush ⌞for them⌟ in the fields ⌞around Shechem⌟. 33In the morning, when the sun rises, get up quickly and raid the city. When Gaal and his men come out to attack you, do whatever you want to him.”
34Abimelech and all his troops started out at night. He used four companies to set ambushes around Shechem. 35Gaal (son of Ebed) went out and stood at the entrance to the city. Then Abimelech and his troops rose from their ambush. 36When Gaal saw the troops, he said to Zebul, “Look, troops are coming down from the mountaintops!”
Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”
37Gaal spoke again, “No, there are troops coming down from Tabbur Haares. One company is coming along the road by the Fortunetellers’ Tree.”
38Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your big mouth now? You were the one who said, ‘Who’s Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Aren’t these the troops ⌞whose ruler⌟ you despised? Now go out and fight him.”
39Then Gaal led citizens of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. 40Abimelech chased Gaal so that he ran away from him. Many were killed at the entrance of the city. 41Abimelech continued to live at Arumah. Zebul threw Gaal and his brothers out and would not let them live in Shechem.
42The next day the people ⌞of Shechem⌟ went into the fields. Abimelech was told about it. 43So he took his troops, divided them into three companies, and set an ambush in the fields. He watched and saw the people coming out of the city. Then he began to attack them. 44Abimelech and his company charged the city and captured its entrance. The other two companies charged at everyone in the fields and attacked them. 45Abimelech attacked the city all day long. He captured the city and killed the people in it. He also tore down the city and scattered salt all over the land.
46All the citizens of Shechem’s Tower heard about it and went into the basement of the temple of El Berith. 47When Abimelech was told that they had gathered there, 48he and all his men went to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took an ax, cut some brushwood, and carried it on his shoulder. He told his men, “Hurry and do what you’ve seen me do!” 49So all his troops also cut brushwood and followed Abimelech. They piled the brushwood on top of the basement and set it on fire with the people inside. So all the people in Shechem’s Tower died too. There were about a thousand men and women.
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, camped there, and captured it. 51Now, there was a strong tower inside the town. All the men, women, and leaders of the town fled to it. They locked the door behind them and went up on the roof of the tower. 52Abimelech came to the tower. He began to fight against it and went near the entrance of the tower to burn it down. 53Then a woman threw a small millstone that hit Abimelech on the head and cracked his skull. 54He quickly called his armorbearer. He told him, “Take your sword and kill me! I don’t want anyone to say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’ ” His armorbearer did as he said, so Abimelech died. 55When the people of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
56So God paid back Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father when he killed his 70 brothers. 57God also paid back the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham, son of Jerubbaal, came true.
Judges 10
Tola Serves as Judge
1After Abimelech, Tola, who was the son of Puah and grandson of Dodo, came to rescue Israel. Tola was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. 2He judged Israel for 23 years. Tola died and was buried in Shamir.
Jair Serves as Judge
3After Tola, Jair from Gilead became a judge. He judged Israel for 22 years. 4Jair had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys. He also had 30 towns that are still called Havvoth Jair to this day. They are in the region of Gilead. 5Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
Israel Sins Again
6The people of Israel again did what the Lord considered evil. They began to serve other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Astartes—and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not serve him.
7The Lord became angry with the people of Israel. So he used the Philistines and Ammonites to defeat them. 8They oppressed and crushed the people of Israel that year. For 18 years they oppressed all who lived east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites in Gilead. 9Ammon also crossed the Jordan River to fight the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. So Israel suffered a great deal.
10Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and served other gods—the Baals.”
11The Lord said to the people of Israel, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to me for help. Didn’t I rescue you from them? 13But you still abandoned me and served other gods. That’s why I won’t rescue you again. 14Cry out for help to the gods you chose. Let them rescue you when you’re in trouble.”
15The people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do to us whatever you think is right. But please rescue us today!” 16Then they got rid of the foreign gods they had and served the Lord. So the Lord could not bear to have Israel suffer any longer.
17The troops of Ammon were summoned to fight, and they camped at Gilead. The people of Israel also gathered together and camped at Mizpah. 18The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever starts the fight against Ammon will rule everyone who lives in Gilead.”
Judges 11
Jephthah Called to Be Judge
1Jephthah was a soldier from the region of Gilead. Jephthah’s father was named Gilead. His mother was a prostitute. 2Gilead’s wife also gave birth to sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they threw Jephthah out. They told him, “You’ll get no inheritance from our father. You’re the son of that other woman.” 3Jephthah fled from his brothers. He went to live in the land of Tob. Worthless men gathered around Jephthah and went out ⌞on raids⌟ with him.
4Later, Ammon waged war with Israel. 5When the Ammonites attacked Israel, Gilead’s leaders went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander so that we can wage war against Ammon.”
7But Jephthah replied to Gilead’s leaders, “Don’t you hate me? Didn’t you throw me out of my father’s house? So why are you coming to me now when you’re in trouble?”
8Gilead’s leaders answered Jephthah, “The reason we’ve turned to you now is that we want you to go with us and wage war against Ammon. You will be the ruler of everyone who lives in Gilead.”
9Jephthah told them, “If you take me back to fight against Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”
10Gilead’s leaders said to Jephthah, “The Lord is a witness between us. We will certainly do what you say.” 11Jephthah went with them, and the people made him their leader and commander. So Jephthah went to Mizpah and repeated all these things in the presence of the Lord.
The King of Ammon Refuses to Deal with Jephthah
12Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon. They asked the king, “Why did you invade my land and wage war against me?”
13The king of Ammon answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When the people of Israel left Egypt, they took my land. It stretched from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and the Jordan River. Now give it back peacefully.”
14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of Ammon. 15They said, “This is what Jephthah says: The people of Israel didn’t take away the land belonging to Moab or Ammon. 16When the people of Israel left Egypt, they went through the desert to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17The people of Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom. They said, ‘Please let us go through your country.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t listen to them. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab. But he wouldn’t allow it, either. So the people of Israel remained at Kadesh.
18“Then they went through the desert, by-passing Edom and Moab. They camped east of Moab—east of the Arnon River. They did not cross the Arnon River because it was Moab’s border.
19“Then the people of Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites. Sihon ruled from Heshbon. The people of Israel said to him, ‘Please let us go through your land to our own.’ 20But Sihon did not trust the Israelites enough to let them go through his territory. Sihon assembled all his troops. He camped at Jahaz and attacked Israel. 21But the Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and all his people over to Israel. Israel defeated them and took possession of all the land of the Amorites who lived there. 22Israel took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and from the desert to the Jordan River.
23“The Lord God of Israel forced the Amorites out of the way of his people Israel. So what right do you have to take it back? 24Shouldn’t you take possession of what your god Chemosh took for you? Shouldn’t we take everything the Lord our God took for us? 25You’re not any better than Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, are you? Did he ever have a case against Israel? Or did he ever fight against Israel? 26Israel has now lived in Heshbon, Aroer, all their villages, and in all the cities along the Arnon River for 300 years. Why didn’t you recapture these cities during that time? 27I haven’t sinned against you. But you have done wrong by waging war against me. The Lord is the judge who will decide today whether Israel or Ammon is right.”
28But the king of Ammon didn’t listen to the message Jephthah sent him.
Jephthah’s Vow
29Then the Lord’s Spirit came over Jephthah. Jephthah went through Gilead, Manasseh, and Mizpah in Gilead ⌞to gather an army⌟. From Mizpah in Gilead Jephthah went to attack Ammon.
30Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you will really hand Ammon over to me, 31then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from Ammon will belong to the Lord. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
32So Jephthah went to fight against Ammon. The Lord handed the people of Ammon over to him. 33He defeated them from Aroer to Minnith and on to Abel Keramim, 20 cities in all. It was a decisive defeat. So the Ammonites were crushed by the people of Israel.
34When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, he saw his daughter coming out to meet him. She was dancing with tambourines in her hands. She was his only child. Jephthah had no other sons or daughters. 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes in grief and said, “Oh no, Daughter! You’ve brought me to my knees! What disaster you’ve brought me! I made a foolish promise to the Lord. Now I can’t break it.”
36She said to him, “Father, you made a promise to the Lord. Do to me whatever you promised since the Lord has punished your enemy Ammon.” 37Then she said to her father, “Do me a favor. Give me two months for my friends and me to walk in the mountains and mourn that I will never have an opportunity to get married.”
38“Go!” he said, and he sent her off for two months. She and her friends went to the mountains, and she cried about never being able to get married. 39At the end of those two months she came back to her father. He did to her what he had vowed, and she never had a husband. So the custom began in Israel 40that for four days every year the girls in Israel would go out to sing the praises of the daughter of Jephthah, the man from Gilead.
Judges 12
Ephraim’s Jealousy
1The men of Ephraim were summoned to fight. They crossed ⌞the Jordan River⌟ to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you fight against Ammon without inviting us to go with you? Now we’re going to burn your house down with you in it.”
2Jephthah answered, “My people and I were involved in a legal dispute with Ammon. I asked you for help, but you didn’t rescue me from them. 3When I saw that you would not rescue me, I risked my life and went to fight the people of Ammon. The Lord handed them over to me. So why did you come to fight against me today?”
4Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim. ⌞They did this because⌟ Ephraim had said, “You people from Gilead are nothing but fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
5The men of Gilead captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River leading back to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he answered, “No,” 6they would tell him, “Say the word shibboleth.” If the fugitive would say sibboleth, because he couldn’t pronounce the word correctly, they would grab him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. At that time 42,000 men from Ephraim died.
7Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah of Gilead died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Ibzan Serves as Judge
8After Jephthah, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel. 9He had 30 sons and 30 daughters. His sons and daughters married people from outside their own families. He judged Israel for seven years. 10When Ibzan died, he was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon Serves as Judge
11After Ibzan, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel. He judged Israel for ten years. 12When Elon died, he was buried in Aijalon in the territory of Zebulun.
Abdon Serves as Judge
13After Elon, Abdon, son of Hillel, from Pirathon judged Israel. 14He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years. 15When Abdon died, he was buried in Pirathon, in the territory of Ephraim, in the mountains of Amalek.
Judges 13
The Messenger of the LORD Appears to Samson’s Parents
1The people of Israel again did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for 40 years.
2There was a man from Zorah named Manoah. Manoah was from the family of Dan. His wife was not able to have children. 3The Messenger of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You’ve never been able to have a child, but now you will become pregnant and have a son. 4Now you must be careful. Don’t drink any wine or liquor or eat any unclean (“Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.) food. 5You’re going to become pregnant and have a son. You must never cut his hair because the boy will be a Nazirite dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.”
6The woman went to tell her husband. She said, “A man of God came to me. He had a very frightening appearance like the Messenger of God. So I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7He told me, ‘You’re going to become pregnant and have a son. So don’t drink any wine or liquor or eat any unclean food because the boy will be a Nazirite dedicated to God from the time he is born until he dies.’ ”
8Then Manoah pleaded with the Lord, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come back to us. Let him teach us what we must do for the boy who will be born.”
9God did what Manoah asked. The Messenger of God came back to his wife while she was sitting out in the fields. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 10The woman ran quickly to tell her husband. She said, “The man who came to me the other day has just appeared to me ⌞again⌟.”
11Manoah immediately followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
“Yes,” he answered.
12Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, how should the boy live and what should he do?”
13The Messenger of the Lord answered Manoah, “Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her to do. 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevines, drink any wine or liquor, or eat any unclean food. She must be careful to do everything I commanded.”
15Manoah said to the Messenger of the Lord, “Please stay while we prepare a young goat for you to eat.”
16But the Messenger of the Lord responded, “If I stay here, I will not eat any of your food. But if you make a burnt offering, sacrifice it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the Messenger of the Lord.)
17Then Manoah asked the Messenger of the Lord, “What is your name? When your words come true, we will honor you.”
18The Messenger of the Lord asked him, “Why do you ask for my name? It’s a name that works miracles.”
19So Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and sacrificed them to the Lord on a rock he used as an altar. While Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord did something miraculous. 20As the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Messenger of the Lord went up in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they immediately bowed down with their faces touching the ground.
21The Messenger of the Lord didn’t appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that this had been the Messenger of the Lord. 22So Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die because we have seen God.”
23But Manoah’s wife replied, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He would not have let us see or hear all these things just now.”
24So the woman had a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him. 25The Lord’s Spirit began to stir in him while he was at Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14
Samson Marries a Philistine
1When Samson went to Timnah, he saw a young Philistine woman. 2He went ⌞home⌟ and told his father and mother, “I’ve seen a Philistine woman at Timnah. Now get her for me so that I can marry her.”
3His father and mother asked him, “Aren’t there any women among our relatives or all our people? Do you have to marry a woman from those godless Philistines?”
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She’s the one I want!” 4His father and mother didn’t know that the Lord was behind this. The Lord was looking for an opportunity to do something to the Philistines. (At that time the Philistines were ruling Israel.)
5Samson went with his father and mother to Timnah. When they were coming to the vineyards of Timnah, a young roaring lion met Samson. 6The Lord’s Spirit came over him. With his bare hands, he tore the lion apart as if it were a young goat. He didn’t tell his parents what he had done.
7Then he went to talk to the young woman. She was the one he wanted. 8Later he went back to marry her. ⌞On his way⌟ he left the road to look at the lion he had killed. He saw a swarm of bees and some honey in the lion’s dead body. 9He scraped ⌞the honey⌟ into his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he came to his father and mother, he gave them some of the honey to eat. He didn’t tell them he had scraped it out of the lion’s dead body.
10After his father went to see the woman, Samson threw a party. (This is what young men used to do.) 11When ⌞her family⌟ saw him, they chose 30 of their friends to be with him.
12Then Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve it during the seven days of the party, I’ll give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes. 13But if you can’t solve it, you will give me the same things.”
They responded, “Tell us your riddle! Let’s hear it!”
14So Samson said to them,
“From the eater
came something to eat.
From the strong one
came something sweet.”
For three days they couldn’t solve the riddle. 15On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Trick your husband into solving the riddle for us. If you don’t, we’ll burn you and your family to death. Did the two of you invite us ⌞just to make us poor⌟?”
16So Samson’s wife cried on his shoulder. She said, “You hate me! You don’t really love me! You gave my friends a riddle and didn’t tell me the answer.”
Samson replied, “I haven’t even told my father and mother, so why should I tell you?”
17But she cried on his shoulder for the rest of the seven days of the party. Finally, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she made his life miserable. Then she told her friends the answer to the riddle.
18So before sundown on the seventh day, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Samson replied,
“If you hadn’t used my cow to plow,
you wouldn’t know my riddle now.”
19When the Lord’s Spirit came over him, he went to Ashkelon and killed 30 men there. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who solved the riddle. He was angry, and he went to his father’s house. 20Samson’s wife was given to his best man.
Judges 15
Samson Serves as Judge
1Later, during the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat along for her. He said, “I’m going to sleep with my wife in her bedroom.”
But her father would not let him go in. 2Her father said, “I thought you hated her. So I gave her to your best man. Isn’t her younger sister better looking? Marry her instead!”
3Samson said to him, “This time I won’t be guilty when I get even with the Philistines, even though I’m going to do something terrible to them.” 4So Samson caught 300 foxes. He tied them together in pairs by their tails. Then he fastened a torch between their tails. 5He set the torches on fire and released the foxes in the Philistines’ grain fields. So he set fire to all their grain, whether it was stacked or in the fields. Their olive orchards also caught on fire.
6Some Philistines asked, “Who did this?”
They were told, “Samson! He’s the son-in-law of the man at Timnah. Samson did it because the man at Timnah took Samson’s wife and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death.
7Samson said to them, “If that’s how you’re going to act, I’ll get even with you before I stop.” 8So he attacked them violently and slaughtered them. Then he went to live in a cave in the cliff at Etam.
9The Philistines came, camped in Judah, and overran Lehi. 10The men of Judah asked, “Why did you come to fight us?”
The Philistines answered, “We’ve come to tie up Samson and do to him what he did to us.”
11So 3,000 men from Judah went to the cave in the cliff at Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines rule us? Why have you done this to us?”
Samson replied, “I did to them what they did to me.”
12So the men from Judah told him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you won’t harm me yourselves.”
13They told him, “We promise we’ll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We certainly won’t kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him back from the cliff.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines met him with shouts ⌞of triumph⌟. But the Lord’s Spirit came over him. The ropes on his arms became like strings burned in a fire, and those on his hands snapped.
15Samson found the jawbone from a donkey that had just died. He picked it up and killed 1,000 men with it. 16Then Samson said,
“With a jawbone from a donkey,
I’ve made two piles of them.
With a jawbone from a donkey,
I’ve killed a thousand men.”
17When he finished saying this, he threw the jawbone away. He called that place Ramath Lehi [Jawbone Hill].
18Samson was very thirsty. So he called out to the Lord and said, “You have given me this great victory. But now I’ll die from thirst and fall into the power of godless men.”
19So God split open the hollow place at Lehi, and water gushed out. Samson drank some water. Then he was refreshed and revived. So he called the place En Hakkore [Spring of the One Who Calls Out]. It is still there at Lehi today.
20Samson judged Israel for 20 years during the time of the Philistines.
Judges 16
1Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her. 2The people of Gaza were told, “Samson’s here!” So they surrounded the place and waited all night at the city gate to ambush him. They were quiet all night. They thought, “We’ll kill him at dawn.”
3But Samson was in bed ⌞with the prostitute⌟ only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron.
Samson and Delilah
4After ⌞leaving Gaza⌟, he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah. 5The Philistine rulers came to her and said, “Trick him, and find out what makes him so strong. Find out how we can overpower him. We want to tie him up in order to torture him. Each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?”
7Samson told her, “If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man.”
8The Philistine rulers brought her seven new bowstrings that were not dried out. She tied Samson up with them. 9Some men were hiding in the bedroom waiting for her ⌞to tie him up⌟. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson snapped the bowstrings as a thread snaps when it touches fire. So no one found out why he was so strong.
10Delilah told Samson, “Look, you’re making fun of me by telling me lies. Now, tell me how you can be tied up.”
11Samson told her, “If someone ties me up tightly with new ropes that have never been used, I will be like any other man.”
12So Delilah took some new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Some men were in her bedroom waiting to ambush him. But Samson tore the ropes off his arms as though they were strings.
13Delilah told Samson, “You’re still making fun of me by telling me lies. Tell me how you can be tied up.”
Samson replied, “Just weave the seven braids of my hair with the other threads in the loom.”
14So Delilah tied his braids to the loom shuttle. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” But Samson woke up and tore his braids and the threads out of the loom shuttle.
15Delilah said to Samson, “How can you say that you love me when your heart isn’t mine? You’ve made fun of me three times now, but you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong.”
16Every day she made his life miserable with her questions. She pestered him until he wished he were dead. 17Finally, he told her the truth. He told her, “Because I’m a Nazirite, no one has ever cut the hair on my head. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If my hair is ever shaved off, my strength will leave me. Then I’ll be like any other man.”
18When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, “Come here once more.” (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands.
19Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him. 20She said, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson woke up. He thought, “I’ll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.” (He didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.) 21The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there.
22But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off.
23Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, “Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 24When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said,
“Our god gave our enemy,
destroyer of our land
and killer of so many,
into our very hand!”
25When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, “Call Samson in to entertain us.”
Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns. 26Samson told the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Let me rest. Let me touch the columns on which the building stands so that I can lean against them.” 27The building was filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women who watched Samson entertain them.
28Then Samson called to the Lord, “Almighty Lord, please remember me! God, give me strength just one more time! Let me get even with the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes.” 29Samson felt the two middle columns on which the building stood. With his right hand on one column and his left on the other, he pushed hard against them. 30“Let me die with the Philistines,” he said. With that, he pushed with all his might, and the building fell on the rulers and everyone in it. So he killed more Philistines when he died than he had when he was alive.
31Then his relatives and his father’s whole family went to Gaza. They took Samson and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah.
Samson had judged Israel for 20 years.
Judges 17
Micah’s Idolatry
1There was a man named Micah from the mountain region of Ephraim. 2He told his mother, “You were upset about the 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you. I even heard you put a curse on them. Here’s the silver. I took it!”
His mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!”
3So Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother. Then his mother said, “I dedicate this silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit. I want to make a carved idol and a metal idol. So now I’m giving the silver back to you.”
4When Micah returned the silver to his mother, she took 200 pieces of the silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made a carved idol and a metal idol. Both were placed in Micah’s home. 5Micah owned a shrine. He also made an ephod (Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.) and household idols. He ordained one of his sons to be his priest. 6In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right.
7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. (Bethlehem belongs to the family of Judah.) He was a Levite but was living in Bethlehem. 8This man left Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could find ⌞a place⌟. He came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim to carry on his work.
9Micah asked him, “Where do you come from?”
The man told him, “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I’m going to live wherever I can find ⌞a place⌟.”
10Micah told him, “Stay with me! Be a father and a priest to me. I’ll give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your room and board.”
The Levite accepted the offer 11and agreed to live with Micah. The young man became like one of Micah’s sons. 12Micah ordained the Levite. So the young man became his priest and a part of his family.
13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. I have a Levite for my priest.”
Judges 18
Micah Brings Idolatry to the Tribe of Dan
1In those days Israel didn’t have a king. And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. Up to that time they had not received land as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel as they should have. 2So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, “Go and explore the land!”
They came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there. 3While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s voice. So they stopped to ask him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”
4The Levite told them what Micah had done for him and added, “Micah hired me, so I became his priest.”
5They said to him, “Please find out from God if our journey will be successful.”
6The priest told them, “Go in peace. The Lord approves of your journey.”
7The five men left there and came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived without a care. These people were like the people of Sidon. They were peaceful and secure. There was no one around who threatened to take away their property by force. They were far from the people of Sidon and totally independent.
8The men went back to their relatives in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”
9They replied, “Get up, let’s attack Laish. We saw the land. It’s very good!
“Don’t just sit there! Go at once and take the land. 10When you get there, you will come to a secure people. The land is wide open to you. God will hand it over to you. It’s a place where you will have everything you could want.”
11So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol armed for war. 12They camped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place just west of Kiriath Jearim is still called Mahaneh Dan [The Camp of Dan] today. 13From there they marched to the mountains of Ephraim as far as Micah’s house. 14Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, “Do you know that there’s an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?”
15So they stopped and entered Micah’s house and greeted the young Levite. 16The 600 armed men from Dan stood at the entrance to the city. 17The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men. 18When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”
19They told him, “Keep quiet! Don’t say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man’s house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?”
20The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people. 21When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.
22When they had already gone some distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors were called together to help him catch up to the people of Dan. 23They shouted at them. But the people of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s your problem? Why did you call your neighbors together to attack us?”
24Micah answered, “You’ve taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s your problem?’ ”
25The people of Dan replied, “Don’t make another sound, or some violent men will attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives.” 26The people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were stronger than he was, so he turned around and went home.
27The people of Dan took what Micah had made and the man who had become his priest and went to the city of Laish. They attacked a peaceful and secure people, killed them all with swords, and burned their city. 28There was no one to rescue them because their city was far from Sidon and totally independent. The city was in the valley that belonged to Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29They named the city Dan in honor of their ancestor Dan, Israel’s son. Originally, the city was called Laish.
30The people of Dan set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses) and his descendants were priests for Dan’s tribe until the people living in that land were taken captive. 31So they set up for themselves the carved idol Micah had made. It stayed there the whole time the house of God was at Shiloh.
Judges 19
Sexual Immorality
1In those days when Israel didn’t have a king, there was a Levite who lived in a remote area in the mountains of Ephraim. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine. (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) 2But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went to her father’s home, to Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 3her husband went to persuade her to come back home. He took along his servant and two donkeys.
She took her husband into her father’s house. Her father was thrilled to see him. 4He made the Levite stay there with him, celebrating for three days.
5On the fourth day they got up early in the morning to leave, but the woman’s father told his son-in-law, “Eat something to keep up your strength and then you can go.” 6So they both sat down and ate and drank together. The woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Why don’t you spend the night and enjoy yourself?” 7When the Levite started to leave, his father-in-law urged him to stay another night, so he did.
8On the morning of the fifth day, the Levite got up early to leave. The woman’s father said, “Eat something to keep up your strength!” So they spent the time eating until late afternoon. 9The Levite started to leave with his concubine and his servant. But his father-in-law said to him, “It’s already evening. Please stay another night. It’s too late ⌞to leave⌟ now. Stay here, and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can start out early to go home.” 10But the Levite refused to spend another night.
He left and traveled as far as Jebus (now called Jerusalem). He had with him two saddled donkeys and his concubine. 11By the time they were near Jebus, it was very late in the day. The Levite’s servant said to him, “Let’s go spend the night in Jebus.”
12The Levite told him, “We’ll never go into a city of foreigners. They’re not Israelites. We’ll go on to Gibeah.” 13He told his servant, “Let’s go someplace else. We’ll spend the night either at Gibeah or Ramah.”
14So they went on. It was sunset by the time they arrived at Gibeah. (Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.) 15They went to spend the night there. The Levite entered Gibeah and sat down in the city square, because no one offered to take them home for the night.
16That evening an old man came into the city from his work in the fields. He was from the mountain region of Ephraim but lived in Gibeah. The other people who lived there were from the tribe of Benjamin. 17He saw the traveler in the city square. So the old man asked, “Where do you come from? And where are you going?”
18The Levite replied, “We’re on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the mountains of Ephraim. That’s where I’m from. I had gone to Bethlehem in Judah. Now I’m going to the Lord’s house, but no one has offered to take me into his home. 19We have straw and fodder for our donkeys. I even have bread and wine for myself, the woman, and my servant. We have everything we need.”
20Then the old man said, “Welcome! Let me take care of your needs. Just don’t spend the night in the city square.” 21So he took the Levite to his house and fed the donkeys. After they washed, they ate and drank.
22While they were enjoying themselves, some worthless men from the city surrounded the house and pounded on the door. They told the old man, the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so that we can have sex with him.”
23The owner went out to them. He told them, “No, my friends! Please don’t do anything so evil! This man is a guest in my home. Don’t do such a godless thing! 24Here, let me bring out my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. Rape them, and do with them whatever you want. Just don’t do such a godless thing to this man.”
25But the men refused to listen to him. So the Levite grabbed his concubine and forced her outside. They had sex with her and abused her all night until morning. They let her go when the sun was coming up. 26At daybreak, the woman came to the door of the house where her husband was and collapsed. She was still there when it became light.
27Her husband got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and was about to leave. His wife (that is, his concubine) was lying at the door of the house with her hands on the doorstep. 28The Levite said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she did not answer. So he put her on the donkey and left for home.
29When he arrived home, he got a knife. He took his concubine and cut her limb from limb into 12 pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territories of Israel.
30Everyone who saw it said, “Never has such a thing happened or been seen from the time the people of Israel came out of Egypt until today. Think about it! Form a plan, and speak out!”
Judges 20
Israel Slaughters the Tribe of Benjamin
1All the people of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from Gilead came to Mizpah. The congregation stood united in the presence of the Lord. 2The leaders of all Israel’s tribes took their places in the congregation of God’s people. There were 400,000 foot soldiers with swords. 3The people of Benjamin heard that Israel had come to Mizpah.
The people of Israel said, “Tell us how such an evil thing could happen.”
4The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, “My concubine (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) and I went to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5The citizens of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house ⌞where I was staying⌟ that night. They intended to kill me, but instead, they raped my concubine until she died. 6So I took my concubine and cut her into pieces. Then I sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel. I did this because the citizens of Gibeah did this perverted and godless thing in Israel. 7All you people of Israel, tell me what you think. Give me your advice right now!”
8All the people stood united, saying, “None of us will go to his tent or return to his house. 9This is what we’ll do to Gibeah. We’ll decide by lot who should attack it. 10We’ll take one-tenth (Or “10 out of every battalion, 100 out of every regiment, and 1,000 out of every company.”) of all the men from the tribes of Israel to get supplies for the troops. When the troops go to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin they can punish the citizens of Gibeah for the godless thing they did in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel assembled. They stood united against the city.
12The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin. They asked, “How could such an evil thing happen among you? 13Now hand over those worthless men in Gibeah. We must put them to death to rid ourselves of this kind of evil in Israel.”
But the men of Benjamin refused to listen to the men of Israel. 14So the men of Benjamin went from their towns and assembled at Gibeah to go to war with the men of Israel. 15That day 26,000 men armed with swords came from Benjamin’s cities and organized for battle along with 700 of Gibeah’s best men. 16Out of all these troops, the best 700 were left-handed. Each could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17The men of Israel (Benjamin not included) totaled 400,000 soldiers armed with swords.
18The men of Israel went to Bethel. They asked God, “Who will go first to fight Benjamin?”
The Lord answered, “Judah will go first.”
19The Israelites got up early in the morning and camped at Gibeah. 20So the men of Israel went to war with the men of Benjamin. The Israelites formed their battle line facing Gibeah. 21That day the men of Benjamin came out from Gibeah. They slaughtered 22,000 of Israel’s men.
22But Israel’s troops got reinforcements. They formed their battle line where they had formed it on the first day. 23The Israelites went and cried in the presence of the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin?”
The Lord answered, “Go fight them!”
24On the second day the Israelite troops advanced against Benjamin. 25Benjamin went out from Gibeah to meet them. This time they slaughtered 18,000 men from Israel who were armed with swords. 26Then all the men of Israel and all the troops went to Bethel. They sat there and cried in the presence of the Lord and fasted that day until evening. Then they sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.
27In those days the ark of God’s promise was at Bethel. 28(Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, served in front of it.) So the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin? Or should we stop?”
The Lord answered, “Go! Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
29Then Israel placed troops in ambush around Gibeah. 30On the third day the men of Israel went to fight the men of Benjamin. They formed their battle line facing Gibeah as they did before. 31The men of Benjamin went out to attack Israel’s troops and were led away from the city. They started to inflict casualties as before. They killed about 30 men from Israel in the open country and on the roads to Bethel and Gibeah. 32The men of Benjamin shouted, “They’re defeated as before!”
But the men of Israel had said, “Let’s flee in order to lead them from the city to the roads.” 33So the men of Israel left their positions. They formed their battle line at Baal Tamar. Meanwhile, those waiting in ambush rushed from their position to the west of Gibeah. 34Then 10,000 of Israel’s best men attacked Gibeah. The battle was fierce. But Benjamin’s men didn’t realize their own evil was about to overtake them. 35So the Lord defeated them in front of Israel. On that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords. 36Then the men of Benjamin realized they were defeated.
The Israelites had allowed the men of Benjamin to take back some ground. The Israelites relied on those waiting in ambush near Gibeah. 37The men in ambush quickly charged toward Gibeah. They spread out in the city and killed everyone. 38The men of Israel had arranged with those waiting in ambush that they would make a big column of smoke rise from the city as a signal. 39Then the men of Israel would turn around in the battle.
The men of Benjamin had already killed about 30 men of Israel. They even said, “Israel is completely defeated, just like in the first battle.”
40But when the column of smoke started to rise from the city, the men of Benjamin turned around and saw the whole city going up in smoke. 41Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin panicked. They realized that their evil had overtaken them. 42They turned in front of Israel toward the road to the desert. But the battle caught up with the men of Benjamin. Israel slaughtered whoever came out of the cities on the road to the desert. 43They closed in on the men of Benjamin and pursued them without stopping. They overtook them east of Gibeah. 44There were 18,000 experienced men from Benjamin who died in battle. 45The others turned and fled into the desert to Rimmon Rock. But the men of Israel killed 5,000 more on the roads. They caught up with another 2,000 and killed them near Gidom. 46In all, 25,000 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords were killed that day. They were all experienced men.
47But 600 men turned and fled into the desert to Rimmon Rock. They stayed at Rimmon Rock for four months.
48Then the men of Israel went back to attack the rest of the territory of Benjamin. They killed all the people and cattle they found in every city. They also burned down every city they came to.
Judges 21
Israel Provides Wives for the Surviving Men of Benjamin
1The men of Israel had taken this oath in Mizpah: “None of us will ever let our daughters marry anyone from Benjamin.”
2The people went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. They cried very loudly, 3“Lord God of Israel, why has this happened among us? Why should one tribe be missing today in Israel?”
4The next day the people got up early. They built an altar there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. 5The people asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not take part in the assembly in the presence of the Lord?” They had taken a solemn oath that whoever had not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah must be put to death.
6The people of Israel felt sorry for their close relatives, the men of Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been excluded from Israel. 7What will we do to provide wives for the men who are left? We swore to the Lord that we would not let any of our daughters marry them.” 8Then they asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah?” No one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the assembly in the camp. 9So they questioned the people, and there was no one there from Jabesh Gilead.
10The congregation sent 12,000 soldiers. They ordered them, “Go and kill the people of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and children. 11These are your directions: Claim every female who has gone to bed with a man, and claim every male. Claim them for the Lord by destroying them.”
12Among the people of Jabesh Gilead they found 400 unmarried women who had never gone to bed with a man. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
13Then the whole congregation sent messengers to the men of Benjamin at Rimmon Rock and offered them peace. 14So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. These men were given the women from Jabesh Gilead who had been kept alive. However, the congregation had not found enough women for all of them.
15The congregation felt sorry for the people of Benjamin because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel. 16The leaders of the congregation asked, “What should we do to provide wives for the men who are left, since the women in Benjamin have been killed?”
17Some said, “Benjamin’s men who survived must be allowed to have families. No tribe of Israel should be wiped out. 18However, we can’t give them any of our daughters as wives. The people of Israel have taken an oath that whoever gives wives to the men of Benjamin is under a curse.”
19Others said, “Every year the Lord’s festival is held at Shiloh. Shiloh is north of Bethel, east of the highway going from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20So they told the men of Benjamin, “Hide in the vineyards and 21watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, come out of the vineyards. Each of you catch a woman from Shiloh to be your wife. Then go back to the territory of Benjamin. 22When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we’ll tell them, ‘Have pity on them, since we didn’t provide a wife for each man in the battle. You won’t be guilty because you didn’t give them the wives yourselves.’ ”
23The men of Benjamin did just that. They captured the number of wives they needed from the women who were dancing and went home. So they rebuilt their cities and lived in them.
24At that time the people of Israel left. Each man went to his tribe and family. They all went home.
25In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right.