Judges · NETS

JUDGES
TO THE READER

EDITION OF GREEK TEXT

To date there is no fully critical edition of LXX Judges. The Göttingen edition has not yet appeared, and the edition of Brooke and Maclean is a “diplomatic” edition in which the main text is basically that of Codex Vaticanus (B). The NETS translation of Judges, therefore, is based on A. Rahlfs, Septuaginta. Id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes, 2 vols. (Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1935).

In Judges Rahlfs based his edition on the readings of about twenty manuscripts. He identified two main textual traditions, which he believed were so diverse that they amounted to separate recensions (editions) of the book. He printed these as separate texts, designated A and B. NETS Judges, accordingly, offers a translation of both the A and the B texts.

Rahlfs based his A text upon Codex Alexandrinus (A) and two groups of manuscripts representing the recensions of the LXX associated, respectively, with Origen (c. 185–253 CE) and Lucian (c. 250–312 CE). His B text was based upon Codex Vaticanus (B).

OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT(S) OF JUDGES

Subsequent scholarship has refined Rahlfs’ classifications. The manuscripts which are seen as witnesses to an A-type of text are now divided into three groups, AI, AII and AIII, of which AI corresponds fairly closely to Rahlfs’ “Origenic” manuscripts, and AII to his “Lucianic” manuscripts. Similarly, the B-type of text is now held to be represented by two related but distinct manuscript groups.

It is generally held that the “Old Greek” (OG) of Judges is to be found within AII (the Lucianic group), particularly in a subgroup of AII formed by the manuscripts glnw. (The Old Latin, a translation made from an early form of LXX Judges, is also an important witness to the OG.) The two main reasons for this view are that AII and the Old Latin show less “kaige influence” than the other manuscript groups and that they show less evidence of “Hexaplaric contamination.”

“Kaige,” or “kaige revision,” is shorthand in Septuagint studies for a tendency, already observable in the first century CE, for earlier forms of the LXX to be revised towards a proto-Masoretic text (MT). This tendency is held to have reached its fullest expression in the Greek translation produced by Aquila (c. 140 CE). The revision towards the MT is notable for its use of “quantitative equivalents,” stock renderings of particular Hebrew words and phrases that seem to be chosen primarily to give Greek readers a sense of what was in the original Hebrew, with little concern for whether the resulting translation was idiomatic Greek. Of these the best known is the use of , “and indeed,” as the equivalent for (“also”) and (“and also”) after which the entire revising tendency has been named. Other characteristic translations linked with it are: (“man”) in its distributive sense of “each”; (“I am”), even with another finite verb; (“there is not”). All of these translations occur in the A and B texts of Judges (though B alone has + finite verb: cf. 5.3; 6.18; 11.27, 35).

“Hexaplaric contamination” takes its name from Origen’s Hexapla, a work set out in six columns for comparative purposes. It is the conflating into one LXX manuscript of readings which originally belonged in separate columns of the Hexapla, and the clearest sign of it is the presence of doublets, or double translations of words and phrases. For doublet translations in the manuscripts (including mss A and B) see Schreiner, pp. 90–104. Doublets are not entirely absent even from the AII group or from the subgroup glnw, which is why the Old Latin is important in Judges as offering independent testimony to the OG.

Neither the A nor the B text consistently represents the OG. The A text stands somewhat closer to it but still contains many examples of kaige revision and Hexaplaric contamination. What is more, whereas scholarship in the decades before Rahlfs tended to stress the independence of the textual traditions represented by A and B, the large amount of common ground between them should not be overlooked: in many passages A and B are very similar, if not normally identical. The A and B traditions probably derive from a single archetype, of which they represent different degrees of revision. It is likely, then, that the reader of judges the Göttingen edition, when it appears, will print only one main text, which will not be identical to either Rahlfs’ A or B texts. Textually, therefore, NETS Judges is as provisional as the book’s Greek text(s).

TRANSLATION PROFILE OF THE GREEK

In what follows, a reference to either LXX A or B is always specified (e.g., 1.6A; 2.15B); references not so qualified apply to both A and B.

The Hebrew of Judges

MT Judges mostly consists of straightforward, clearly structured narrative, although it does contain occasional obscure words, e.g., in 1.14 (NRSV, “she dismounted”) or verses, e.g., 18.7, and there are some sections of narrative where the nature of the action described is unclear (e.g., Ehud’s escape, 3.23–25; Gideon’s attack on the Midianite camp, 7.16–22). But in general there is little that one would expect to cause a translator great difficulties. The one exception is the Song of Deborah in Judges 5, written in poetry generally thought to represent a more archaic form of Hebrew than that found in most parts of the Hebrew Bible and containing a number of rare words.

LXX Judges and its Vorlage

As it stands, LXX Judges (A and B) mainly represents a form of text very close to MT. In some cases, however, it is possible that LXX Judges is based on a different Vorlage.

So, for example:

1.14: “he urged her”(A), “Gothoniel urged her” (B), instead of “she urged him” (MT). MT is less logical.

16.13–14: LXX has several lines lacking in MT (see NRSV footnote).

19.2: LXX A “became angry,” possibly < (= NRSV) in place of MT’s “played the harlot.”

19.30: LXX A includes the Levite’s instructions to those who carry the dismembered limbs of his concubine throughout Israel (see NRSV footnote; in LXX A, however, these instructions are illogically inserted after the Israelites’ response to this horrible message and not where NRSV might be taken to imply).

On other occasions the translator seems to have had a consonantal text identical to MT, but he apparently divided the consonants differently or supplied different vowels:

14.14: , “from the eater” = , “what edible thing?” (LXX B) = .

18.25: , “do not make your voice heard” = , “your voice had better not be heard” (LXX AB). Possibly has been vocalized as a Niphal, not a Hiphil.

Occasionally LXX has sentences in a different order compared to MT: e.g., the notice of Aod’s (Ehud’s) death in 3.30–4.1, especially in LXX A; the note about the location of the Ark at 20.26–28 in LXX B. In these cases the Vorlage was likely enough identical to MT, and the translation simply rearranges the sentences to produce what seemed to be a clearer or more logical presentation. Sometimes there are repeated elements or other dislocations in the text, which may be due to a scribal slip (e.g., in 18.8–9A; 18.16–20A).

Some of the cases where LXX Judges seems to offer a reading different from MT are probably due to inner-Greek corruption: , “would prostitute themselves” (2.15A) has probably arisen as a mis-copying of , “would go” or , “marched out” (LXX B); , “reaching” (5.15B) is probably a corruption of an earlier reading , “searching out” (cf. the reading of LXX A , “inquiries”). Other examples are: 6.34B , “was seized by fear” for , “called out”; 8.32B , “in his city” for , “with a good head of grey hair”; 9.7B , “he wept” for , “he called out”; 15.18B , “you have approved,” by error for “you granted.”

Selected Words and Phrases

LXX Judges is generally accurate, and it stays close to the sense of the Hebrew. But names and obscure words sometimes seemed to have caused the translator problems:

1.15: , “Gulloth-mayim” (NRSV; fn. “Basins of Water”) becomes “redemption of water,” as though were related to “redeem.”

4.11: , “Elon-bezaanannim” (NRSV) becomes “Oak-of-the-Resters” in LXX A, as though were related to , “undisturbed.” LXX B translates it as “Oak-of-the-Greedy,” seemingly linking with the root , “make a profit.”

These translations are perhaps due not to simple error but to a desire to find theologically significant meanings in names by a kind of wordplay. But when LXX A translates at 20.33 , the Hiphil participle of a rare root meaning “burst forth” (cf. NRSV “rushed”), as “was struggling,” this is probably no more than a guess. There are many such cases in Judges 5, where not only individual words but entire phrases seem to have caused difficulties. Thus, a comparison between 5.1–11 in NRSV and NETS reveals the following differences:

5.2: “When locks are long in Israel” (NRSV); “when chiefs take the lead in Israel” (= LXX A); “an unveiling was unveiled in Israel” (= LXX B)

5.7: “The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder” (NRSV); “a spokesman was lacking in Israel; he was lacking” (= LXX A); “mighty ones were lacking in Israel; they were lacking” (= LXX B)

5.8 “When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates” (NRSV); “they chose new gods, like Barley bread” (= LXX A); “they chose new gods; then the cities of the rulers fought” (= LXX B)

5.10: “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets” (NRSV); “mounted upon draft animals, sitting on covered chariots …” (= LXX A); “mounted upon a female donkey at midday, sitting on tribunal …” (= LXX B)

Some of the LXX translations in these verses seem little short of nonsense. The translator has made his best guess at the meaning of individual words (and in this it may be said that he shows his intent to be faithful to the Hebrew), but these guesses taken together do not yield coherent sense. In most cases it is rare Hebrew words that have caused the problem. Things become a little better as the chapter proceeds, because many of the difficulties are found in the opening section. But it is impossible to read a modern, philologically informed translation of Judges 5 such as the NRSV without feeling that it has come closer to what the Hebrew likely meant.

Transliterations

Occasionally LXX Judges simply transliterates the Hebrew. Sometimes this may be because there was no obvious equivalent to the Hebrew: the rendering of “the Baals” as Baalim (2.11; 3.7; 8.33; 10.6, 10) may fall into this category. At other points transliteration may have been the translator’s last resort in dealing with difficult Hebrew: 5.16A, (NRSV “sheepfolds”); 5.22A, (NRSV “galloping”); 8.7A, , B (NRSV “thorns”); 20.6B, (NRSV “outrage”). At 5.7, (“spokesman”) is a recognizable Greek word, but one probably chosen because it resembled the Hebrew (NRSV “peasantry”) in sound. LXX B’s otherwise obscure translation of (“dead”) at 5.27 by (“gone”) may have a similar explanation.

Word-for-Word Approach

It would be unfair, however, to focus only on the treatment of difficult words and passages. By and large LXX Judges conveys the sense of the Hebrew, sometimes with considerable skill. But it does so in a form of Greek that, by the standards of most ancient Greek literature, is not fully idiomatic. LXX Judges consistently reproduces in Greek constructions, which, while they are good Hebrew, are not attested in other forms of Greek or are only rarely attested. This is true of both LXX A and LXX B. In general LXX Judges follows a “word-for-word” translational model. Examples of this include the following:

(1) Particles

(i) MT’s standard connective (“and”) is typically glossed as (“and”) and only rarely by other particles one would expect to find in other forms of Greek. (“but/and/now”) occurs 18x in LXX A and 12 x in LXX B); (“but”) occurs 8x in LXX A and 3x in LXX B; (“sótherefore”) 2x in LXX A and 3x in LXX B; γάρ (“for”) 2x in LXX A and never in LXX B.

(ii) LXX Judges generally translates the relative particle (“whówhicήwhere,” etc.) well, using the appropriate form of relative clause. But in some cases the clause involves “relative resumption,” ending with a word that refers back to the clause’s antecedent. In these cases LXX Judges regularly translates word for word, yielding a kind of double translation of the relative particle. Thus , “the mission you are on” (18.6), in which , “in it,” picks up , “your mission,” becomes in LXX A , “your journey, on which you are going in it.” This is as clumsy in Greek as in English. (LXX B has a slightly varied but equally inelegant translation.) Making a slight concession to English usage, NETS translates LXX A at this point as “your journey, that upon which you are going.” Other examples of the same phenomenon are: 6.10A; 14.17A; 16.11B, 26, 29; 18.5, 6, 10A; 20.22A.

(2) Prepositions

(i) Hebrew can use the preposition to mean either “into” or “in/among,” depending on the context. Greek normally distinguishes followed by the accusative (“into”) and followed by the dative (“in/among”), but LXX Judges uses + dative as a standard equivalent for Hebrew in either sense. This frequently produces what by the standards of most forms of ancient Greek amounts to an illiteracy. See for example, 1.2 (“in his hand”) and 1.3 (“in your allotment”).

(ii) A related point concerns Hebrew verbs followed by the preposition , such as , “inquire of.” At 1.1 LXX A renders this , “the sons of Israel were inquiring by the Lord”; LXX B has “through the Lord,” which is not much better. See also 18.5; 20.18, 23, 27.

(iii) The Hebrew preposition “between” is characteristically repeated in phrases of the type “between X and Y.” An example is (4.5), which LXX A renders . This can only be rendered (unidiomatically) as “between Rama and between Baithel.” LXX B has something very similar. See also 4.17; 9.23; 11.27; 13.25; 16.31.

(iv) Another preposition that is sometimes repeated is , “as/like,” in phrases of the type “X and Y alike.” Thus at 8.18 we read (NRSV, “as you are, so were they”). LXX A renders this , “one like you was like (of) them.”

(3) Verbs

(i) The Hebrew infinitive absolute is used to represent simultaneous action in an phrase such as in 14.9 (NRSV, “and went on, eating as he went”). LXX A renders this phrase , “and went on, going and eating” (cf. LXX B). See also 4.24.

(ii) The infinitive absolute is also used to reinforce a finite verb from the same root. NRSV translates such phrases in a variety of ways: 7.19: “they had just set the watch”; 8.25: “we will willingly give”; 11.30: “if you will give”; 13.22: “we shall surely die.” LXX Judges translates such expressions in one of two ways: either reinforcing the verb with a cognate noun in the dative (7.19A , “he roused . . . with a rousing”; 13.22: “we shall die by death”) or reinforcing it with a participle (7.19B , “rousing they roused”; 8.25 , “giving we will give”). Neither is good Greek. See also 15.2; 15.13; 16.11; 17.3; 21.5.

(iii) Biblical Hebrew uses (Qal or Hiphil) followed by the infinitive construct of another verb to denote “doing something again”: , “the Israelites again did” (3.12), or, negatively , “I shall no longer drive out” (2.21). LXX translates this idiom literally, using followed by an infinitive: 3.12 , “and the sons of Israel added to do”; 2.21 , “I will not add to remove.” See also 4.1; 8.28; 9.37; 10.6, 13; 13.1, 23; 20.22, 23, 28. See also the translation of the analogous construction at 13.19 as , “and he separated to act” (LXX B).

(4) Idioms with “Man” and “Woman”

(i) In Hebrew , “man” (singular) is used in a distributive sense, e.g., , “each to his inheritance” (2.6). LXX generally translates this construction word for word: , “a man . . . to his inheritance” (2.6B; see also 7.22; 10.18; 16.5; 21.1, 21–22, 25B). On four occasions, however, LXX A translates this construction more idiomatically, with , “each,” at 2.6; 7.21; 9.49; and 21.25.

(ii) The singulars of and , “woman” can also be used in a collective sense to denote a group of men or women; for instance: (NRSV, “the men of Israel,” “the Israelites”); (21.16; NRSV, “there are no women left in Benjamin”). LXX Judges sometimes translates such phrases literally, using the singular in contexts that demand the plural, with awkward effect (7.23; 20.15B, 36, 39A; 21.1A, 16). On other occasions the plural is used: at 20.17 is rendered , “four hundred thousand men”; cf. 20.15A. At 20.39 and 21.1 LXX B translates collective with , “the sons of Israel,” which suits the context better than the literal translation of LXX A.

(5) Miscellaneous

Here is a further selection of unidiomatic phrases and odd-seeming translations in LXX Judges behind which a particular Hebrew word or idiom may be recognized:

2.1: “I will not scatter my covenant” = LXX; NRSV, “I will never break my covenant.”

3.22: “he even drove the hilt in after the flame” = LXX; NRSV, “after the blade.”

6.13, 15: “by me, Lord” = LXX; NRSV, “but sir.”

7.17: “you will see from me” = LXX; NRSV, “look at me.”

8.35: “they did not do mercy with” = LXX; NRSV, “they did not exhibit loyalty to.”

9.17: “cast his life in opposition” = LXX A; “cast forth his life in opposition” = LXX B; NRSV, “risked his life.”

14.7: “she was pleasing before Sampson” = LXX A; “she was made straight in Sampson’s sight” = LXX B; NRSV, “she pleased Samson.”

16.20: “I will go out as once and once” = LXX B; NRSV, “I will go out as at other times.”

18.19: “you will be to us for a father and for a priest” = LXX A; “become for a father and for a priest to us” = LXX B; NRSV, “be to us a father and a priest.”

19.1: “the thighs of the hill country of Ephraim” = LXX; NRSV, “the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim.”

19.24: “the thing of this madness” = LXX; NRSV “such a vile thing.”

20.16: “All these were slingers of stones at a hair, and not missing” = LXX B; NRSV, “every one could sling a stone at a hair, and not miss.”

20.40: “and see, the annihilation of the city went up” = LXX; NRSV, “and there was the whole city going up in smoke.”

20.42: “overtook upon them” = LXX B; NRSV “overtook them.”

20.48: “and the cities that were found they sent off with fire” = LXX A; NRSV, “also the remaining towns they set on fire.”

21.19: “from days to days” = LXX A; NRSV “yearly.”

Translations such as these, it is important to note, reflect a deliberate choice on the translator’s part (or in some cases, on the part of those who have corrected an earlier text towards the Hebrew). It is not that the translator/reviser knew no better than to write pidgin-Greek. Rather, his consistent aim was that the translation should mirror its Vorlage as closely as possible, and so he has left within the translation many signals as to the nature of the Hebrew original. LXX Judges well exemplifies the “interlinear” paradigm, which informs NETS as a whole.

The translation here offered, in accordance with the principles of NETS, attempts to capture this aspect of LXX Judges by using English which, while grammatical, is at points unidiomatic, inelegant or illiterate. This happens literally hundreds of times. But the reader should not draw inappropriate conclusions about the LXX translator’s competence from this aspect of the translation.

“Theological” Renderings

At points within LXX Judges there may be a theological issue underlying the translation. The addition at the end of 4.8 (“for I do not know the day in which the Lord will send his angel on a good journey with me”) is an example: LXX speaks of God as intervening through a mediating figure rather than directly accompanying Barak, a type of interpretation that is more common in the Targum of Judges. (E.g., at 4.14 the Targum has “Is not the angel of the Lord going forth to ensure success before you?” in place of MT’s “the LORD is indeed going out before you.”) Something similar may apply to the narrative of Gideon and the angel of the Lord in Judg 6.11–24. MT speaks sometimes of “the angel of the LORD/God” (vv. 11, 12, 20–22), and sometimes of “the LORD” (vv. 14, 16, 23). LXX has “the angel of the Lord” throughout, except at v. 23, where it seems that Gideon only hears God’s voice and no longer sees any manifestation of God’s presence. LXX seems to go beyond MT in safeguarding God’s transcendence. Compare also 2.1: the form of the angel’s words in MT leaves it ambiguous whether he speaks as the Lord’s representative or in some sense as the Lord himself, but LXX A and B in different ways remove the ambiguity.

At 5.23 MT has: “they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.” LXX A translates this “because they did not come to the help of the Lord; the Lord is our helper, mighty among warriors.” The second part of this translation echoes Psalms in which God is described as Israel’s or an individual’s helper (e.g., 18[19].15; 27[28].7; 113.17–19[115.9–11]), and that may partly explain LXX A’s deviation from MT. Additionally, it may be that the translator felt unease at words which seemed to suggest that God stood in need of human aid and so translated the second half of the line in a way that made clear that God is Israel’s helper, and not the other way around. (Targum, “they did not come to the aid of the people of the Lord, to the aid of the people of the Lord,” seems to have been similarly motivated, though its approach is different.) LXX B is closer to MT.

In Iotham’s parable, the olive tree speaks of “my rich oil by which gods and mortals are honored” (9.9 NRSV), and the vine speaks of “my wine that cheers gods and mortals” (9.13 NRSV). In these verses could instead be translated as “God.” LXX A at these points has “my fattiness which God and men extol in me” (v. 9) and “my wine, the good cheer of men, which comes from God” (v. 13), translations which avoid any suggestion of polytheism and perhaps also the idea that wine might make God merry (v. 13). LXX B has “my fattiness by which men extol God” at v. 9, an even more “theologically sound” translation than LXX A, but at v. 13 translates “my wine, that cheers God [or “god,” for there is no article] and men,” this last translation illustrating the point that tendencies in LXX Judges are not usually consistently attested.

Lastly, mention should be made of the bizarre translation of as “she-Baal/she-Baalim” at four points in LXX A: 2.13; 3.7; 10.6, 10. Baal with a feminine article and, therefore, as a goddess, may owe its origin to a popular association of Baal with “shame,” a feminine noun in both Hebrew and Greek. The Greek text as it stands, however, is clear.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The translation and introduction have been produced with constant recourse to the magnificent Accordance software. I also gratefully acknowledge substantial help from Albert Pietersma at every stage of my work on LXX Judges.

In addition I have found the following works particularly helpful: D. Barthélemy, Les Devanciers D’Aquila (Leiden: Brill, 1963); W. R. Bodine, The Greek Text of Judges: Recensional Developments (Chico: Scholars Press, 1980); A. E. Brooke and N. McLean, The Old Testament in Greek, Vol. 1, Part 4: Joshua, Judges and Ruth (Cambridge University Press, 1917); P. Harlé, Les Juges BA (1999); B. Lindars, “A Commentary on the Greek Judges?” VI Congress of the IOSCS, Jerusalem 1986 (C. E. Cox, ed.; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987) 167–200; J. Schreiner, Septuaginta–Massora des Buches der Richter (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute Press, 1957).

PHILIP E. SATTERTHWAITE

Judges A	Judges B
1 And it came about after the death of Iesous that the sons of Israel were inquiring by the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up for us against the Chananite as leader, to fight against him?” ²And the Lord said, “Ioudas shall go up. See, I have given the land in his hand.” ³And Ioudas said to his brother Symeon, “Come up with me in my allotment, and let us fight against the Chananite, and indeed I will go with you in your allotment.” And Symeon went with him. ⁴And Ioudas went up, and the Lord gave the Chananite and the Pherezite in his hand, and he struck them down at Bezek, ten thousand men. ⁵And they found Adonibezek at Bezek and fought against him and struck down the Chananite and the Pherezite. ⁶And Adonibezek fled, and they went in pursuit after him and caught him and cut off the tips of his hands and his feet. ⁷And Adonibezek said, “Seventy kings with the tips of their hands and their feet cut off used to gather the scraps under my table; therefore, as I have done, so God has paid me back.” And they brought him to Ierousalem, and he died there.	1 And it came about after the death of Iesous that the sons of Israel were inquiring through the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up for us against the Chananites as leader, to fight with them?” ²And the Lord said, “Ioudas shall go up. See, I have given the land in his hand.” ³And Ioudas said to his brother Symeon, “Come up with me in my allotment, and let us deploy against the Chananites, and I too will go with you in your allotment.” And Symeon went with him. ⁴And Ioudas went up, and the Lord gave the Chananite and the Pherezite up into their hands, and they cut them down at Bezek, fully ten thousand men. ⁵And they came upon Adonibezek at Bezek and deployed against him and cut down the Chananite and the Pherezite. ⁶And Adonibezek fled, and they chased after him and captured him and cut off the tips of his hands and the tips of his feet. ⁷And Adonibezek said, “Seventy kings with the tips of their hands and the tips of their feet cut off used to gather the scraps under my table; therefore, as I have done, so God has paid me back.” And they brought him to Ierousalem, and he died there.
8 And the sons of Ioudas fought against Ierousalem and took it. And they struck it down with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire with fire. ⁹And after that the sons of Ioudas went down to fight against the Chananite who lived in the hill country and the south and the lowland. ¹⁰And Ioudas went against the Chananite who lived in Chebron, and Chebron came out in opposition (now the name of Chebron was formerly Kariatharboksepher), and he struck down Sesi and Achiman and Tholmi, offspring of Enak.	8 And the sons of Ioudas were fighting Ierousalem and took it. And they struck it down with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire with fire. ⁹And after that the sons of Ioudas went down to fight with the Chananite who lived in the hill country and the south and the lowland. ¹⁰And Ioudas went against the Chananite who lived in Chebron, and Chebron came out in opposition (and the name, Chebron, was previously Kariatharboksepher), and they struck down Sessi and Achinaan and Tholmin, offspring of Enak.
11 And from there they went against the inhabitants of Dabir (and the name of Dabir was formerly City of Letters). ¹²And Chaleb said, “Whoever strikes a blow against the City of Letters and captures it first, I will give him my daughter Ascha for a wife.” ¹³And Gothoniel son of Kenez, Chaleb’s younger brother, captured it first, and he gave him his daughter Ascha for a wife. ¹⁴And it came about, when she entered, that he urged her to ask for the field from her father. And she grumbled upon her draft animal and cried out from where she was on her draft animal, “You have given me away into the land of the south.” And Chaleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁵And Ascha said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me away into the land of the south, you shall also give me redemption of water.” And, according to her desire, Chaleb gave her the redemption of the upper and the redemption of the lower.	11 And from there they went up against the inhabitants of Dabir (now the name of Dabir was formerly Kariathsophar, City of Letters). ¹²And Chaleb said, “Whoever strikes a blow against the City of Letters and captures it first, I will give him my daughter Ascha for a wife.” ¹³And Gothoniel, the younger son of Kenez, brother of Chaleb, captured it first, and Chaleb gave him his daughter Ascha for a wife. ¹⁴And it came about at her entrance that Gothoniel urged her that she should ask for a field from her father. And she grumbled and cried out from where she was upon her draft animal, “You have given me away into the land of the south.” And Chaleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁵And Ascha said to him, “Do give me a blessing; since you have given me away into the land of the south, you shall also give me redemption of water.” And, according to her desire, Chaleb gave her redemption of the upper and redemption of the lower.
16 And the sons of Iobab the Kinite, Moyses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms to the sons of Ioudas, into the wilderness that is in the south near the descent of Arad. And he went and settled with the people. ¹⁷And Ioudas went with his brother Symeon, and they struck down the Chananite who inhabited Sepheth and anathematized it and destroyed it. And they called the name of the city Destruction. ¹⁸And Ioudas did not inherit Gaza and its territory and Ascalon and its territory and Akkaron and its territory and Azotus and its surrounding lands. ¹⁹And the Lord was with Ioudas, and he inherited the hill country, for he could not inherit the inhabitants of the valley, because Rechab commanded it. ²⁰And he gave Chebron to Chaleb, just as Moyses had said, and from there he inherited the three cities and removed from there the three sons of Enak. ²¹And the sons of Beniamin did not remove the Iebousite who lived in Ierousalem, and the Iebousite has lived with the sons of Beniamin to this day.	16 And the sons of Iothor the Kinite, Moyses’ ^arelative by marriage^a, went up from the City of Palms with the sons of Ioudas, into the wilderness that is to the south of Ioudas, that is near the descent of Arad. And they settled with the people. ¹⁷And Ioudas went with his brother Symeon, and he cut down the Chananite who inhabited Sephek, and they destroyed them. And he called the name of the city Anathema. ¹⁸And Ioudas did not inherit Gaza or its territories or Ascalon or its territories or Akkaron or its territories or Azotus or its surrounding lands. ¹⁹And the Lord was with Ioudas and he inherited the hill country, for they could not destroy the inhabitants of the valley, because Rechab gave orders to them. ²⁰And they gave Chebron to Chaleb, just as Moyses had said, and from there he inherited the three cities of the sons of Enak. ²¹And the sons of Beniamin did not inherit the Iebousite who lived in Ierousalem, and the Iebousite has lived with the sons of Beniamin in Ierousalem to this day.
22 And the sons of Ioseph, indeed they too went up towards Baithel, and Ioudas with them. ²³And the house of Israel encamped against Baithel (now the name of the city was formerly Louza). ²⁴And those who were keeping watch saw a man coming out of the city, and they captured him and said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will do mercy with you.” ²⁵And he showed them the way into the city, and they struck down the city with the edge of the sword, but they sent the man and his family away. ²⁶And the man left for the land of Chettiim and built a city there and called its name Louza; that is its name to this day.	22 And the sons of Ioseph, indeed they too went up towards Baithel, and the Lord was with them. ²³And they encamped and spied out Baithel (now the name of their city was formerly Louza). ²⁴And those who were keeping watch looked, and see, a man was coming out of the city, and they captured him and said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will do mercy with you.” ²⁵And he showed them the way into the city, and they struck down the city with the edge of the sword, but they sent the man and his family away. ²⁶And the man went to the land of Chettiin and built a city there and called its name Louza; that is its name to this day.
27 And Manasses did not inherit Baithsan (which is the city of the Scythians) or its daughters or its surrounding lands or Ekthanaad and its daughters or the inhabitants of Dor and its daughters and the inhabitants of Balaam and its daughters and the inhabitants of Magedon and its daughters or the inhabitants of Ieblaam or its daughters, and the Chananite began to live in that land. ²⁸And it came about that when Israel grew strong, he set the Chananite to pay tribute, and removing he did not remove him.	27 And Manasse did not remove Baithsan (which is the city of the Scythians) or its daughters or its surrounding settlements or Thanak or its daughters or the inhabitants of Dor or its daughters or Balak who dwelt there or its surrounding settlements or its daughters or the inhabitants of Magedo or its surrounding settlements or its daughters or the inhabitants of Ieblaam or its surrounding settlements or its daughters, and the Chananite began to live in that land. ²⁸And it came about that when Israel grew strong, he treated the Chananite as tribute, and removing he did not remove him.
29 And Ephraim did not remove the Chananite who lived in Gazer, and the Chananite was living in his midst in Gazer and became for tribute.	29 And Ephraim did not remove the Chananite who lived in Gazer, and the Chananite lived in his midst in Gazer and became for tribute.
30 And Zaboulon did not remove the inhabitants of Kedron and the inhabitants of Enaala, and the Chananite lived in his midst and became for tribute.	30 And Zaboulon did not remove the inhabitants of Kedron or the inhabitants of Domana, and the Chananite lived in their midst and became for tribute to him.
31 And Aser did not remove the inhabitants of Akcho (and it became for tribute to him), and the inhabitants of Dor and the inhabitants of Sidon and the inhabitants of Aalaph and Achazib and the city of Chelba and of Aphek and of Roob ³²and Aser lived in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land, for he could not remove him.	31 And Aser did not remove the inhabitants of Akcho (and it became for tribute to him), and the inhabitants of Dor and the inhabitants of Sidon and the inhabitants of Aalaph and Aschazi and Chelba and Nai and Ereo ³²and Aser lived in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land, for he could not remove him.
33 And Nephthali did not remove the inhabitants of Baithsamys or the inhabitants of Baitheneth, and Israel lived in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land; now the inhabitants of Baithsamys and the city of Baitheneth became for tribute to them.	33 And Nephthali did not remove the inhabitants of Baithsamys and the inhabitants of Baithanath, and Nephthali lived in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land; now the inhabitants of Baithsamys and the city of Baitheneth became for tribute to them.
34 And the Amorrite pressed the sons of Dan back into the hill country, for he did not allow him to come down to the valley. ³⁵And the Amorrite began to live in the mountain of the Myrtle-grove, where there are bears and foxes, and the hand of the house of Ioseph rested heavily on the Amorrite, and he became for tribute. ³⁶And the border of the Amorrite was the Idumean above Akrabin, near Petra and above.	34 And the Amorrite pressed the sons of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow him to come down to the valley. ³⁵And the Amorrite began to live in the potsherd mountain on which there are bears and on which there are foxes, in the Myrtle-grove and in Thalabin, and the hand of the house of Ioseph rested heavily on the Amorrite, and he became for tribute to them. ³⁶And the border of the Amorrite was from the ascent of Akrabin, from Petra and above.
2 Now an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to Weeping and to Baithel and to the house of Israel, and he said to them, “The Lord, the Lord brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that he had sworn to your fathers to give to you. And he said to you, ‘I will not scatter my covenant with you forever. ²And for your part, you shall not make a covenant with those who have their seat in this land, nor shall you do obeisance to their gods, but you shall destroy their carved objects^a and tear down their altars.’ And you did not listen to my voice when you did these things. ³And I said, I will not add to deport the people of whom I spoke, to destroy them from before you, and they shall be for causes of oppression to you, and their gods shall be for an obstacle to you.” ⁴And it came about, as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. ⁵For this reason the name of that place was called Weeping, and there they sacrificed to the Lord.	2 Now an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to Weeping and to Baithel and to the house of Israel, and he said to them: This is what the Lord says: “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I had sworn to your fathers. And I said, ‘I will not scatter my covenant with you forever. ²And for your part, you shall not make a covenant with those who have their seat in this land, nor shall you do obeisance to their gods, but you shall destroy their carved objects^a and demolish their altars.’ And you did not listen to my voice, for you did these things. ³And I said, I will not remove them from before you, and they shall be causes of oppression for you, and their gods shall be for an obstacle to you.” ⁴And it came about, as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. ⁵And they named the name of that place Weepings, and there they offered sacrifice to the Lord.
6 And Iesous dismissed the people, and the sons of Israel went away, each to his house and to his inheritance to inherit the land. ⁷And the people were subject to the Lord all the days of Iesous and all the days of the elders, those who prolonged their days after Iesous, those who had known all the Lord’s great work that he had done for Israel. ⁸And Iesous son of Naue, slave of the Lord, died, a son of one hundred and ten years. ⁹And they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Thamnathares, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaas. ¹⁰And that whole generation was added to their fathers, and another generation arose after them, those who did not know the Lord and the work that he had done for Israel.	6 And Iesous dismissed the people, and a man went to his inheritance to inherit the land. ⁷And the people were subject to the Lord all the days of Iesous and all the days of the elders, those who prolonged their days along with Iesous, those who had known all the Lord’s great work that he had done in Israel. ⁸And Iesous son of Naue, slave of the Lord, died, a son of one hundred ten years. ⁹And they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Thamnathares, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaas. ¹⁰And indeed, that whole generation was added to their fathers, and another generation arose after them, who did not know the Lord and, indeed, the work that he had done in Israel.
11 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord and were serving the Baalim, ¹²and they abandoned the Lord, god of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them and did obeisance to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³And they abandoned the Lord and served the she-Baal and the Astartes. ¹⁴And the Lord was furiously angry with Israel, and he delivered them in the hand of plunderers, and they plundered them, and he gave them up in the hand of their enemies all around, and they could not withstand in the presence of their enemies. ¹⁵At every point at which they would prostitute themselves, the Lord’s hand also was to them for misfortune, as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn, and he oppressed them greatly.	11 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord and served the Baalim, ¹²and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they went after other gods from among the gods of the nations who were all around them and did obeisance to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³And they abandoned him and served Baal and the Astartes. ¹⁴And the Lord was furiously angry against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of plunderers, and they plundered them, and he gave them up in the hands of their enemies all around, and they could no longer withstand in the presence of their enemies. ¹⁵At every point at which they marched out, the Lord’s hand was also against them for misfortune, as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them, and he oppressed them greatly.
16 And the Lord raised up judges for them and delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷And indeed they did not listen to their judges, for they prostituted themselves after other gods and did obeisance to them and provoked the Lord to anger. And they soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. ¹⁸And because the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord also was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for the Lord was entreated by their groaning from before those who besieged and afflicted them. ¹⁹And it came about when the judge would die that they relapsed and again caused corruption beyond what their fathers had done, going after other gods, serving them and doing obeisance to them. They did not cast off their practices and they did not withdraw from their stubborn way.	16 And the Lord raised up judges, and the Lord delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷And indeed they did not obey the judges, for they prostituted themselves after other gods and did obeisance to them. And they soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the words of the Lord; they did not do so. ¹⁸And because the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord also was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for the Lord was entreated by their groaning from before those who besieged and oppressed them. ¹⁹And it came about when the judge would die that they relapsed and again caused corruption beyond what their fathers had done, going after other gods, serving them and doing obeisance to them. They did not cast off their practices and their stubborn ways.
²⁰And the Lord was furiously angry against Israel, and he said, “Seeing that, inasmuch as this nation has abandoned my covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not obeyed my voice, ²¹I for my part will not add to remove from before them a man from among the nations that Iesous left behind and let be, ²²to test Israel by means of them, whether or not they would keep to the way of the Lord, walking in it, as their fathers had kept to it.” ²³And the Lord had let those nations be, not removing them at once, and had not delivered them in Iesous’ hand.	²⁰And the Lord was furiously angry against Israel, and he said, “Seeing that, inasmuch as this nation has abandoned my covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not listened to my voice, ²¹indeed I for my part will not add to remove from before them a man from among the nations that Iesous son of Naue left behind in the land and let be, ²²to test Israel by means of them, whether or not they would keep to the way of the Lord, walking in it, as their fathers had observed it.” ²³And the Lord had let those nations be, not removing them at once, and had not delivered them in Iesous’ hand.
3 And Iesous left these nations so as to test Israel by means of them, all those who had no experience of all the wars of Chanaan ²(only on account of the generations of the sons of Israel, to teach them war; only, those before them did not know them): ³the five satrapies of the allophyles and the full number of the Chananite and the Sidonian and the Heuite who lived on Lebanon, from Mount Balaermon as far as Loboemath. ⁴And it happened so as to test Israel by means of them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moyses. ⁵And the sons of Israel lived in the midst of the Chananite and the Chettite and the Amorrite and the Pherezite and the Heuite and the Iebousite, ⁶and they took their daughters for wives for themselves, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.	3 And these are the nations, those that the Lord left so as to test Israel by means of them, all those who had no experience of the wars of Chanaan ²(only on account of the generations of Israel’s sons, to teach them war; only, those before them did not know them): ³the five satrapies of the allophyles and the full number of the Chananite and the Sidonian and the Heuite who lived on Lebanon, from Mount Haermon as far as Laboemath. ⁴And it happened so as to test Israel by means of them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moyses. ⁵And the sons of Israel lived in the midst of the Chananite and the Chettite and the Amorrite and the Pherezite and the Heuite and the Iebousite, ⁶and they took their daughters for wives for themselves, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
7 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord, and they forgot the Lord, their God, and served the she-Baalim and the groves. ⁸And the Lord was furiously angry against Israel, and he gave them up into the hands of King Chousarsathom of Syria-of-Rivers, and they were subject to him eight years. ⁹And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for Israel, and he delivered them, Gothoniel son of Kenez, Chaleb’s younger brother, and he obeyed him. ¹⁰And a spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and he went out to war, and the Lord gave King Chousarsathom of Syria in his hand, and his hand prevailed over Chousarsathom. ¹¹And the land had rest fifty years. And Gothoniel son of Kenez died.	7 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord, and they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baalim and the groves. ⁸And the Lord was furiously angry against Israel, and he gave them up in the hand of King Chousarsathaim of Syria-of-Rivers, and the sons of Israel were subject to Chousarsathaim eight years. ⁹And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for Israel, and he delivered them, Gothoniel son of Kenez, Chaleb’s brother, who was younger above him. ¹⁰And a spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and he went out to war against Chousarsathaim, and the Lord gave King Chousarsathaim of Syria-of-Rivers in his hand, and his hand prevailed over Chousarsathaim. ¹¹And the land had rest forty years. And Gothoniel son of Kenez died.
12 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord, and the Lord strengthened King Eglom of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil before the Lord. ¹³And he brought to him all the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and he went and struck down Israel, and he inherited the City of Palms. ¹⁴And the sons of Israel were subject to King Eglom of Moab eighteen years.	12 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord, and the Lord strengthened King Eglom of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil before the Lord. ¹³And he gathered to himself all the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and he went and struck down Israel, and he inherited the City of Palms. ¹⁴And the sons of Israel were subject to King Eglom of Moab eighteen years.
15 And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Aod son of Gera son of Iemeni, an ambidextrous man. And the sons of Israel sent gifts to King Eglom of Moab by his hand. ¹⁶And Aod made for himself a double-bladed dagger, a span in length, and he fastened it on his right thigh under his cloak. ¹⁷And he presented the gifts to King Eglom of Moab. And Eglom was a very handsome man. ¹⁸And it came about, when Aod had finished presenting the gifts, that he sent those who bore the gifts on their way. ¹⁹And Eglom turned back from the carved objects^a with Galgal. And Aod said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And Eglom said to everyone, “Away!” and all his attendants went out from him. ²⁰And Aod came in to him, and he was sitting alone, quite by himself in his summer roof-chamber. And Aod said, “I have a divine message for you, O king.” And Eglom rose from his seat, near to him. ²¹And it came about just as he rose up that Aod reached with his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into Eglom’s belly, ²²and indeed he even drove the hilt in after the flame, and the fat closed over the flame, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly. ²³And Aod went out into the vestibule, and he closed the doors of the roof-chamber on him and wedged them.	15 And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and he raised up for them a deliverer, Aod son of Gera son of Iemeni, an ambidextrous man. And the sons of Israel sent off gifts to King Eglom of Moab by his hand. ¹⁶And Aod made for himself a double-bladed dagger; it was a span in length, and he fastened it on his right thigh under his cloak. ¹⁷And he went and presented the gifts to King Eglom of Moab. Now Eglom was a very handsome man. ¹⁸And it came about, when Aod had finished presenting the gifts, that he sent those who carried the gifts on their way. ¹⁹And he himself turned back from the carved objects^a that were with Galgal. And Aod said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And Eglom said to him, “Be quiet!” and he sent all those who stood by him out from him. ²⁰And Aod came into him, and he was sitting alone, quite by himself in his own summer roof-chamber. And Aod said, “I have a divine message for you, O king.” And Eglom rose from his seat, near to him. ²¹And it came about just as he rose up that Aod reached with his left hand and took the dagger that was above his right thigh and thrust it into his belly, ²²and indeed he even drove the hilt in after the flame, and the fat closed over the flame, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly. And Aod went out by the vestibule. ²³And he went out past those who had been stationed, and he closed the doors of the roof-chamber on him and wedged them.
24 And he had gone out, and his servants came in. And they looked, and see, the doors of the roof-chamber were locked. And they said, “Perhaps he is sitting on the stool in the retreat of his bedroom.” ²⁵And they waited, embarrassed. And see, there was no one to open the doors of the roof-chamber, and they took the key and opened, and see, their lord was lying dead on the ground.	24 And he had gone out, and the servants came in. And they looked, and see, the doors of the roof-chamber were wedged. And they said, “Perhaps he is draining his feet^b in the summer storeroom.” ²⁵And they waited patiently until they were ashamed. And see, there was no one to open the doors of the roof-chamber, and they took the key and opened, and see, their lord was lying dead on the ground.
26 And Aod escaped while they were in confusion (and there was no one paying attention to him) and he passed beyond the carved objects^a and escaped to Seirotha. ²⁷And it came about when he arrived that he sounded with a horn in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him, and he himself was at their head. ²⁸And he said to them, “Come down after me, for the Lord God has given your enemies, Moab, in your hand.” And they went down after him and quickly seized the fords across the Jordan of Moab, and they did not allow a man to cross over. ²⁹And at that time they struck down Moab, about ten thousand men, all the warriors among them, even every man of power, and not a man escaped. ³⁰And Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. And Aod judged them until he died.	26 And Aod escaped while they were in confusion (and there was no one paying attention to him) and he passed beyond the carved objects^a and escaped to Setirotha. ²⁷And it came about when Aod entered the land of Israel that he sounded with a horn in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he himself was at their head. ²⁸And he said to them, “Come down after me, for the Lord God has given your enemies, Moab, in your hand.” And they went down after him and quickly seized the fords across the Jordan of Moab, and he did not allow a man to cross over. ²⁹And in that day they struck down Moab, about ten thousand men, every sleek man, even every man of power, and not a man escaped. ³⁰And Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. And Aod judged them until he died.
31 And after him arose Samegar son of Anath, and he struck down the allophyles, fully six hundred men, as well as calves of cattle. And he himself delivered Israel.	31 And after him arose Samegar son of Dinach, and he struck down the allophyles, fully six hundred men, with a bull’s ploughshare. And indeed he too delivered Israel.
4 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord. ²And the Lord gave them up in the hand of King Iabin of Chanaan, who reigned in Hasor, and the commander of his force was Sisara, and he himself lived in Harisoth-of-the-Nations. ³And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, for he had nine hundred ironclad chariots and himself cruelly oppressed Israel for twenty years.	4 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord, and Aod died. ²And the Lord gave them up in the hand of King Iabin of Chanaan, who reigned in Hasor, and the commander of his force was Sisara, and he himself lived in Harisoth-of-the-Nations. ³And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, for he had nine hundred ironclad chariots and himself cruelly oppressed Israel for twenty years.
4 And at that time a woman, Debbora, a prophetess, wife of Laphidoth, was judging Israel by herself. ⁵And she used to sit by herself under the palm of Debbora between Rama and between Baithel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel would come up to her there to resolve disputes. ⁶And Debbora sent and summoned Barak son of Abineem from Kedes Nephthali and said to him, “Is it not you whom the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded? And you shall leave for Mount Thabor and bring with you ten thousand men from the sons of Nephthali and from the sons of Zaboulon. ⁷And I will bring out to you, to the Wadi Kison, Sisara, commander of Iabin’s force, and his chariots and his horde, and I will give him in your hand.” ⁸And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, and if you will not go with me, I will not go, for I do not know the day in which the Lord will send his angel on a good journey with me.” ⁹And Debbora said to him, “Going I will go with you, but know that it will not be your success for the journey on which you are going, for the Lord will give Sisara up in the hand of a woman.” And Debbora got up and went with Barak to Kedes. ¹⁰And Barak summoned Zaboulon and Nephthali to Kedes, and ten thousand warriors went up at his heels, and Debbora went up with him.	4 And at that time a woman, Debbora, a prophetess, wife of Laphidoth, was judging Israel by herself. ⁵And she used to sit by herself under the palm of Debbora between Rama and between Baithel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel would come up to her for judgment. ⁶And Debbora sent and summoned Barak son of Abineem from Kades Nephthali and said to him, “Did not the Lord, the God of Israel, command you? And you shall leave for Mount Thabor and bring with you ten thousand men of the sons of Nephthali and of the sons of Zaboulon. ⁷And I will bring against you, to the Wadi Kison, Sisara, commander of Iabin’s force, and his chariots and his horde, and I will give him into your hands.” ⁸And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, and if you will not go, I will not go, for I do not know the day on which the Lord will send his angel on a good journey with me.” ⁹And she said, “Going I will go with you, but know that it will not be your success on the journey on which you are going, for the Lord will give Sisara up in the hand of a woman.” And Debbora got up and went with Barak from Kades. ¹⁰And Barak called out to Zaboulon and Nephthali from Kades, and ten thousand warriors went up at his heels, and Debbora went up with him.
11 And the fellows of the Kinite had separated from the sons of Iobab, a ^arelative by marriage^a of Moyses, and he had pitched his tent by Oak-of-the-Resters, which is near Kedes.	11 And Chaber the Kinite had separated from Kaina, from the sons of Iobab, a ^arelative by marriage^a of Moyses, and he had pitched his tent as far away as Oak-of-the-Greedy, which is near Kedes.
12 And they told Sisara that Barak son of Abineem had gone up to Mount Thabor, ¹³and Sisara called out all his chariots, for he had nine hundred ironclad chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harisoth-of-the-Nations, to the Wadi Kison. ¹⁴And Debbora said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisara in your hand. See, will the Lord not go before you?” And Barak went down from Mount Thabor, and ten thousand men behind him. ¹⁵And the Lord threw Sisara and all his chariots and all his camp into a panic by the edge of the sword before Barak, and Sisara got down from his chariot and fled away on his feet, ¹⁶and Barak was pursuing after the chariots and after the camp, all the way to Thicket-of-the-Nations. And all the camp of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.	12 And Sisara was told that Barak son of Abineem had gone up towards Mount Thabor, ¹³and Sisara called out all his chariots, nine hundred iron-clad chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harisoth-of-the-Nations, to the Wadi Kison. ¹⁴And Debbora said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisara in your hand. For the Lord will go out before you.” And Barak went down from Mount Thabor, and ten thousand men behind him. ¹⁵And the Lord threw Sisara and all his chariots and all his camp into a panic by the edge of the sword before Barak, and Sisara got down off his chariot and fled away on his feet, ¹⁶and Barak was pursuing after the chariots and after the camp, all the way to Harisoth-of-the-Nations. And the entire camp of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.
17 And Sisara had retreated on his feet to the tent of Iael, wife of Chaber the Kinite, for there was peace between King Iabin of Hasor and between the clan of Chaber the Kinite. ¹⁸And Iael came out to meet Sisara and said to him, “Come aside, my lord, come aside to me; have no fear.” And he came aside to her, into the tent, and she covered him with her skin curtain. ¹⁹And Sisara said to her, “Do but give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” And she opened the skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered up his face. ²⁰And he said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and it shall be, if anybody comes to you and asks you and says to you, ‘Is a man within?’ that you will say, ‘There is not.’” And she covered him up with her skin curtain. ²¹And Iael, wife of Chaber, took the tent peg and placed the hammer in her hand and quietly went in towards him and hammered the peg into his jaw and drove it through in the ground. And as for him, he writhed between her knees, and he breathed his last and died. ²²And see, Barak was pursuing Sisara, and Iael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come here, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he went in to her, and see, Sisara, a fallen corpse, and the tent peg in his jaw.	17 And Sisara had fled on his feet to the tent of Iael, wife of Chaber, comrade of the Kinite, for there was peace between King Iabin of Hasor and between the clan of Chaber the Kinite. ¹⁸And Iael came out to meet Sisara and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” And he turned aside to her, into the tent, and she covered him with a garment. ¹⁹And Sisara said to her, “Do but give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” And she opened the skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰And Sisara said to her, “Do stand at the entrance of the tent, and it shall be, if a man comes to you and asks you and says, ‘Is there a man here?’ that you will say, ‘There is not.’” ²¹And Iael, wife of Chaber, took the tent peg and placed the hammer in her hand and secretly went in towards him and drove the peg in his temple, and it went through in the ground. And as for him, he was terrified and stupified and he died. ²²And see, Barak was pursuing Sisara, and Iael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come here, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he went in to her, and see, Sisara sprawled, a corpse, and the tent peg in his temple.
23 And the Lord God humbled King Iabin of Chanaan in that day before the sons of Israel. ²⁴And the hand of the sons of Israel went out, going and becoming hard against King Iabin of Chanaan until they destroyed him.	23 And in that day God routed King Iabin of Chanaan before the sons of Israel. ²⁴And the hand of the sons of Israel was going out, going and becoming hard against King Iabin of Chanaan until they destroyed King Iabin of Chanaan.
5 And Debbora sang, and Barak son of Abineem, in that day and said:	5 And Debbora and Barak son of Abineem sang in that day, saying:
² “When chiefs take the lead in Israel, when people make their free choice, bless the Lord!	² “An unveiling was unveiled in Israel; when people volunteer, bless the Lord!
³ “Hear, O kings; give ear, O mighty satraps; I will sing to the Lord; I will make music to the God of Israel.	³ “Hear, O kings, and give ear, O satraps; I am for the Lord—I am! I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.
⁴ “Lord, at your marching out from Seir, when you set out from the field of Edom,	⁴ “Lord, at your marching out in Seir, when you set out from the field of Edom,
earth trembled, and the sky was convulsed. and the clouds dripped water.	earth trembled, and the sky dripped dews, and the clouds dripped water.
⁵ Mountains quaked from before the Lord, this Sina, from before the Lord, God of Israel.	⁵ Mountains quaked from before the Lord Eloi, this Sina, from before the Lord, God of Israel.
⁶ “In the days of Samegar son of Anath, in the days of Iael, kings were lacking, and they traveled paths; they traveled twisting roads.	⁶ “In the days of Samegar son of Anath, in the days of Iael, they abandoned roads and traveled along by-ways; they traveled by twisting roads.
⁷ A spokesman was lacking in Israel; he was lacking	⁷ Mighty ones were lacking in Israel; they were lacking
until Debbora rose up, for she arose as a mother in Israel.	until Debbora should arise until she should arise as a mother in Israel.
⁸ They chose new gods, like barley bread— protection, if I see it, of barbed lances among forty thousand!	⁸ They chose new gods; then the cities of the rulers fought;
	a shield, if it was seen, and a spear among forty thousand in Israel!
⁹ My heart is for what was ordained for Israel;	⁹ My heart is on what was ordained for Israel;
you the powerful of the people, bless the Lord.	you who volunteer among the people, bless the Lord.
¹⁰ “Mounted upon draft animals, sitting on covered chariots,	¹⁰ “Mounted upon a female donkey at midday, sitting on tribunal
	and going towards the ways of councils, on the way,
¹¹ utter a sound of people who strike up music, in the midst of those who rejoice!	¹¹ recount with^a a voice of those who strike up music, in the midst of those who draw water!
There they will attribute righteousness to the Lord.	There they will attribute acts of righteousness to the Lord.
The righteous prevailed in Israel; then the people of the Lord went down to their cities.	Increase acts of righteousness in Israel! Then the Lord’s people went down to the cities.
¹² “Awake, awake, Debbora! Arouse tens of thousands along with the people! Awake, awake, speak with a song.	¹² “Awake, awake, Debbora! Awake, awake! Declare a song;
Strengthen, arise, Barak, and, Debbora, strengthen Barak.	arise, Barak, and take captive your captives, O son of Abineem.
Take captive your captives, O son of Abineem.
¹³ When was his strength increased?	¹³ Then a remnant went down for the strong ones;
Lord, humble for me those who are stronger than me.	the people of the Lord went down for him among the powerful.
¹⁴ People of Ephraim wreaked vengeance on them	¹⁴ At my leading Ephraim uprooted them in Amalek,
in your brother Beniamin’s valley, among your peoples.	behind you, Beniamin, among your peoples;
At my leading Machir went down in search, and from Zaboulon the Lord would fight for me among the mighty,	through me Machir went down in search,
from there with the scepter of him who prevails in leadership.	and from Zaboulon those who draw with a rod of a scribe’s account.
¹⁵ In Issachar he sent his foot-soldiers with Debbora into the valley. You, why do you dwell in the midst of shores? He spread out with his feet.	¹⁵ And chiefs in Issachar were with Debbora and Barak.
Among the divisions of Rouben there were great inquiries of heart.	Thus Barak sent away in the valleys at his feet.
	Into the portions of Rouben there were great ones reaching for heart.
¹⁶ Tell me; why do you sit among the mosphathaim^a, to hear the pipings of those who arouse?	¹⁶ To what end did they sit between the double load, to hear the piping of messengers?
To cross over into the territory of Rouben there were great searchings of heart.	Into the divisions of Rouben there were great examinings of heart.
¹⁷ Galaad encamped beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why does he dwell by the ships?	¹⁷ Galaad encamped beyond the Jordan; and Dan, to what end does he dwell by the ships?
Aser sojourned at the shore of seas and encamped by his channels.	Aser sojourned at the coast of seas and will camp by its outlets.
¹⁸ Zaboulon is a people that scorned their life to death;	¹⁸ Zaboulon the people scorned their life to death;
Nephthalim too, on the heights of the field.	Nephthali too, on the heights of the field.
¹⁹ “Kings came, and they mustered,	¹⁹ “Their kings came, they mustered,
then fought kings of Chanaan	then fought kings of Chanaan,
at Thennach, by the water of Mageddo; they got no excessive share of silver.	at Thanaach, by the water of Megeddo; they got no gift of silver.
²⁰ Stars fought from the sky, from their courses they fought with Sisara.	²⁰ The stars from heaven mustered, from their paths they mustered with Sisara.
²¹ Wadi Kison carried them away, Wadi Kademim, Wadi Kison. My mighty soul will trample them!	²¹ Wadi Kison swept them away, wadi of ancients, Wadi Kison. My mighty soul will trample it!
²² “Then tendons of a horse were cut, amadaroth^a of his mighty ones.	²² “Then tendons of a horse were shackled; his strong ones eagerly made haste.
²³ “Curse Maroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse its inhabitants with a curse,	²³ “Curse Meroz, said an angel of the Lord, curse it;
because they did not come to the help of the Lord;	accursed be everyone who inhabits it,
the Lord is our helper, mighty among warriors.	because they did not come to the Lord’s help, for help among the powerful.
²⁴ “May Iael of women be blessed, wife of Chaber the Kinite; of women in a tent may she be blessed.	²⁴ “May Iael among women be blessed, wife of Chaber the Kinite;
	of women in tents may she be blessed.
²⁵ He asked her for water, and she gave him milk;	²⁵ He asked for water; she gave milk; she brought butter in a dish of pre- eminent ones.
she brought butter near in a dish of strong ones.
²⁶ She put her left hand to a peg, her right hand to the cutting off of weary ones,	²⁶ She put her left hand to a peg, and her right hand to a hammer of laborers,
and she beheaded Sisara; she crushed his skull, and she shattered and pierced his jaw.	and she hammered Sisara; she pierced his head,
	and she struck; she pierced his temple.
²⁷ Between her feet he doubled up and fell; he lay between her feet; where he doubled up,	²⁷ Between her feet he collapsed; he fell and lay; between her feet he sank down and fell;
there he fell, wretched.	as he sank down, there he fell, gone.
²⁸ “Out of the window the mother of Sisara was leaning down, looking down through the lattice at those who returned with Sisara:	²⁸ “Out of the window peered Sisara’s mother, beyond the peephole:
‘Why is his chariot the last to arrive? Why tarry the tracks of his chariots?’	‘It is because his chariot is ashamed;
	it is because his chariots’ feet tarry.’
²⁹ The wise among her leading ladies replied to her; she too answered with her own words:	²⁹ The wise, her leading ladies, answered her; she too returned her words to herself:
³⁰ ‘Will they not find him dividing the spoil, showing friendship to friends towards a mighty man’s head?	³⁰ ‘Will they not find him dividing the spoil?
Sisara’s spoils of dyed cloth, spoils of dyed, embroidered cloth,	Being compassionate he will show compassion towards a man’s head.
a dyed robe of embroidered cloth around his neck as spoil?’	Spoils of dyed cloth for Sisara, spoils of dyed, embroidered cloth,
	dyed pieces of embroiderers they are, spoils for his neck.’
³¹ “So perish all your enemies, O Lord! And may those who love him be like the rising of the sun in its dominance.”	³¹ “So perish all your enemies, O Lord! And may those who love him be like the marching out of the sun in its power.”
And the land had rest forty years.	And the land had rest forty years.
6 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord, and the Lord gave them up in the hand of Madiam seven years. ²And the hand of Madiam prevailed over Israel, and the sons of Israel made for themselves, from before Madiam, shelters in the mountains and in the caves and the strongholds. ³And it came about whenever a man of Israel put in seed that Madiam would come up, and Amalek and the sons of the east, and they would come up against him. ⁴And they would encamp against them, and they destroyed the produce of the land, until one comes to Gaza, and they would not leave support for life in Israel, even flock and calf and donkey. ⁵For they and their livestock would come up, and they would bring their tents, and they would arrive like a grasshopper in great numbers, and there was no number for them or their camels, and they would arrive in the land of Israel to waste it. ⁶And Israel was greatly impoverished from before Madiam, and the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.	6 And the sons of Israel did what was evil before the Lord, and the Lord gave them in the hand of Madiam seven years. ²And the hand of Madiam prevailed over Israel, and the sons of Israel made for themselves, from before Madiam, the hollows in the mountains, and the caves and the hangings^a. ³And it came about if the sons of Israel put in seed that Madiam came up, and Amalek and the sons of the east would come up with them. ⁴And they encamped against them and they ruined their crops, until coming to Gaza, and they did not leave support for life in the land of Israel, nor bull nor donkey among the herds. ⁵For they and their possessions would come up, and their tents would arrive like a grasshopper in great numbers, and there was no number for them or their camels, and they would enter the land of Israel and waste it. ⁶And Israel was greatly impoverished from before Madiam, and the sons of Israel called out to the Lord ⁷from before Madiam.
7 And it came about, when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord on account of Madiam, ⁸that the Lord sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am the one who made you come up from Egypt, and I led you out of a house of slavery, ⁹and I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and I drove them out from before you and gave you their land, ¹⁰and I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorrite, among whom you dwell, in their land.’ And you have not given heed to my voice.”	8 And the Lord sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am he who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you out of your house of slavery, ⁹and I rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and I drove them out from before you and gave you their land, ¹⁰and I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorrite, among whom you live, in their land.’ And you have not given heed to my voice.”
11 And an angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak, which was at Ephratha, which belonged to Ioas, father of Abiezri, and his son Gedeon was beating out wheat in a wine press to escape from before Madiam. ¹²And an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty in strength.” ¹³And Gedeon said to him, “By me, Lord? And if the Lord is with us, why have all these evils found us? And where are all his wonders, everything our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now he has cast us off and given us up in the hand of Madiam.” ¹⁴And the angel of the Lord looked at him and said to him, “Go in your strength and you will deliver Israel, and see, I have sent you forth.” ¹⁵And Gedeon said to him, “By me, lord? By what means shall I deliver Israel? See, my thousand is more lowly in Manasses, and I am insignificant in my father’s house.” ¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said to him, “The Lord will be with you, and you shall strike down Madiam as you would one man.” ¹⁷And Gedeon said to him, “And if I have found favor in your eyes and you will perform a sign for me that it is you who speak with me, ¹⁸do not stir from here until I come to you, and I will bring my sacrifice and place it before you.” And he said, “I am he; I will stay seated until you return.”	11 And an angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ephratha, which belonged to Ioas, father of Esdri, and Gedeon was his son, beating out grain in the wine press so as to escape from before Madiam. ¹²And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, strong among the powers.” ¹³And Gedeon said to him, “By me, my lord? And if the Lord is with us, to what end have these evils found us? And where are all his wonders that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord truly bring us up from Egypt?’ But now he has cast us out and given us in the hand of Madiam.” ¹⁴And the angel of the Lord turned towards him and said, “Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the hand of Madiam; see, I have sent you forth.” ¹⁵And Gedeon said to him, “By me, my lord? By what means shall I deliver Israel? See, my thousand became weak in Manasses, and I am the lesser one in my father’s house.” ¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said to him, “The Lord will be with you, and you shall strike down Madiam as you would one man.” ¹⁷And Gedeon said to him, “But if I have found pity in your eyes and you will do for me today everything you spoke about with me, ¹⁸do not depart
19 And Gedeon entered and prepared a goat kid and unleavened cakes from an oiphi^a of wheat flour, and the meat he placed in the breadbasket, and the broth he poured into a pot and brought it out to him under the oak and did obeisance. ²⁰And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them by that rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. ²¹And the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the rod that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes, and fire ignited from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord departed from his sight. ²²And Gedeon perceived that it was an angel of the Lord, and Gedeon said, “Ah, ah, Lord, Lord! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³And the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not be afraid that you will die.” ²⁴And Gedeon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, Peace of the Lord, it being still at Ephratha of Ezri’s father to this day.	19 And Gedeon entered and prepared a goat kid and unleavened cakes from an oiphi^a of wheat flour, and the meat he put in the basket and the broth he put into the pot and brought them out to him under the terebinth and drew near. ²⁰And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them by that rock, and pour out the broth next to it.” And he did so. ²¹And the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the rod that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes, and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord went from his sight. ²²And Gedeon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, and Gedeon said, “Ah, ah, my lord, Lord! For I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³And the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not be afraid; you will not die.” ²⁴And Gedeon built an altar there to the Lord and named it, Peace of the Lord, it being still at Ephratha of Ezri’s father to this day.
25 And it came about in that night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s fattened calf, the seven-year-old one. And you will pull down the altar of Baal that is your father’s and cut down the grove that is beside it, ²⁶and you will build an altar to the Lord your God, who appeared to you on the peak of this Mount Maoz, in proper order, and you will take the calf and offer up a whole burnt offering with the wood of the grove that you shall cut down.” ²⁷And Gedeon took thirteen men from among his slaves and did as the Lord had told him, and it came about, since he was afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, so as not to do it by day, that he did it by night.	25 And it came about in that night that the Lord said to him, “Take the calf, the bull that belongs to your father, and a second, seven-year-old calf. And you will pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and destroy the grove that extends up to it, ²⁶and you will build an altar to the Lord your God on the peak of this Maouek, in proper order, and you will take the second calf and offer up a whole burnt offering with the wood of the grove that you shall destroy.” ²⁷And Gedeon took ten men from among his own slaves and did it in the way the Lord had told him, and it came about, since he was afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, to do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And the men of the city arose early in the morning, and see, the altar of Baal broken down, and the grove beside it cut down, and the fattened calf offered up for a whole burnt offering on the altar that had been built! ²⁹And a man said to his fellow, “Who has done this deed?” And they were searching and seeking, and they said, “Gedeon son of Ioas did this deed.” ³⁰And the men of the city said to Ioas, “Bring out your son, and let him die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove beside it.” ³¹And Ioas said to the men who were arrayed against him, “Are you now acting as judges for Baal? Or are you delivering him? He who has sought judgment against him shall die by morning. If he is a god, he will exact justice from him, because he has broken down his altar.” ³²And in that day he called it Baal’s Court of Justice, because he pulled down his altar.	28 And the men of the city arose early in the morning, and see, the altar of Baal had been pulled down, and the grove beside it had been destroyed, and they saw the second calf that he had offered up onto the altar that had been built. ²⁹And a man said to his fellow, “Who has done this thing?” And they sought out and investigated, and they knew that Gedeon son of Ioas had done this thing. ³⁰And the men of the city said to Ioas, “Bring out your son, and let him die, because he has pulled down the altar of Baal and because he has destroyed the grove beside it.” ³¹And Ioas said to all the men who rose up against him, “Are you now acting as judges on Baal’s behalf? Or will you deliver him? Whoever passes judgment on him, let him be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him pass judgment on him, because he has pulled down his altar.” ³²And in that day he called it Iarbaal, saying, “Let Baal seek justice bon it^b, for his altar was pulled down.”
33 And all Madiam and Amalek and the sons of the east gathered together and crossed and encamped in the Valley of Iezrael. ³⁴And a divine spirit entered Gedeon, and he sounded with a horn and called out for Abiezer after him. ³⁵And he sent out messengers throughout all Manasses, and he himself called out after him. He also sent out messengers in Aser and in Zaboulon and in Nephthali, and they went up to meet him.	33 And all Madiam and Amalek and the sons of the East gathered together and encamped in the Valley of Ezereel. ³⁴And a spirit of the Lord empowered Gedeon, and he sounded with a horn, and Abiezer was seized by fear after him. ³⁵And he sent messengers into all Manasses and in Aser and in Zaboulon and Nephthali, and he went up to meet them.
36 And Gedeon said to God, “If you are delivering Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, ³⁷see, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor, and if there is dew on the fleece alone and there is dryness over all the ground, then I shall also know that you are delivering Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.” ³⁸And it was so. And Gedeon rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, and the dew flowed out of the fleece, a full basin of water. ³⁹And Gedeon said to God, “Let not your anger be aroused against me, and I will speak one more time, and I will make trial with the fleece one more time, and let there be dryness only on the fleece, but over all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰And God did so in that night. And there was dryness on the fleece only, but over all the ground there was dew.	36 And Gedeon said to God, “If it is you who are delivering Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, ³⁷see, I am placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone and there is dryness over all the ground, I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.” ³⁸And it was so. And he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, and dew dripped from the fleece, a full basin of water. ³⁹And Gedeon said to God, “Do not let your anger be aroused against me, and I will speak one more time. I will yet indeed make trial with the fleece one more time, and let the dryness be only on the fleece, and over all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰And God did so in that night. And there was dryness on the fleece only, and over all the ground there was dew.
7 And Ierobaal (he is Gedeon) rose early, and all the people that were with him, and encamped beside the land of Aroed, and the camp of Madiam and Amalek was north of him, away from the hill of Abor, in the valley.	7 And Iarbal (he is Gedeon) rose early, and all the people with him, and they encamped by the spring of Arad, and the camp of Madiam was north of him, away from Gabaath Amora, in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people with you are numerous; so I will not give up Madiam in their hand. Israel would only boast against me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’” ³And the Lord said to him, “Do proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Who is faint-hearted and fearful? Let him return home.’” And twenty-two thousand quickly set out from Mount Galaad and returned home from the people, and ten thousand remained.	2 And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people with you are numerous; so I will not give up Madiam in their hand. Israel would only boast against me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ ³And now, do proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Who is the one who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him turn round and leave Mount Galaad.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people turned around, and ten thousand remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people are still numerous; take them down into the water, and I will test them for you there. And it will be that anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you that he shall not go with you, he shall not go with you.” ⁵And he brought the people into the water, and the Lord said to Gedeon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as if a dog laps, you shall put him to one side, and every one who kneels down on his knees to drink, you shall put him by himself.” ⁶And the full number of those that lapped with their tongue was three hundred men, and all the rest of the people knelt down on their knees to drink water. ⁷And the Lord said to Gedeon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will deliver you and give Madiam up in your hand. And let all the people depart, a man to his place.” ⁸And they took the provisions of the people in their hand, and their horns, and he sent every man of Israel away, a man to his dwelling, but retained the three hundred men. Now the camp of Madiam was below him in the valley.	4 And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people are still numerous; bring them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. And it will be that anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you, and every one of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go with you.” ⁵And he brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gedeon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as if a dog laps, you shall put him to one side, and so with all those who bend down on their knees to drink.” ⁶And the number of those that lapped with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men, and all the remainder of the people bent down on their knees to drink water. ⁷And the Lord said to Gedeon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will deliver you and give Madiam in your hand. And all the people will go, a man to his place.” ⁸And they took the provisions of the people in their hand, and their horns, and he sent every man of Israel away, a man to his tent, and he encouraged the three hundred men. And the camp of Madiam was below him in the valley.
9 And it happened in that night that the Lord said to him, “Get up, go down quickly from here into the camp, for I have given it up in your hand. ¹⁰But if you fear to go down, you and your young servant Phara go down into the camp, ¹¹and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened, and you shall go down into the camp.” And he went down, he and his young servant Phara within the bounds of the fifty in the camp. ¹²And Madiam and Amalek and all the sons of the east had encamped in the valley like a grasshopper, in great numbers, and there was no number for their camels, but they were like the sand on the seashore, in great numbers. ¹³And Gedeon entered, and see, a man was telling his dream to his comrade, and he said, “See, the dream which I dreamed, and see, a cake of barley bread was tumbling in the camp of Madiam, and it came to the tent of Madiam and struck it and overturned it, and the tent collapsed.” ¹⁴And his comrade answered and said, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gedeon son of Ioas, a man of Israel; the Lord has given up Madiam and all the camp in his hand.”	9 And it happened in that night that the Lord said to him, “Get up, and go down in the camp, for I have given it up in your hand. ¹⁰And if you fear to go down, you and your young servant Phara go down into the camp, ¹¹and you shall hear what they will say, and after that your hands shall be strengthened, and you shall go down in the camp.” And he went down, he and his young servant Phara towards the command of the fifty that were in the camp. ¹²And Madiam and Amalek and all the sons of the east were thrown in the valley like a grasshopper, in great numbers, and there was no number for their camels, but they were like the sand on a seashore, in great numbers. ¹³And Gedeon arrived, and see, a man telling a dream to his comrade, and he said, “A dream, see, I dreamed, and see, a cake of barley bread was spinning round in the camp of Madiam, and it came to the tent and struck it, and it collapsed, and it turned it upside down, and the tent collapsed.” ¹⁴And his comrade answered and said, “This is nothing if not the sword of Gedeon son of Ioas, a man of Israel; God has given up Madiam and all the camp in his hand.”
15 And it came about, when Gedeon heard the narration of the dream and its interpretation, that he did obeisance to the Lord, and he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the Lord has given the camp of Madiam in your hands.” ¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three commands and put horns in the hand of all of them and empty jars and torches in the middle of the jars. ¹⁷And he said to them, “You will see from me and do the same. And see, I am going into the middle of the camp, and it will be that as I do, so you shall do. ¹⁸And I shall sound with the horn, I and all those with me, and you also shall sound with your horns around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gedeon!’”	15 And it came about, when Gedeon heard the explanation of the dream and its interpretation, that he did obeisance to the Lord, and he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the Lord has given the camp of Madiam in your hand.” ¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three commands and put horns in the hands of all of them and empty jars and torches in the jars. ¹⁷And he said to them, “You will see from me and do the same. And see, I am entering in the command of the camp, and it will be that as I do, so you shall do. ¹⁸And I shall sound with the horn for my part, and all you with me shall sound with your horns around the entire camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gedeon!’”
19 And Gedeon and a hundred men with him entered in the bounds of the camp at the beginning of the midnight watch; however, he roused the guards with a rousing, and they sounded with the horns and shook out the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰And the three commands sounded with the horns and broke the jars and grasped the torches in their left hand, and in their right hand were the horns to sound, and they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon!” ²¹And everyone stood in his place all around the camp, and they ran, all the camp, and they gave signals and fled. ²²And the three hundred horns sounded, and the Lord set a man’s dagger against his fellow and against all the camp, and the camp fled as far as Baithasetta and was pressed back as far as the edge of Abelmeoula and by Tabath. ²³And a man of Israel sounded the cry from Nephthalim and from Aser and from all Manasses, and they took up the pursuit after Madiam.	19 And Gedeon and the hundred men with him entered in the command of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, and rousing they roused the guards, and they sounded with the horns and shook out the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰And the three commands sounded with the horns and broke the jars and seized the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands the horns to sound, and they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon!” ²¹And they stood, a man for himself, all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they gave signals and fled. ²²And they sounded with the three hundred horns, and the Lord set a man’s sword against his fellow throughout all the camp, and the camp fled as far as Bethseedta Garagatha, as far as the edge of Abomeoula by Tabath. ²³And they sounded the cry, a man of Israel, from Nephthali and from Aser and from all Manasses, and they pursued after Madiam.
24 And Gedeon sent messengers throughout all the territory of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Madiam, and seize the water for yourselves as far as Baithbera and the Jordan.” And every man of Ephraim sounded the cry, and they quickly seized the water as far as Baithbera and the Jordan. ²⁵And they captured the two commanders of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb, and they killed Oreb at Sourin, and Zeb they killed at Iakeph-Zeb, and they pursued Madiam. And they brought the head of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon, from beyond the Jordan.	24 And Gedeon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Madiam, and seize the water for yourselves, as far as Baithera and the Jordan.” And every man of Ephraim sounded the cry, and they quickly seized the water as far as Baithera and the Jordan. ²⁵And they captured the commanders of Madiam, both Oreb and Zeb, and they killed Oreb at Sour, and Zeb they killed at Iakeph-Zeph, and they pursued Madiam. And they brought the head of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon, from beyond the Jordan.
8 And a man of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this thing to us, not to call us when you were setting out to fight against Madiam?” And they disputed with him forcefully. ²And he said to them, “What have I done now as you have? Are not the gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim better things than the vintage of Abiezer? ³God has given up in your hand the commanders of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb, and what have I been able to do as you have?” And they desisted. Then their spirit abated because of him, when he spoke this word.	8 And they said to Gedeon, a man of Ephraim, “Why have you done this thing to us, not to call us when you set out to deploy against Madiam?” And they argued strongly with him. ²And he said to them, “What have I done now as you have? Or is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim a better thing than the vintage of Abiezer? ³God has given up in your hand the commanders of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb, and what have I been able to do as you have?” Then their spirit abated because of him, when he spoke this word.
4 And Gedeon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men with him, faint and famished. ⁵And he said to the men of Sokchoth, “Do give some loaves to the people who are with me, for they are famished, but as for me, I am pursuing after Zebee and Salmana, kings of Madiam.” ⁶And the rulers of Sokchoth said, “Do you already have in your hand a hand of Zebee and Salmana, that we shall give loaves to your army?” ⁷And Gedeon said, “Not so! When the Lord has given Zebee and Salmana in my hand, I will also cut your flesh to pieces with the thorns of the wilderness and with the barkonnim^a.” ⁸And from there he went up to Phanouel and spoke to them in a similar way, and the men of Phanouel answered him as the men of Sokchoth had answered him. ⁹And he said to the men of Phanouel, saying, “When I come back in peace, I will break down this tower.”	4 And Gedeon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, famished and pursuing. ⁵And he said to the men of Sokchoth, “Do give some loaves as food for this people which is at my feet, for they are fainting, and see, as for me, I am pursuing after Zebee and Selmana, kings of Madiam.” ⁶And the rulers of Sokchoth said, “Do you already have in your hand a hand of Zebee and Selmana? We will not give loaves to your force.” ⁷And Gedeon said, “Therefore, when the Lord has given Zebee and Selmana in my hand, then I for my part will thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with the abarkenin^a.” ⁸And from there he went up to Phanouel and spoke to them likewise, and the men of Phanouel answered him as the men of Sokchoth had answered. ⁹And Gedeon said to the men of Phanouel, “On my return in peace, I will break down this tower.”
10 And Zebee and Salmana were in Karkar, and their camp was with them, about fifteen thousand, those who were left among all the camp of the sons of the east, and those who had fallen were one hundred and twenty thousand men who had drawn a sword. ¹¹And Gedeon went up by the route of those who dwell in tents, east of Nabeth, opposite Zebee, and struck the camp, but the camp was confident. ¹²And Zebee and Salmana fled, and he took up the pursuit after them and seized the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Salmana, and destroyed all their camp.	10 And Zebee and Selmana were in Karkar, and their camp was with them, about fifteen thousand men, all those who were left out of all the army of foreigners, and those who had fallen were one hundred and twenty thousand men drawing a sword. ¹¹And Gedeon went up by the route of those who camp in tents, to the east of Nabai and Iegebal, and struck the camp, and the camp was confident. ¹²And Zebee and Selmana fled, and he took up the pursuit after them and seized the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Selmana, and threw all the army into panic.
13 And Gedeon son of Ioas returned from the war, from the ascent of Hares. ¹⁴And they caught a lad, one of the men of Sokchoth, and he questioned him, and he noted down for them the rulers of Sokchoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵And Gedeon came to the rulers of Sokchoth and said to them, “See! Zebee and Salmana, on whose account you taunted me, saying, ‘Do you perhaps already have in your hand a hand of Zebee and Salmana, that we shall give loaves to your men who are exhausted?’” ¹⁶And he took the rulers and the elders of the city, and he cut them to pieces with the thorns of the wilderness and the barakenim^a, and he cut the men of Sokchoth to pieces with them. ¹⁷And he broke down the tower of Phanouel and killed the men of the city.	13 And Gedeon son of Ioas returned from the battle, from above the battle of Hares. ¹⁴And he caught a lad, one of the men of Sokchoth, and he questioned him, and he wrote for him the names of the rulers of Sokchoth and their elders, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵And Gedeon came to the rulers of Sokchoth and said, “See! Zebee and Selmana, by means of whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Do you perhaps already have in your hand a hand of Zebee and Selmana, that we shall give loaves to the men who are fainting?’” ¹⁶And he took the elders of the city among the thorns of the wilderness and the barakenim^a, and he threshed the men of the city with them. ¹⁷And he toppled the tower of Phanouel and killed the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebee and Salmana, “Where are the men whom you killed at Thabor?” And they said, “As you are: one like you was like them, like the appearance, the form, of kings’ sons.” ¹⁹And Gedeon said, “They are my brothers and the sons of my mother.” And he swore to them: “The Lord lives: if you had brought them to life, I would not have killed you.” ²⁰And he said to Iether his firstborn, “Get up, and kill them!” And the lad did not draw his dagger, for he was afraid, because he was too young. ²¹And Zebee and Salmana said, “You then get up and face us, for like a man is his power.” And Gedeon got up and killed Zebee and Salmana, and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.	18 And he said to Zebee and Selmana, “Where are the men whom you killed at Thabor?” And they said, “As you are, so were they, for a likeness of a king’s son.” ¹⁹And Gedeon said, “They were my brothers and the sons of my mother. The Lord lives: if you had brought them to life, I would not have killed you.” ²⁰And Iether said to his firstborn, “Get up, and kill them!” And the lad did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still too young. ²¹And Zebee and Selmana said, “You get up and face us, for your power is like a man’s.” And Gedeon got up and killed Zebee and Selmana, and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
22 And a man of Israel said to Gedeon, “Rule among us, you and your sons, for you have delivered us out of the hand of Madiam.” ²³And Gedeon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” ²⁴And Gedeon said to them, “I will request a request of you, and you, ^ba man^b, give me an earring from his booty.” (For they^c had many golden earrings, because they were Ismaelites.) ²⁵And they said, “Giving we will give them.” And he spread his garment, and ^ba man^b cast there a golden earring of his booty. ²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold (apart from the sirons^d and the small necklaces enphoth^e and the purple cloaks that were on the kings of Madiam and apart from the golden collars that were on the necks of their camels). ²⁷And Gedeon made it into an ephoud and put it in his city, in Ephratha, and all Israel prostituted themselves after it there, and it became for an obstacle to Gedeon and to his house. ²⁸And Madiam was humbled before the sons of Israel, and they did not add to lift up their head. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gedeon.	22 And they said, a man of Israel, to Gedeon, “Lord, rule us, both you and your son, for you were the one who delivered us out of the hand of Madiam.” ²³And Gedeon said to them, “I will not rule, and my son will not rule, among you; the Lord will rule over you.” ²⁴And Gedeon said to them, “I will request a request of you, and you, ^ba man^b, give me an earring out of his booty.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ismaelites.) ²⁵And they said, “Giving we will give them.” And he spread his garment, and ^ba man^b threw there a golden earring of his booty. ²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand five hundred pieces of gold (apart from the crescents and the necklaces^c and the cloaks and purple garments that were on the kings of Madiam and except for the bands that were on the necks of their camels). ²⁷And Gedeon made it into an ephoth^d and put it in his city, Ephratha, and all Israel prostituted themselves after it there, and it became for a thorn to Gedeon and to his house. ²⁸And Madiam was cast down before the sons of Israel, and they did not add to lift up their head. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gedeon.
29 And Ierobaal son of Ioas went and lived in his own house. ³⁰And Gedeon had seventy sons who came from his thighs, for he had many wives. ³¹And his concubine who was in Sikima, she indeed also bore him a son, and he named his name Abimelech. ³²And Gedeon son of Ioas died with a good head of gray hair and was buried in the tomb of his father Ioas at Ephratha, of Abiezri’s father.	29 And Ierobaal son of Ioas went and sat in his own house. ³⁰And Gedeon had seventy sons who had come from his thighs, for he had many wives. ³¹And his concubine was in Sychem, and she indeed also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. ³²And Gedeon son of Ioas died in his city and was buried in the tomb of his father Ioas at Ephratha Abiesdri.
33 And it came about as Gedeon died that the sons of Israel turned aside and prostituted themselves after the Baalim and made for themselves Baal-Berith for a covenant that he should be for a god to them. ³⁴And the sons of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, ³⁵and they did not do mercy with the house of Ierobaal Gedeon in return for all the goodness that he had done with Israel.	33 And it came about even as Gedeon died that the sons of Israel turned around and prostituted themselves after the Baalim, and they made a covenant for themselves with Baal that he should be for a god to them. ³⁴And the sons of Israel did not remember the Lord God, who had rescued them from the hand of all who oppressed them on every side, ³⁵and they did not do mercy with the house of Ierobaal (he is Gedeon) in return for all the good deeds that he had done with Israel.
9 And Abimelech son of Ierobaal went to Sikima to his mother’s brothers and spoke to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, saying, ²“Speak now in the hearing of the men of Sikima, ‘Which is better, that seventy men, all sons of Ierobaal, rule over you or that one man be lord over you?’ And remember that I am your flesh and your bone.” ³And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the men of Sikima, and their heart inclined after Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-of-Covenant, and Abimelech hired vain and alarming men with them, and they walked after him. ⁵And he entered his father’s house at Ephratha and killed his brothers, sons of Ierobaal, seventy men, on one stone, and Ioatham, the youngest son of Ierobaal, was passed over, for he hid. ⁶And all the men of Sikima and all the house of Maallon came together, and they went and made Abimelech for king by the acorn-tree of placing^a at Sikima.	9 And Abimelech son of Ierobaal went to Sychem to his mother’s brothers and spoke to them and to every clan of his mother’s father’s family, saying ²“Speak now in the hearing of all the men of Sychem, ‘What is good for you, that seventy men, all sons of Ierobaal, be lord over you or that one man be lord over you?’ And remember that I am your bone and your flesh.” ³And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the men of Sychem, and their heart inclined after Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired himself vain and cowardly fellows, and they walked after him. ⁵And he entered his father’s house at Ephratha and killed his brothers, sons of Ierobaal, seventy men, on one stone, and Ioathan, the youngest son of Ierobaal, was left, for he hid. ⁶And all the men of Sikima and every household of Bethmaalon came together, and they went and made Abimelech king by the acorn-tree ^afor the one found of the placing^a at Sikima.
7 And they told Ioatham, and he went and stood on the top of Mount Garizin and raised his voice and called out and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Sikima, and may God listen to you.	7 And Iephthae judged Israel sixty years. And Iephthae the Galaadite died and was buried in his city, in Galaad.
⁸ Going out, the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves.	⁸ Going out, the trees went out to anoint a king over themselves.
And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’	And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
⁹ And the olive tree said to them,	⁹ And the olive tree said to them,
‘Am I to neglect my fattiness, which God and men extol in me, and go to rule the trees?’	‘Shall I abandon my fattiness by which men extol God and go to sway over the trees?’
¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come, reign over us.’	¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come, reign over us.’
¹¹ And the fig tree said to them,	¹¹ And the fig tree said to them,
‘Am I to neglect my sweetness and my good produce and go to rule the trees?’	‘Shall I abandon my sweetness and my good produce and go to sway over the trees?’
¹² And the trees said to the vine, ‘Come, reign over us.’	¹² And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us.’
¹³ And the vine said to them, ‘Am I to neglect my wine, the good cheer of men which comes from God, and go to rule the trees?’	¹³ And the vine said to them, ‘Shall I abandon my wine, that cheers God and men, and go to sway over the trees?’
¹⁴ And the trees said to the bramble,	¹⁴ And all the trees said to the bramble,
‘You come; reign over us.’	‘You come; reign over us.’
¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees,	¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees,
‘If in good faith you are anointing me for king over you, come, and trust in my protection,	‘If in good faith you are anointing me to rule over you, come, and subsist in my shade,
and if not, may fire come out of the bramble	and if not, let fire come from me
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’	and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “Now then, if you acted in good faith and in perfection and made Abimelech king and if you dealt well with Ierobaal and with his house and if you have done to him according to the recompense of his hand—¹⁷seeing that my father fought for you and cast his life in opposition and rescued you from the hand of Madiam, ¹⁸and you have risen up against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the men of Sikima, because he is your brother—¹⁹and if you acted in good faith and perfection with Ierobaal and his house this day, may you be blessed today and may you rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you, ²⁰and if not, may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Sikima and the house of Maallon, and if not, may fire come from the men of Sikima and out of the house of Maallon and devour Abimelech.” ²¹And Ioatham ran away and went on a journey and fled to Rara and lived there from before his brother Abimelech.	16 “Now then, if you acted in good faith and perfection and made Abimelech king and if you have acted with goodness with Ierobaal and his house and if you have done to him according to the recompense of his hand—¹⁷seeing that my father went into battle for you and cast forth his life in opposition and delivered you from the hand of Madiam, ¹⁸and you have risen up against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the men of Sikima, because he is your brother—¹⁹and if you have acted in good faith and perfection with Ierobaal and with his house this day, then may you rejoice in Abimelech and may he indeed also rejoice over you, ²⁰but if not, may fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Sikima and the house of Bethmaallon, and let fire come from the men of Sikima and out from the house of Bethmaallon and devour Abimelech.” ²¹And Ioathan fled and ran away and went as far as Baier and lived there from before his brother Abimelech.
22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ²³And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and between the men of Sikima, and the men of Sikima dealt treacherously in the house of Abimelech, ²⁴that they might bring up the injustice against the seventy sons of Ierobaal, to lay their blood upon their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and upon the men of Sikima, who strengthened his hands so that he killed his brothers. ²⁵And the men of Sikima set ambushes against him on the mountain tops, and they would kidnap all who passed by them along that way, and it was reported to Abimelech.	22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ²³And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and between the men of Sikima, and the men of Sikima dealt treacherously in the house of Abimelech, ²⁴that they might bring up the injustice against the seventy sons of Ierobaal and to lay their shed blood upon their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and upon the men of Sikima, because they strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. ²⁵And the men of Sikima set an ambush against him on the mountain tops, and they would plunder everyone who was passing by them along that way, and it was reported to King Abimelech.
26 And Gaal son of Abed and his brothers came into Sikima, and the men of Sikima had put confidence in him. ²⁷And they went into the field and gathered grapes from their vineyards and were treading them and did dances. And they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and were cursing Abimelech. ²⁸And Gaal son of Abed said, “What is Abimelech, and who is the son of Sychem, that we shall be subject to him? Is he not a son of Ierobaal? And Zeboul his supervisor is his slave along with the men of Hemmor father of Sychem. And why is it that we shall serve him? ²⁹And who would give this people in my hand? And I will remove Abimelech, and I will say to Abimelech, ‘Multiply your force, and come out.’”	26 And Gaal son of Iobel and his brothers came, and they entered Sikima, and the men of Sikima put their hope in him. ²⁷And they went out into the field and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them and made elloulim^a and brought them into the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸And Gaal son of Iobel said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is the son of Sychem, that we shall be subject to him? Is he not a son of Ierobaal? And Zeboul his supervisor is his slave along with the men of Hemmor father of Sychem. And why is it that we shall serve him? ²⁹And who would give this people in my hand? And I will remove Abimelech, and I will say to him, ‘Multiply your force, and come out.’”
30 And Zeboul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Abed, and he was furiously angry. ³¹And he sent messengers to Abimelech with gifts, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Abed and his brothers have arrived in Sikima, and these here are besieging the city against you. ³²Now then, get up by night, you and the people that are with you, and lie in wait in the fields. ³³And it will happen early, as the sun rises, that you will rise early and reach out against the city, and see, he himself and the people that are with him will come out against you, and you will deal with him just as your hand devises.”	30 And Zeboul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Iobel, and he himself was furiously angry. ³¹And he sent messengers to Abimelech in secret, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Iobel and his brothers are coming into Sychem, and see, they themselves are laying siege to the city against you. ³²Now then, get up by night, you and the people that are with you, and lie in wait in the fields. ³³And it will happen early, as the sun rises: you will rise early and reach out against the city, and see, he himself and the people that are with him will come out against you, and you will do to him whatever your hand devises.”
34 And Abimelech and all the people with him got up by night and stationed four commands in ambush against Sikima. ³⁵And it happened early that Gaal son of Abed went out and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people with him rose from their ambushes. ³⁶And Gaal son of Abed saw them and said to Zeboul, “Look, people coming down from the mountain tops!” And Zeboul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the mountains as men.” ³⁷And Gaal added still to speak, and he said, “Look, people coming down towards the sea from the area near the navel of the land, and one command is coming from the direction of Watchers’ Oak.” ³⁸And Zeboul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, which said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we shall be subject to him?’ Look, are these not the people you made light of? Go out now and fight with them.” ³⁹And Gaal went out from before the men of Sikima and fought against Abimelech. ⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from before him, and many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the city. ⁴¹And Abimelech resided at Arima, and Zeboul drove out Gaal and his brothers so that they could not live on at Sikima.	34 And Abimelech got up—and all the people were with him—by night, and they stationed themselves in ambush against Sychem, in four commands. ³⁵And Gaal son of Iobel went out and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people with him rose from their ambush. ³⁶And Gaal son of Iobel saw them and said to Zeboul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountain peaks!” And Zeboul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the mountains as men.” ³⁷And Gaal added still to speak, and he said, “Look, people coming down towards the sea from the area near the navel of the land, and another command is coming by way of Elonmaonenim^a.” ³⁸And Zeboul said to him, “And where is your mouth, when you spoke, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we shall be subject to him?’ Are not these the people you made light of? You go out now and muster against them.” ³⁹And Gaal went out in the presence of the men of Sychem and deployed against Abimelech. ⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from before him, and many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹And Abimelech entered in Arema, and Zeboul drove out Gaal and his brothers so that they could not live on at Sychem.
42 And it came about on the following day that the people went out into the plain, and it was reported to Abimelech. ⁴³And he took along the people and divided them into three commands and lay in wait in it. And he looked, and see, people came out of the city, and he rose against them and struck them down. ⁴⁴And Abimelech and the commands that were with him spread out and stood at the gate of the city, and the two commands rushed out at all who were in the fields and struck them down. ⁴⁵And Abimelech was fighting against the city all that day, and they took the city, and he killed the people that were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.	42 And it came about on the following day that the people went out into the fields, and they reported it to Abimelech. ⁴³And he took the people and divided them into three commands and lay in wait in the fields. And he looked, and see, the people came out of the city, and he rose against them and struck them down. ⁴⁴And Abimelech and the chiefs that were with him spread out and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, and the two commands spread out against all who were in the fields and struck them down. ⁴⁵And Abimelech was deploying against the city all that day, and he took the city, and he killed the people that were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it for salt.
46 And all the men of the Tower of Sikima heard of it, and they entered the stronghold of the house of Baal-of-Covenant. ⁴⁷And Abimelech was told that all the men of the Tower of Sikima were gathered together. ⁴⁸And Abimelech went up to Mount Selmon, he and all the people that were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulders. And he said to the people with him, “What have you seen me doing? Do quickly just as I have done.” ⁴⁹And every one of them also cut down a bundle, took it up and followed after Abimelech, and they put it against the stronghold, and they burned the stronghold over them with fire, and all the men of the Tower of Sikima died, about a thousand men and women.	46 And all the men of the towers of Sychem heard of it, and they gathered to the assembly-place at Baithel-Berith^b. ⁴⁷And Abimelech was told that all the men of the towers of Sychem were gathered together. ⁴⁸And Abimelech went up to Mount Hermon, and all the people that were with him. And Abimelech took the axes in his hand and cut down a tree branch and took it up and laid it on his shoulders. And he said to the people with him, “What you have seen me doing do quickly as I have done.” ⁴⁹And they—and indeed ^aa man^a—also cut down every man a branch and followed after Abimelech, and they put it against the assembly-place, and they set the assembly-place alight over them with fire, and indeed all the men of the Tower of Sikima died, about a thousand men and women.
50 And Abimelech went to Thebes, and laid siege against it and quickly seized it. ⁵¹And there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled there and shut it on themselves, and they went up to the top of the tower. ⁵²And Abimelech came up to the tower, and they fought him, and Abimelech, came near to the door of the tower, to burn it with fire. ⁵³And one woman threw a piece of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. ⁵⁴And immediately he called out to the young servant, the one who carried his equipment, and said to him, “Draw your dagger, and kill me, so they will not say, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young servant thrust him through, and Abimelech died. ⁵⁵And a man of Israel saw that Abimelech had died, and they departed, a man to his place. ⁵⁶And God turned away the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers, ⁵⁷and God returned all the evil of the men of Sikima on their head, and on them came the curse of Ioatham the son of Ierobaal.	50 And Abimelech went from Baithel-Berith^b, and encamped against Thebes and took it. ⁵¹And there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women of the city fled there and shut it around them, and they went up to the top of the tower. ⁵²And Abimelech came up to the tower, and they engaged in battle with him, and Abimelech came near to the door of the tower, to burn it with fire. ⁵³And one woman threw a piece of an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. ⁵⁴And quickly he called out to the young servant who carried his equipment and said to him, “Draw my sword, and kill me, so they will not say, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young servant thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵And a man of Israel saw that Abimelech had died, and they went, a man to his place. ⁵⁶And God returned the wickedness of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers, ⁵⁷and God returned all the wickedness of the men of Sychem on their head, and on them came the curse of Ioathan son of Ierobaal.
10 And after Abimelech, Thola son of Phoua, son of his father’s brother, a man of Issachar, rose to deliver Israel, and he himself lived at Samaria in the hill country of Ephraim. ²And he judged Israel twenty-three years. And he died and was buried at Samaria.	10 And after Abimelech, Thola son of Phoua, son of his father’s brother, a man of Issachar, rose to deliver Israel, and he himself dwelled at Samir in the hill country of Ephraim. ²And he judged Israel twenty-three years. And he died and was buried at Samir.
3 And after him arose Iair the Galaadite, and he judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴And there were born to him thirty-two sons who rode on thirty-two colts, and they had thirty-two cities, and he called them Iair’s Hamlets until this day, which are in the land of Galaad. ⁵And Iair died and was buried in Rammo.	3 And after him arose Iair the one of Galaad, and he judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴And he had thirty-two sons riding on thirty-two colts, and they had thirty-two cities, and they would call them Iair’s Hamlets until this day, in the land of Galaad. ⁵And Iair died and was buried in Ramnon.
6 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord and served the she-Baalim and the Astaroth and the gods of Sidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the sons of Ammon and the gods of the allophyles. And they abandoned the Lord and were not subject to him. ⁷And the Lord was furiously angry with Israel, and he gave them up in the hand of allophyles and in the hand of the sons of Ammon, ⁸and they undermined and crushed the sons of Israel in that year for eighteen years, all the sons of Israel beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorrite in Galaaditis. ⁹And the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan, to wage war both against Ioudas and Beniamin and against the house of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel were greatly distressed.	6 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord and were subject to the Baalim and the Astaroth and the gods of Arad and the gods of Sidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the sons of Ammon and the gods of Phylistiim. And they abandoned the Lord and were not subject to him. ⁷And the Lord was furiously angry with Israel, and he gave them up in the hand of Phylistiim and in the hand of the sons of Ammon, ⁸and they oppressed and crushed the sons of Israel at that time for eighteen years, all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorri, who is in Galaad. ⁹And the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan, to deploy against Ioudas and Beniamin and against Ephraim, and Israel was greatly distressed.
10 And the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have served the she-Baalim.” ¹¹And the Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did not the Egyptians and the Amorrites and the sons of Ammon and Moab and the allophyles ¹²and Sidonians and Madiam and Amalek oppress you? And you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. ¹³And you have abandoned me and served other gods; therefore I will not add to deliver you. ¹⁴Go away, and cry aloud to the gods whom you have chosen for yourselves, and let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” ¹⁵And the sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us according to everything that is pleasing before you; only, Lord, deliver us in this day!” ¹⁶And they put away the foreign gods from their midst and served the Lord, and he was not well pleased with the people, and he was worried about the suffering of Israel.	10 And the sons of Israel called out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned God and were subject to Baalim.” ¹¹And the Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Was it not out of Egypt and from the Amorrite and from the sons of Ammon and from Phylistiim ¹²and Sidonians and Amalek and Madiam who oppressed you, and you called out to me, and I delivered you out of their hand? ¹³And you have abandoned me and were subject to other gods; therefore I will not add to deliver you. ¹⁴Go, and call out to the gods whom you have chosen for yourselves, and let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” ¹⁵And the sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us according to everything that is good in your sight; only, deliver us in this day!” ¹⁶And they shunned the foreign gods from their midst and were subject to the Lord only, and his soul was constricted over the suffering of Israel.
17 And the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in Galaad, and the sons of Israel went out and encamped at Massepha. ¹⁸And the rulers of the people of Galaad said, a man to his fellow, “What man is it who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He will also be for a head to all the inhabitants of Galaad.”	17 And the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in Galaad, and the sons of Israel gathered and encamped at ^athe vantage point^a. ¹⁸And the people, the rulers of Galaad, said, a man to his fellow, “Who is the man who might begin to deploy against the sons of Ammon? He will also be for a ruler to all the inhabitants of Galaad.”
11 And Iephthae the Galaadite was powerful in strength, and he himself was a son of a woman who was a prostitute, and she bore Iephthae to Galaad. ²And Galaad’s wife bore him sons, and his wife’s sons came to maturity and drove Iephthae away and said to him, “You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house, for you are the son of woman who is a courtesan.” ³And Iephthae fled from before his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. And petty men were coming together to Iephthae and would go out together with him.	11 And Iephthae the Galaadite was exalted in power, and he himself was the son of a woman who was a prostitute, who bore Iephthae to Galaad. ²And Galaad’s wife bore him sons, and his wife’s sons came to maturity and drove Iephthae away and said to him, “You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house, for you are the son of woman who is a courtesan.” ³And Iephthae fled from before his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. And worthless men gathered around Iephthae and set out with him.
4 And it happened after days that the sons of Ammon made war with Israel. ⁵And it happened, when the sons of Ammon were making war with Israel, that the elders of Galaad went to take along Iephthae in the land of Tob. ⁶And they said to Iephthae, “Come, and you will be for a leader to us, and let us fight against the sons of Ammon.” ⁷And Iephthae said to the elders of Galaad, “Was it not you that hated me and drove me out of my father’s house and sent me away from you? And why is it that you came to me when you were in trouble?” ⁸And the elders of Galaad said to Iephthae, “It is not like that! We have come to you now, and you will go with us, and we will fight against the sons of Ammon, and you will be for a head to us, to all the inhabitants of Galaad.” ⁹And Iephthae said to the elders of Galaad, “If you are returning me to fight against the sons of Ammon, then let the Lord give them over before me. I will be for a head to you.” ¹⁰And the elders of Galaad said to Iephthae, “The Lord will be the one who hears between us, if we do not do so, according to your word.” ¹¹And Iephthae went with the elders of Galaad, and they appointed him over them for a head, for a leader, and Iephthae spoke all his words before the Lord at Massepha.	5 And it happened, when the sons of Ammon mustered with Israel, that the elders of Galaad went to take Iephthae from the land of Tob. ⁶And they said to Iephthae, “Come, and you will be for a chief to us, and let us deploy against the sons of Ammon.” ⁷And Iephthae said to the elders of Galaad, “Was it not you that hated me and drove me out of my father’s house and sent me away from you? And for what reason did you come to me now when you are in need?” ⁸And the elders of Galaad said to Iephthae, “It is for this reason that we have now turned to you, and you will go with us and deploy against the sons of Ammon, and you will be for a ruler to us, to all the inhabitants of Galaad.” ⁹And Iephthae said to the elders of Galaad, “If you are returning me to deploy against the sons of Ammon, then let the Lord give them over before me, and I will be for a ruler to you.” ¹⁰And the elders of Galaad said to Iephthae, “Let the Lord be hearing between us, if we do not do so, according to your word.” ¹¹And Iephthae went with the elders of Galaad, and the people appointed him over them for a head and for a chief, and Iephthae spoke all his words before the Lord at Massepha.
12 And Iephthae sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is there between you and me that you have come against me to fight me in my land?” ¹³And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Iephthae, “Because Israel took away my land in their journey up out of Egypt, from Arnon up to Iabok and up to the Jordan, and now restore them in peace.” ¹⁴And the messengers returned to Iephthae, and Iephthae sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, ¹⁵saying: “This is what Iephthae says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the sons of Ammon ¹⁶in their journey up out of Egypt; rather, Israel went in the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kades. ¹⁷And Israel sent out messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘I will pass through your land,’ and the king of Edom did not listen. And indeed he sent to the king of Moab, but he did not consent. And Israel resided at Kades. ¹⁸And he journeyed through in the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived at sunrise^a of the land of Moab, and they camped on the other side of Arnon. And they did not enter the territory of Moab, for Arnon was the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Seon, king of Hesebon, the Amorrite, and Israel said to him, ‘I will pass through your land to my place.’ ²⁰And Seon did not want Israel to cross his boundaries, and Seon gathered all his people together and encamped at Iassa and fought with Israel. ²¹And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Seon and all his people in the hand of Israel, and he struck them down, and Israel inherited all the land of the Amorrite who inhabited the land. ²²And he inherited all the territory of the Amorrite from Arnon and up to the Iabbok and from the wilderness and up to the Jordan. ²³And now the Lord, the God of Israel, has removed the Amorrite from before his people Israel. And shall you inherit them for yourself? ²⁴Should it not be that whatever your god Chamos has assigned you as an inheritance, that you will inherit? And everything that the Lord our God has assigned as an inheritance from before us, that we will inherit. ²⁵And now, are you any better than Balak son of Sepphor, king of Moab? Did he fight in a battle with Israel, or going to war, did he go to war with them? ²⁶In the house of Israel in Hesebon and in its daughters and in Iazer and in its daughters and in all the cities that are along the Jordan, for three hundred years, why is it they did not recover them within that time? ²⁷And as for me, I have not sinned against you, and you are the one who does evil against me, to make war against me. May the Lord, who is judging, judge today between the sons of Israel and between the sons of Ammon.” ²⁸And the king of the sons of Ammon did not pay heed, and he did not pay heed to the words of Iephthae that he sent him.	12 And Iephthae sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is there between you and me that you came against me to deploy in my land?” ¹³And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Iephthae, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon and up to Iabok and up to the Jordan, and now restore them in peace, and I will go.” ¹⁴And Iephthae still added and sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon ¹⁵and said to him: “Thus says Iephthae: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the sons of Ammon, ¹⁶for when they came up out of Egypt Israel went in the wilderness to the Sea of Siph and came to Kades. ¹⁷And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘I will indeed pass through in your land.’ And the king of Edom did not listen. And he sent to the king of Moab, and he did not consent. And Israel resided at Kades. ¹⁸And he journeyed in the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and he came ^afrom sunrise to^a the land of Moab, and they camped on the other side of Arnon. And he did not enter the territories of Moab, for Arnon was the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Seon, king of the Amorrite, king of Hesebon, and Israel said to him, ‘Do let us pass through in your land to our place.’ ²⁰And Seon did not trust Israel to cross his boundary, and Seon gathered his entire people together, and they encamped at Iasa and deployed against Israel. ²¹And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Seon and all his people in the hand of Israel, and he struck him down, and Israel inherited the entire land of the Amorrite who inhabited that land, ²²from Arnon and up to the Iabbok and from the wilderness up to the Jordan. ²³And now the Lord, the God of Israel, has removed the Amorrite from before his people Israel. And shall you inherit them? ²⁴Should it not be that whatever your god Chamos will let you inherit, that you will inherit? And all those that the Lord our God has removed from before us, them we will inherit. ²⁵And now, are you in any good thing better, beyond Balak son of Sepphor, king of Moab? Did he, fighting, fight with Israel, or going to war, did he go to war with him ²⁶while he dwelt in Hesebon and in its territories and in the land of Aroer and in its territories and in all the cities that are along the Jordan, for three hundred years, and why did you not recover them within that time? ²⁷And now it is me. I have not sinned against you, and you are the one who does evil against me, to deploy against me. May the Lord judge, judging today between the sons of Israel and between the sons of Ammon.” ²⁸And the king of the sons of Ammon did not listen to the words of Iephthae that he sent him.
29 And a spirit of the Lord came upon Iephthae, and he passed by Galaad and Manasses. And he passed by the vantage point of Galaad to the other side of the sons of Ammon. ³⁰And Iephthae vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If giving, you will give the sons of Ammon in my hand, ³¹it shall also be that he who comes out, whoever comes from the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, shall also be the Lord’s; I will offer him up as a whole burnt offering.” ³²And Iephthae went on to the sons of Ammon to deploy against them, and the Lord gave them up in his hand. ³³And he struck them down from Aroer until coming as far as Arnon, twenty cities in number, and up to Ebelcharmin, a very great blow. And the sons of Ammon were put to shame from before the sons of Israel.	29 And a spirit of the Lord came upon Iephthae, and he passed through the land of Galaad and Manasses. And he passed through the vantage point of Galaad, and from the vantage point of Galaad to the other side of the sons of Ammon. ³⁰And Iephthae vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If with a giving over, you will give over to me the sons of Ammon in my hand, ³¹it shall also be that whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, shall also be the Lord’s, and I will offer him up as a whole burnt offering.” ³²And Iephthae crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord gave them up in his hand. ³³And he struck them down from Aroer and until one comes to Semoith, twenty cities, as far as Abel-of-the-vineyards, a very great blow. And the sons of Ammon were humbled from before the sons of Israel.
34 And Iephthae came to Massepha, to his home, and see, his daughter was coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. And she was his beloved only child, and he had no son or daughter except her. ³⁵And it came about, when he saw her that he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have got in my way; you have become for a thorn in my eyes. But I opened my mouth about you to the Lord, and I cannot turn away.” ³⁶And she said to him, “My father, if against me you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me as it came out of your mouth, now that the Lord has exacted vengeance for you from your enemies, from the sons of Ammon.” ³⁷And she said to her father, “Also, do this word for me: Grant me two months, and I will go and descend on the mountains and bewail my virginity, both I and my companions.” ³⁸And he said, “Go,” and sent her away for two months. And she went, she and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains. ³⁹And it came about after the end of two months that she returned to her father, and Iephthae fulfilled his vow that he had vowed. And she had never known a man. And it became for an ordinance in Israel: ⁴⁰from ^adays to days^a the daughters of Israel would go together to lament the daughter of Iephthae the Galaadite, four days in the year.	34 And Iephthae came to Massepha, to his home, and see, his daughter was coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. And she was an only child; he had no other son or daughter. ³⁵And it came about, as he himself saw her that he tore his clothes and said, “Ah ah, my daughter! With confusion you have confused me, and it is you who were in my confusion. And it is me. Against you I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot turn back.” ³⁶But she said to him, “Father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me as it came out of your mouth when the Lord exacted vengeance for you from your enemies, from the sons of Ammon.” ³⁷And she it was who said to her father, “Let my father indeed do this matter: Grant me two months, and I will go and descend on the mountains and bewail my virginity. It is me and my companions.” ³⁸And he said, “Go,” and sent her away for two months. And she went, she and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains. ³⁹And it came about at the end of the two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out against her his vow that he had vowed. And she had never known a man. And it became for an ordinance in Israel: ⁴⁰from ^adays to days^a the daughters of Israel would go to lament the daughter of Iephthae of Galaad, for four days in the year.
12 And the sons of Ephraim gathered together, and they came to Sephina and said to Iephthae, “Why is it that you went to fight against the sons of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house with fire!” ²And Iephthae said to them, “I was a man facing opponents, I and my people, and the sons of Ammon were humbling me greatly. And I called out to you, and you did not deliver me from their hand. ³And I saw that there was none to deliver, and I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and the Lord gave them up in my hand. And why have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?” ⁴And Iephthae gathered all the men of Galaad and began to fight Ephraim, and the men of Galaad struck down Ephraim, because they said, “You are the fugitives from Ephraim, O Galaad in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasses!” ⁵And the men of Galaad quickly seized the fords of the Jordan of Ephraim. And it came about that the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let us pass over,” and the men of Galaad said to them, “Are you not from Ephraim?” And they said, “We are not.” ⁶And they said to them, “Then say: Password,” and they did not keep straight so as to say it like that. And they seized them and slew them at the fords of the Jordan. And forty-two thousand out of Ephraim fell at that time.	12 And a man of Ephraim called out, and they passed by to the north^b and said to Iephthae, “Why did you pass by to deploy against the sons of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house with fire over you!” ²And Iephthae said to them, “I was a fighting man, I and my people and the sons of Ammon, greatly. And I called to you, and you did not deliver me from their hand. ³And I saw that you were not a savior, and I took my life in my hand and passed by against the sons of Ammon, and the Lord gave them in my hand. And for what have you come up against me in this day, to deploy against me?” ⁴And Iephthae rallied all the men of Galaad and did battle with Ephraim, and the men of Galaad struck down Ephraim, because they said, “You are the refugees of Ephraim, O Galaad in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasses!” ⁵And Galaad quickly seized the fords of the Jordan of Ephraim. And the refugees of Ephraim said to them, “Let us cross over,” and the men of Galaad said to them, “Are you not an Ephrathite?” And he said, “No.” ⁶And they said to him, “Then say Ear-of-Grain,” and he did not keep straight so as to say it like that. And they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. And forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell at that time.
7 And Iephthae judged Israel six years. And Iephthae the Galaadite died and was buried in his city, Galaad.	7 And Iephthae judged Israel sixty years. And Iephthae the Galaadite died and was buried in his city, in Galaad.
8 After him Esebon of Baithleem judged Israel. ⁹And there were born to him thirty sons and thirty daughters, who were sent out outside, and he brought in thirty women from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. ¹⁰And Esebon died and was buried at Bethleem.	8 And after him Abaisan from Baithleem judged Israel. ⁹And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters, whom he sent out outside, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. ¹⁰And Abaisan died and was buried at Baithleem.
11 And after him Ailon the Zaboulonite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. ¹²And Ailon the Zaboulonite died at Ailim, and they buried him in the land of Zaboulon.	11 And after him Ailon the Zaboulonite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. ¹²And Ailon the Zaboulonite died at Ailim, and they buried him in the land of Zaboulon.
13 And after him Labdon son of Sellem the Phraathonite judged Israel. ¹⁴And there were born to him forty sons and thirty sons of his sons, mounted on seventy colts, and he judged Israel eight years. ¹⁵And Labdon son of Sellem the Phraathonite died and was buried at Phraathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of Lanak.	13 And after him Abdon son of Hellel the Pharathonite judged Israel. ¹⁴And he had forty sons and thirty sons of sons, who rode on seventy colts, and he judged Israel eight years. ¹⁵And Abdon son of Hellel the Pharathonite died and was buried at Pharathom in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of Amalek.
13 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil against the Lord, and the Lord gave them up in the hand of allophyles forty years.	13 And the sons of Israel added to do what was evil before the Lord, and the Lord gave them up in the hand of Phylistiim forty years.
2 And there was a man of Saraa, of the tribe of Dan, and his name was Manoe. And his wife was Barρen and was not bearing. ³And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “See now! You are Barρen and have not borne. And you shall become pregnant and bear a son. ⁴And now, be careful, and do not drink wine and sikeraa, and do not eat anything unclean, ⁵for see, you shall become pregnant and bear a son. And iron shall not come upon his head, for the boy shall be sanctified, a nazirite to God from the womb. And he it is who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of allophyles.” ⁶And the woman came and said to her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and the seeing of him was like the seeing of an angel of God, most remarkable, and I asked where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. ⁷And he said to me, ‘See, you shall become pregnant and bear a son. And now, drink no wine and sikera^a, and eat no uncleanness, for the boy shall be a nazirite of God from the womb to the day of his death.’”	2 And there was one man from Saraa, from a township of a clan of Dani, and his name was Manoe. And he had a Barρen wife, and she did not bear. ³And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “See, you are Barρen and have not borne. And you shall conceive a son. ⁴So then do be careful, and do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, ⁵for see, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. And iron shall not come upon his head, for the boy shall be a nazir of God from the belly. And he it is who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of Phylistiim.” ⁶And the woman went inside and said to her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring, and I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. ⁷And he said to me, ‘See, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. And now drink no wine or strong drink, and eat no unclean thing, for the boy shall be holy to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
8 And Manoe entreated the Lord and said, “By me, Lord, do let the man of God whom you sent to us come to us and enlighten us about what we are to do for the boy who is being born.” ⁹And God heard Manoe’s voice, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but her husband Manoe was not with her. ¹⁰And the woman hurried and ran off and told her husband, “See, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” ¹¹And Manoe got up and went after his wife towards the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And the angel said, “I am.” ¹²And Manoe said, “Now then, when your word comes, what shall be the boy’s judgment, and what will his works be?” ¹³And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, “Let him keep away from all the things that I spoke to the woman about. ¹⁴He shall not eat of anything that comes from the vine. And he is not to drink wine and sikera^a and he is not to eat any unclean thing. He is to observe everything that I commanded her.”	8 And Manoe prayed to the Lord and said, “By me, Lord Adonaie, about the man of God whom you sent, do let him come to us again, and let him instruct us as to what we are to do for the boy who is being born.” ⁹And God listened to Manoe’s voice, and the angel of God again came to the woman, and she was sitting in a field, and her husband Manoe was not with her. ¹⁰And the woman hurried and ran and told her husband, “See, the man who came to me in a day has appeared to me.” ¹¹And Manoe got up and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And the angel said, “I am.” ¹²And Manoe said, “Now your word will come: what is to be the boy’s decision, and what will his deeds be?” ¹³And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, “He will keep away from all the things that I have spoken to the woman about. ¹⁴He shall not eat of anything that comes from the vine of wine. And he is not to drink wine and sikera^a, strong drink, and he is not to eat any unclean thing. He shall observe everything that I commanded her.”
15 And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, “Let us then constrain you, and we will prepare a kid of goats before you.” ¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, “If you constrain me, I will not eat of your loaves, and if you make a whole burnt offering, you shall offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoe did not know that he was an angel of the Lord.) ¹⁷And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name so that we may honor you when your word comes?” ¹⁸And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask this, my name? Even by itself it is amazing.”	15 And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, “Let us detain you here, and let us prepare a kid of goats before you.” ¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, “If you detain me, I will not eat any of your loaves, and if you make a whole burnt offering, you shall offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoe did not know that he was a very angel of the Lord.) ¹⁷And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For may your word come, and we will honor you.” ¹⁸And the angel of the Lord said to him, “To what end do you ask this, my name? Even by itself it is amazing.”
19 And Manoe took the kid of goats and the sacrifice and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the Lord who works wonders, and Manoe and his wife were looking on. ²⁰And it came about, when the flame went up above the altar toward the sky, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame, and Manoe and his wife were looking on, and they fell on their face to the ground. ²¹And the angel of the Lord did not add still to appear to Manoe and to his wife. Then Manoe realized that it was an angel of the Lord. ²²And Manoe said to his wife, “We shall die by death, for we have seen a god.” ²³And his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, he would not have accepted a whole burnt offering and a sacrifice from our hands, and he would not have enlightened us about all these things, and he would not have made them audible to us.”	19 And Manoe took the kid of goats and the sacrifice and offered it on the rock to the Lord. And he separated to act, and Manoe and his wife were watching. ²⁰And it came about, when the flame went up above the altar to the sky, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar, and Manoe and his wife were watching, and they fell on their face to the ground. ²¹And the angel of the Lord did not add still to appear to Manoe and to his wife. Then Manoe realized that he was an angel of the Lord. ²²And Manoe said to his wife, “We shall die by death, for we saw a god.” ²³And his wife said to him, “If the Lord had wanted to kill us, he would not have taken a whole burnt offering and a sacrifice from our hand, and he would not have shown us all these things, and he would not have caused us to hear them when it was the right time.”
24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Sampson. And the Lord blessed him and the boy grew. ²⁵And a spirit of the Lord began to accompany him in the camp of Dan between Saraa and between Esthaol.	24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Sampson. And the boy came to maturity and the Lord blessed him. ²⁵And a spirit of the Lord began to go out with him in the camp of Dan and between Saraa and between Eshtaol.
14 And Sampson went down to Thamnatha, and at Thamnatha he saw a woman of the daughters of the allophyles, and she was pleasing before him. ²And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, “I have seen a woman at Thamnatha of the daughters of the allophyles, and now, get her for me for a wife.” ³And his father and his mother said to him, “Is there not a woman of your brothers’ daughters and among all my people, that you will go to take a wife from the uncircumcised allophyles?” And Sampson said to his father, “Get this one for me, because she was pleasing in my sight.” ⁴And his father and his mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he himself was seeking requital from the allophyles. And at that time allophyles had dominion over the sons of Israel.	14 And Sampson went down to Thamnatha, and in Thamnatha he saw a woman of the daughters of the allophyles. ²And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, “I have seen a woman at Thamnatha of the daughters of Phylistiim, and now, get her for me for a wife.” ³And his father and his mother said to him, “Are there no daughters of your brothers and a woman out of all my people, that you will go to take a wife from the uncircumcised allophyles?” And Sampson said to his father, “Get this one for me, because she is straightforward in my sight.” ⁴And his father and his mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he himself was seeking vengeance from the allophyles. And at that time the allophyles were dominant in Israel.
5 And Sampson went down, and his father and his mother, to Thamnatha. And he turned aside into a vineyard of Thamnatha, and see, a whelp of lions roaring to meet him. ⁶And a spirit of the Lord made straight for him, and he tore it apart as he would tear apart a kid of goats, and there was nothing in his hand. And he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷And they went down and talked with the woman, and she was pleasing before Sampson. ⁸And after days he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and see, a swarm of bees in the mouth of the lion, and there was honey. ⁹And he took it out into his mouth and went on, going and eating. And he came to his father and to his mother, and he gave to them, and they ate. And he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the condition^a of the lion.	5 And Sampson went down, and his father and his mother, to Thamnatha. And he came as far as the vineyard of Thamnatha, and see, a whelp of a lion roaring to meet him. ⁶And a spirit of the Lord leapt upon him, and he crushed it as he would crush a kid, and there was nothing in his hands. And he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. ⁷And they went down and talked with the woman, and she was made straight in Sampson’s sight. ⁸And after days he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and see, a gathering of bees in the mouth of the lion, and honey. ⁹And he took it out into his hands and was going on, going and eating. And he came to his father and his mother, and he gave to them, and they ate. And he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the mouth of the lion.
10 And his father went down to the woman, and Sampson held a drinking party there for seven days, because the young men would do thus. ¹¹And it came about, when they were afraid of him, that they appointed thirty companions for him, and they were with him. ¹²And Sampson said to them, “I will set you a problem, and if you tell me the problem within the seven days of the drinking party, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty robes. ¹³And if you cannot tell me, you shall also give me thirty linen garments and thirty robes used as outer garments.” And they said to him, “Set your problem, and we will hear it.” ¹⁴And he said to them,	10 And his father went down to the woman, and Sampson held a drinking party there for seven days, because the young men do thus. ¹¹And it came about, when they saw him, that they took thirty invitees, and they were with him. ¹²And Sampson said to them, “I am setting you a problem. If telling you tell it within the seven days of the drinking party and find it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty robes used as outer garments. ¹³And if you cannot tell me, you shall give me thirty linen cloths and thirty alternate robes used as outer garments.” And they said to him, “Set the problem, and we will hear it.” ¹⁴And he said to them,
¹⁴And he said to them,	¹⁴And he said to them,
“Out of the eater came forth food,	“What edible thing came out of the eater,
and out of a strong one came forth something sweet.”	and from the strong a sweet thing?”
And for three days they could not tell the problem.	And for three days they could not tell the problem.
15 And it came about in the fourth day that they said to Sampson’s wife, “Do deceive your husband, and let him tell you the problem, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Did you invite us to be beggars?” ¹⁶And Sampson’s wife wept before him and said to him, “You hate me, and you do not love me, for the problem which you set for the sons of my people, even to me you have not told it.” And Sampson said to her, “Look, I have not told it to my father or my mother, and am I going to tell you?” ¹⁷And she wept before him during the seven days, them on which there was a party, and it came about in the seventh day that he told her, because she exasperated him. And she told the sons of her people. ¹⁸And the men of the city said to him in the seventh day before the sun went down,	15 And it came about in the fourth day that they said to Sampson’s wife, “Do deceive your husband, and let him tell you the problem, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to force us out?” ¹⁶And Sampson’s wife wept before him and said, “But you hate me, and you do not love me, for the problem which you set for the sons of my people you have not told to me.” And Sampson said to her, “If I have not told it to my father or my mother, should I tell you?” ¹⁷And she wept before him during the seven days on which they held the party, and it came about in the seventh day that he told her, because she exasperated him. And she told the sons of her people. ¹⁸And the men of the city said to him in the seventh day before the sun rose,
“What is sweeter than honey?	“What is sweeter than honeya?
And what is stronger than a lion?”	And what is stronger than a lion?”
And Sampson said to them,	And Sampson said to them,
“If you had not ploughed with my heifer,	“If you had not tamed my heifer,
you would not have found my problem.”	you would not have known my problem.”
¹⁹And a spirit of the Lord made straight for him, and he went down to Ascalon. And from there he struck down thirty men and took their robes and gave them to those who had told the problem. And Sampson was furiously angry, and he went back to his father’s house. ²⁰And Sampson’s wife lived with his bridal escort, who was his companion.	¹⁹And a spirit of the Lord leapt upon him, and he went down to Ascalon. And he struck down thirty men of them and took their clothes and gave the robes to those who had told the problem. And Sampson was furiously angry, and he went back to his father’s house. ²⁰And Sampson’s wife was given to one of his friends, with whom he had been friendly.
15 And it came about after days, during the days of the wheat harvest, that Sampson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid of goats. And he said, “I will go in to my wife, into the bedroom.” And her father would not allow him to go in to her. ²And her father said, “Saying I said that hating you hated her, and I gave her to your companion. See, is not her younger sister better than she? Do let her be to you in her stead.” ³And Sampson said to him, “I am without blame from the allophyles this once, for the fact that I do mischief with you.” ⁴And Sampson went and caught three hundred foxes and took torches, and he bound tail to tail and put one torch between the two tails, in the middle. ⁵And he set fire to the torches, and he sent the foxes off into the standing grain of the allophyles and burned up the ears of grain and what had been previously harvested, from the sheaf up to what stood and up to vineyard and olive trees. ⁶And the allophyles said, “Who has done these things?” And they said, “Sampson, the son-in-law of the Thamnathite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” And the allophyles came up and burned her father’s house along with her and her father with fire. ⁷And Sampson said to them, “If you act thus, I will not be content unless I take my revenge from each and every one of you.” ⁸And he struck them on the thigh, a great blow, and he went down and was staying by the wadi in the cave of Etam.	15 And it came about after days, during the days of the wheat harvest, that Sampson went to visit his wife with a kid of goats. And he said, “I will go in to my wife, into the inner chamber.” And her father would not grant him to go in. ²And her father said, “Saying I said that hating you hated her, and I gave her to one of those from among your friends. Is not her younger sister better beyond her? Do let her be to you in her stead.” ³And Sampson said to them, “I am without blame from the allophyles this once too, for the fact that I do evil with them.” ⁴And Sampson went and caught three hundred foxes and took torches, and he turned tail to tail and put one torch between the two tails and bound it. ⁵And he put fire to the torches and he sent the foxes off among the allophyles’ ears of grain, and they were burned from threshing-floor and up to standing ears of grain and up to vineyard and olive trees. ⁶And the allophyles said, “Who has done these things?” And they said, “Sampson, the groom of the Thamni, because he took his wife and gave her to one from among his friends.” And the allophyles came up and burned her and her father with fire. ⁷And Sampson said to them, “If you treat her thus, because I will surely take revenge among you and finally cease.” ⁸And he struck them shank upon thigh, a great blow, and he went down and sat in a hole in the rock of Etam.
9 And the allophyles came up and encamped against Ioudas, and they were thrown back at Lechi. ¹⁰And they said to them, every man of Ioudas, “Why have you come up against us?” And the allophyles said, “To bind Sampson and to do to him as he did to us.” ¹¹And three thousand men of Ioudas went down to the hole in the rock of Etam, and they said to Sampson, “Do you not know that the allophyles are ruling over us? And why have you done these things to us?” And Sampson said to them, “As they did to us, so I have done to them.” ¹²And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you and to give you into the hands of the allophyles.” And Sampson said to them, “Swear to me not to kill me yourselves and give me up to them, lest you yourselves come against me.” ¹³And they swore to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you with a binding and give you into their hands, but we will not put you to death by death.” And they bound him with two new cords and led him up from the rock.	9 And the allophyles came up and encamped in Ioudas, and they were thrown back at Leui. ¹⁰And they said, a man of Ioudas, “To what end have you come up against us?” And the allophyles said, “We have come up to bind Sampson and to do to him as he did to us.” ¹¹And three thousand men from Ioudas went down into a hole in the rock of Etam, and they said to Sampson, “Do you not know that the allophyles are our lords? And why have you done this to us?” And Sampson said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” ¹²And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you in the hand of the allophyles.” And Sampson said to them, “Swear to me, lest you yourselves gather against me.” ¹³And they said to him, saying, “No, except that we will bind you with a binding and give you in their hand, and we will not put you to death by death.” And they bound him with two new cords and brought him up from that rock.
14 And he came by himself as far as Jawbone, and the allophyles shouted in triumph to meet him and ran to meet up with him, and a spirit of the Lord made straight for him, and the cords that were on his arms became like flax when it smells fire, and the bonds were loosed from his arms. ¹⁵And he found a jawbone of a donkey thrown by the wayside and stretched out his hand and took it, and with it he struck down a thousand men. ¹⁶And Sampson said,	14 And they came as far as Jawbone, and the allophyles shouted in triumph and ran to meet him, and a spirit of the Lord leapt upon him, and the cords that were on his arms became like flax which was burnt by fire, and his bonds melted from his hands. ¹⁵And he found a jawbone of a donkey cast aside and stretched out his hand and took it, and with it he struck down a thousand men. ¹⁶And Sampson said,
“I have wiped them out, wiping them out with a donkey’s jawbone,	“I have wiped them out, wiping them out with a donkey’s jawbone,
for with the donkey’s jawbone I have struck down a thousand men.”	for with a donkey’s jawbone I have struck down a thousand men.”
¹⁷And it came about, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and he called that place Jawbone’s Slaying.	¹⁷And it came about, when he had ceased speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and he called that place Jawbone’s Slaying.
18 And he was very thirsty, and he called out to the Lord and said, “You have granted this great deliverance by the hand of your slave. And now, shall I die by thirst and fall in the hand of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹And God opened the wound of the jawbone, and waters came from it. And he drank, and his spirit returned in him, and he revived. Therefore its name was called Spring-Summoned-by-Jawbone, as it remains to this day. ²⁰And he judged Israel in the days of the allophyles twenty years.	18 And he was very thirsty and wept to the Lord and said, “You have approved this great deliverance by the hand of your slave. And now, shall I die of thirst and fall in the hand of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹And God broke open the pit in the jawbone, and water came from it. And he drank, and his spirit returned, and he came to life. Therefore its name was called Caller’s Spring, which is in Jawbone to this day. ²⁰And he judged Israel in the days of the allophyles twenty years.
16 And Sampson went from there to Gaza, and there he saw a woman, a prostitute, and went in to her. ²And the Gazites were told, saying, “Sampson has come here.” And they circled around and lay in wait for him all night by the city gate. And they kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait until the light, when it is early, and let us kill him.” ³And Sampson lay until midnight. And about midnight he rose up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up, Bar and all, and put them on his shoulder and carried them to the top of the mountain that faces the front of Chebron and set them down there.	16 And Sampson went to Gaza, and there he saw a woman, a prostitute, and went in to her. ²And the Gazites were told, saying, “Sampson has come here.” And they circled around and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. And they kept quiet all night, saying, “Until the dawn breaks, and let us murder him.” ³And Sampson lay until midnight. And at the middle of the night he rose up and took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two posts and pulled them up, Bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and went up to the top of the mountain that faces the front of Chebron and set them down there.
4 And it came about after this that he fell in love with a woman by the Wadi Sorech, and her name was Dalila. ⁵And the satraps of the allophyles came up to her and said to her, “Deceive him, and see in what his great strength lies, and how we may be strong against him and bind him, so as to subdue him, and we for our part will give you, ^aa man^a, eleven hundred pieces of silver.” ⁶And Dalila said to Sampson, “Tell me in what your great strength lies and by what means you may be bound so that you could be subdued.” ⁷And Sampson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been left abandoned, I shall both become weak and be like one of men.” ⁸And the satraps of the allophyles brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been left abandoned, and she bound him with them. ⁹And his ambush was sitting in the storeroom, and she said to him, “Allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” And he broke the bowstrings, as a strand shaken off snaps when it smells fire. And his strength was not known.	4 And it came about after this that he fell in love with a woman at Alsorek, and her name was Dalida. ⁵And the rulers of the allophyles came up to her and said to her, “Deceive him, and see in what his great strength lies, and how we may be strong for him and bind him, so as to subdue him, and we for our part will give you, ^aa man^a, eleven hundred pieces of silver.” ⁶And Dalida said to Sampson, “Do tell me in what your great strength lies and by what means you may be bound so that you could be subdued.” ⁷And Sampson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been spoiled, I shall both become weak and be like one of men.” ⁸And the rulers of the allophyles brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been spoiled, and she bound him with them. ⁹And the ambush she had was sitting in the storeroom, and she said to him, “Allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” And he tore apart the bowstrings, as one might tear apart a twist of flax when it smells the fire. And his strength was not known.
10 And Dalila said to Sampson, “Look, you have deceived me and told me lies; now then do tell me how you may be bound.” ¹¹And he said to her, “If they bind me with a binding, with seven new cords with which no work has been done, I shall both become weak and be like one of men.” ¹²And Dalila took new cords for him and bound him with them, and said to him, “The allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” (And the ambush was sitting in the storeroom.) And he snapped the cords off his arms like a thread.	10 And Dalida said to Sampson, “Look, you have misled me and told me lies; now then tell me how you may be bound.” ¹¹And he said to her, “If when they tie me up they bind me with seven new cords, them with which no work has been done, I shall both become weak and be like one of men.” ¹²And Dalida took new cords and bound him with them, and the ambushes came out of the storeroom. And she said, “Allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” And he snapped them off his arms like a thread.
13 And Dalila said to Sampson, “Until now you have deceived me and told me lies; do tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven plaits of my head with the warp and hammer them into the wall with the peg, I shall also become weak, like one of men.” ¹⁴And Dalila lulled him to sleep, and she made the seven locks of his head the warp with the stretching out and hammered them into the wall with the pegs. And she said to him, “The allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pegs along with the web from the wall and the warp. And his strength was not known.	13 And Dalida said to Sampson, “Look, you have misled me and told me lies; do tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven plaits of my head with the warp and hammer them into the wall with the peg, I shall also become like one of men, weak.” ¹⁴And it came about when he went to sleep that Dalida took the seven plaits of his head and wove them in the warp and fixed them into the wall with the peg. And she said, “Allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” And he awoke from his sleep and lifted the peg of the warp out from the wall.
15 And Dalila said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ and your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have deceived me and have not told me in what your great strength lies.” ¹⁶And it came about, when she had overpowered him with her words for the entire night and had pestered him, that he was tired to death. ¹⁷And he told her everything from his heart and said to her, “A razor will not come upon my head, for I have been a nazirite of God from my mother’s belly. And if I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be as all men are.”	15 Then Dalida said to Sampson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ and your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have misled me and have not told me in what your great strength lies.” ¹⁶And it came about, when she had worn him down with her words all the days and had hemmed him in, that he was tired to the point of dying. ¹⁷And he told her all his heart and said to her, “Iron has not come upon my head, for I have been a holy one of God from my mother’s belly. If then I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like all men.”
18 And Dalila realized that he had told her everything from his heart. And she sent and called all the satraps of the allophyles, saying, “Come up this once, for he has told his whole heart to me.” And all the satrapies of the allophyles came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹And she lulled him to sleep between her knees, and she called a barber, and he shaved off the seven locks of his head. And he began to weaken, and his strength left him. ²⁰And Dalila said to him, “The allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” and he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out and do as I have always done and shake myself free.” And he himself did not know that the Lord had left him. ²¹And the allophyles seized him and gouged out his eyes. And they led him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was grinding grain in the prison-house. ²²And the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.	18 And Dalida realized that he had told her all his heart. And she sent and called the rulers of the allophyles, saying, “Come up just this once more, for he has told his whole heart to me.” And the rulers of the allophyles came up to her and brought up the money in their hands. ¹⁹And Dalida lulled Sampson to sleep on her knees, and she called a man, and he shaved off the seven plaits of his head, and it began to weaken him, and his strength left him. ²⁰And Dalida said, “Allophyles are upon you, Sampson!” and he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as once and once and will be shaken free.” And he himself did not know that the Lord had departed from upon him. ²¹And the allophyles overpowered him and put out his eyes. And they brought him down to Gaza and shackled him with bronze shackles, and he was grinding grain in the house of incarceration. ²²And hair on his head began to grow as he had shaved it.
23 And the satraps of the allophyles gathered to sacrifice a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to rejoice. And they said, “Our god has delivered Sampson our enemy in our hand.” ²⁴And the people saw him and praised their gods. And they said, “Our god has delivered our enemy in our hand, yes, the ravager of our country, who multiplied our wounded.” ²⁵And it came about, when their heart was merry, that they said, “Call Sampson from the prison-house, and let him perform before us.” And they called Sampson out of the prison-house and were making fun of him. And they placed him between the two pillars, ²⁶and Sampson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Do let me rest, and make me feel the pillars, those on which the house rests, and I will lean against them.” Now the boy did so. ²⁷Now the house was full of men and women, and all the satraps of the allophyles were there, and on top of the house there were about three thousand men and women, watching Sampson being made fun of.	23 And the rulers of the allophyles gathered to sacrifice a great oblation to their god Dagon and to rejoice. And they said, “The god has given Sampson our enemy in our hand.” ²⁴And the people saw him and sang hymns to their god: “Our god has given our enemy in our hand, the ravager of our country, and him who multiplied our wounded.” ²⁵And when their heart was merry, then they said, “Call Sampson from the prison-house, and let him perform before us.” So they called Sampson from the house of incarceration, and he began to perform before them. And they were beating him. And they placed him between the columns, ²⁶and Sampson said to the young man who held his hand, “Let me go, and I will feel the columns, those on which the house stands, and lean against them.” ²⁷And the house was full with the men and women, and all the rulers of the allophyles were there, and on top of the house there were about seven hundred men and women, those who were watching Sampson’s performances.
28 And Sampson called out to the Lord and said, “Lord, Lord, remember me, and do strengthen me only this once more, and I will exact one act of revenge from the allophyles in return for my two eyes.” ²⁹And Sampson embraced the two middle pillars, those on which the house rested, and he leaned against them, one in his right hand and one in his left hand. ³⁰And Sampson said, “Let my soul die with the allophyles.” And he leaned with strength, and the house fell on the satraps and on all the people who were in it. And the dead whom Sampson put to death at his death were more numerous, above those he had put to death during his life. ³¹And his brothers and all his father’s house came down and took him and went up and buried him between Saraa and between Esthaol in the tomb of his father Manoe. And he himself judged Israel twenty years.	28 And Sampson wept to the Lord and said, “Adonaie, Lord, do now remember me, and strengthen me just this once more, O God, and I will carry out this one act of requital against the allophyles for my two eyes.” ²⁹And Sampson embraced the two columns of the house on which the house stood, and he leaned against them and grasped one with his right hand and one with his left hand. ³⁰And Sampson said, “Let my soul die with the allophyles.” And he lifted with strength, and the house fell on the rulers and on all the people who were in it. And the dead whom Sampson put to death at his death were more than those he had put to death during his life. ³¹And his brothers and his father’s house came down and took him and went up and buried him between Saraa and between Esthaol in the tomb of his father Manoe. And he himself judged Israel twenty years.
17 And there was a man from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Micha. ²And he said to his mother, “Eleven hundred pieces of silver, those that were taken for you—and you administered an oath and spoke in my hearing—see, the silver is in my possession; I took it.” And his mother said, “My son is blessed to the Lord!” ³And he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “By an act of consecration I consecrated the silver to the Lord from my hand, setting it apart to make a carved object^a and a cast object^a, and now I will return them to you and will give it back to you.” ⁴And he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took two hundred pieces of the silver and gave it to the smelter, and he made it into a carved object^a and a cast object^a, and it came to be in the house of Micha. ⁵As for the man Micha, he had a house of god, and he made ephoud and theraphin^b and filled the hand of one of his sons, and he became for a priest to him. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; a man would do what was good in his own eyes.	17 And there was a man from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Michaias. ²And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver which you took for yourself, and you cursed me and declared it in my hearing—see, the silver is in my possession; I took it.” And his mother said, “May my son be blessed to the Lord!” ³And he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “Consecrating I have consecrated the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved object^a and a cast object^a, and now I will give it back to you.” ⁴And he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave it to a silversmith, and he made it into a carved object^a and a cast object^a, and it came to be in the house of Michaias. ⁵And Michaias’ house was a house of god for him, and he made ephod and tharaphin^b and filled the hand from one of his sons, and he became for a priest to him. ⁶Now in those days there was no king in Israel; a man would do what was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a lad of Bethleem, division of Ioudas, of the clan of Ioudas, himself a Leuite, and he himself lived there as a resident alien. ⁸And the man went from the city of Ioudas, from Bethleem, to live as resident alien wherever he could find. And he came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the house of Micha, to make his journey. ⁹And Micha said to him, “From where do you come?” And he replied, “I am a Leuite out of Bethleem in Ioudas, and I am going to live as resident alien wherever I can find.” ¹⁰And Micha said to him, “Settle with me, and become for a father and for a priest to me, and I for my part will give you ten pieces of silver for days and a set of clothes and what you need to live on.” And the Leuite went ¹¹and began to live as a resident alien with the man, and the lad became to him like one of his sons. ¹²And Micha filled the Leuite’s hand, and the lad became for a priest to him and was in the house of Micha. ¹³And Micha said, “Now I know that the Lord favors me, because the Leuite has become for a priest to me.”	7 And there was a young man of Bethleem, division of Ioudas, himself a Leuite, and he lived there as a resident alien. ⁸And the man went from Bethleem, the city of Ioudas, to live as resident alien in whatever place he could find. And he came as far as the hill country of Ephraim and as far as the house of Michaias, to make his journey. ⁹And Michaias said to him, “From where do you come?” And he replied, “I am a Leuite from Baithleem in Ioudas, and I am going to live as resident alien in whatever place I can find.” ¹⁰And Michaias said to him, “Settle with me, and become for a father and for a priest to me, and I for my part will give you ten pieces of silver a day and an outfit of clothes and what you need to live on.” And the Leuite went ¹¹and began to live as a resident alien with the man, and the young man became with him like one from among his sons. ¹²And Michaias filled the Leuite’s hand, and he became for a priest to him and came to be in the house of Michaias. ¹³And Michaias said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because the Leuite has become for a priest to me.”
18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking an inheritance for itself to live in. For up to those days no inheritance had fallen to their lot in the midst of the tribes of Israel. ²And the sons of Dan sent out five men from their clans, from part of them, sons of power, from Saraa and Esthaol, to spy out the land and to explore it, and they said to them, “Go, and search out the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micha, and they rested there. ³While they were near Micha’s house, they also themselves recognized the voice of the young lad, the Leuite, and they went over and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing here, and what is your business here?” ⁴And he said to them, “Micha did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I became for a priest to him.” 5And they said to him, “Do inquire by God, and we will know whether the journey, that upon which we are going, succeeds.” ⁶And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your journey, that upon which you are going, is before the Lord.”	18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking an inheritance for itself to live in. For up to that day no inheritance had accrued to them in the midst of the tribes of Israel. ²And the sons of Dan sent out five men from their divisions, sons of power, from Saraa and from Esthaol, to spy out the land and to explore it, and they said to them, “Go, and explore the land.” And they came as far as the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Michaias, and they lodged there. ³Themselves being in Michaias’ house, they also recognized the voice of the young man, the Leuite, and they went over and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place, and what is your business here?” ⁴And he said to them, “Michaias did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I became for a priest to him.” ⁵And they said to him, “Do inquire by God, and we will know whether the journey, that on which we are going, will be successful.” ⁶And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your journey, that on which you are going, is before the Lord.”
7 And the five men went on, and they came to Laisa, and they observed the people who were living in it, settled in hope, according to the decision^a of the Sidonians, resting in hope and unable to speak a word, for they were far from Sidon and had no word with Syria. ⁸And the five men came to their brothers at Saraa and Esthaol and their brothers were saying to them, “Why are you sitting down?” ⁹And they said, “Get up, and let us go up against them. For we have entered and journeyed about in the land as far as Laisa, and we saw the people who live in it in hope, according to the judgment^a of the Sidonians: and they were far away, away from Sidon, and they had no word with Syria. But get up, and let us go up against them! For we have found the land, and see, it is very good. And will you keep silent? Do not hesitate to go, to come and inherit the land. ¹⁰Whenever you enter, you will come to a trusting people, and the land is broad—for God has delivered it in your hand—a place, there where is no lack of every matter, everything on earth.”	7 And the five men went on, and they came to Laisa, and they observed the people in the midst of it, settled in hope, like the judgment^a of Sidonians, ^bbeing quiet^b, and there was none in the land to deter or to make them ashamed in regard to a word, no oppressive inheritor of a treasury, and they were far from Sidonians and did not have a word with a person. ⁸And the five men came to their brothers at Saraa and Esthaol and said to their brothers, “Why are you sitting down?” ⁹And they said, “Get up, and let us go up against them. For we saw the land, and see, it is very good. And will you remain quiet? Do not hesitate to go and enter in to inherit the land. ¹⁰And whenever you go, you will enter in to a people in hope, and the land is wide—for God has given it in your hand—a place, there where there is no lack of every matter of the things on earth.”
11 And six hundred men of a clan of Dan, armed with military implements, set out from Saraa and Esthaol ¹²and went up and encamped at Kariathiarim in Ioudas. On this account that place is called Dan’s Camp to this day; see, it is behind Kariathiarim. ¹³From there they passed on and came as far as the hill country of Ephraim and came as far as the house of Micha.	11 And six hundred men, equipped with battle implements, set out from there, from the divisions of Dan, from Saraa and from Esthaol, ¹²and went up and encamped at Kariathiarim in Ioudas. On this account it is called Dan’s Camp in that place to this day; see, it is behind Kariathiarim. ¹³And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came as far as the house of Michaias.
14 And the five men who were going to spy out the land answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these buildings there are ephoud, theraphin^b, a carved object^c and a cast object^c? So now consider what you will do.” ¹⁵And they turned in that direction and entered the house of the lad, the Leuite, at the home of Micha, and greeted him. ¹⁶And the six hundred men who were armed with military implements were standing like pillars by the door at the gateway, those of the sons of Dan. ¹⁷And the five men who were going to spy out the land went up. They came there and took the carved object^c, the ephoud, the theraphinb and the cast object^c. And the priest was standing like a pillar by the door at the gateway, and the six hundred men armed with military implements. ¹⁸And they went into Micha’s house and took the carved object^c, the ephoud, the theraphin^b and the cast object^c, and the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹And they said to him, “Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and you will be to us for a father and for a priest. Is it better that you should be priest to the house of one man than that you should become priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” ²⁰And the priest’s heart was glad. And he took the ephoud, the theraphin^b, the carved object^a and the cast object^a and went into the midst of the people.	14 And the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laisa answered and said to their brothers, “Did you know that there are in this house ephod, theraphin^c, a carved object^d and a cast objectd? So now consider what you will do.” ¹⁵And they turned in that direction and entered the house of the young man, the Leuite, the home of Michaias, and asked him regarding peace. ¹⁶And the six hundred men who were equipped with their battle implements were standing by the doors at the gateway, those of the sons of Dan. ¹⁷And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up, ¹⁸and they went in there, into Michaias’ house (and the priest was standing) and took the carved objectd, the ephod, the theraphin^c and the cast object^d, and the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹And they said to him, “Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come here with us, and become for a father and for a priest to us. Is it good that you should be priest to the house of one man or that you should become priest to a tribe and a house for a division in Israel?” ²⁰And the priest’s heart was glad. And he took the ephod, the theraphin^c, the carved object^a and the cast object^a and went in the midst of the people.
21 And they turned around and departed and placed the children and the possession and the weighty item in front of them. ²²They themselves went a long distance from the home of Michaias, and see, Michaias and the men in the houses with Michaias’ house raised a shout and caught up with the sons of Dan. ²³And the sons of Dan turned their face around and said to Michaias, “What is the matter that you shouted out?” ²⁴And Michaias said, “Because you took my carved object^a that I made and the priest, and departed, and what have I left? And why do you say this to me, ‘Why do you cry out?’ ” ²⁵And the sons of Dan said to him, “Your voice had better not be heard with us or else men among us who are bitter in soul will meet up, and they will add a life and the lives of your household.” ²⁶And the sons of Dan went on their way. And Michaias saw that they were more powerful beyond him, and he turned back to his home.	21 And they turned around and departed and positioned the whole household and his esteemed possession in front of them. ²²Now when they had gone a long distance from the home of Micha, then see, Micha and the men who belonged to the house with Micha were crying out behind the sons of Dan. ²³And the sons of Dan turned their faces around and said to Micha, “What is the matter that you cried out?” ²⁴And Micha said, “Because you took my carved object^a that I made for myself and the priest, and went away, and what have I left? And why do you say this to me, ‘Why do you cry out like this?’ ” ²⁵And the sons of Dan said to him, “Your voice had better not be heard with us or else men who are afflicted in soul will attack you, and you will add your life and the lives of your household.” ²⁶And the sons of Dan went on their way. And Micha saw that they were too strong for him, and he turned away and went back to his home.
27 And they took everything Micha had made and the priest who belonged to him and came as far as Laisa, to a people quiet and trusting, and they struck them down with the edge of the sword and burned down the city. ²⁸And there was none to deliver, because it was far from Sidonians and they had no word with people. And it was in a valley that belongs to the house of Roob. And they built the city and lived in it. ²⁹And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor, who was born to Israel; and the city formerly had the name Lais. ³⁰And the sons of Dan set up Micha’s carved object^a for themselves, and Ionathan son of Gersom son of Moyses, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the removal from the land. ³¹And they appointed for themselves Micha’s carved object^a that he had made, all the days that the house of God was at Selo.	27 And sons of Dan took what Michaias had made and the priest who belonged to him and came to Laisa, to a people quiet and trusting in hope, and they struck them down with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. ²⁸And there was none to rescue, because it was far from Sidonians and they had no word with a person. And it was in the valley of the house of Raab. And they built the city and pitched tent in it. ²⁹And they called the name of the city Dan, by the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel, and the name of the city was formerly Oulamais. ³⁰And the sons of Dan set up the carved object^a for themselves, and Ionatham son of Gersom son of Manasses, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of exile from the land. ³¹And they set in place for them the carved object^a that Michaias had made, all the days that the house of God was at Selom.
19 And it came about in those days that there was no king in Israel. And it came about that a man, a Leuite, was living as a resident alien in the thighs of the hill country of Ephraim. And the man took to himself a wife, a concubine from Bethleem of Ioudas. ²And his concubine became angry with him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethleem of Ioudas and was there for days, four months. ³And her husband got up and set out after her, to speak to her heart, to reconcile her to himself and bring her back to him. And his young servant was with him, and a team of draft animals. And he came as far as her father’s house, and the young woman’s father saw him and was there to meet him. ⁴And his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, brought him inside and sat with him three days, and they ate and drank and slept there. ⁵And it came about on the fourth day that they rose early in the morning, and he got up to leave, and the young womana’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and go after that.” ⁶And both sat and ate in the same place, and they drank, and the young woman’s father said to the man, “Begin, and lodge, and let your heart be glad.” ⁷And the man got up to go, and his father-in-law put great pressure on him, and he lodged there again. ⁸And on the fifth day he rose early in the morning to leave, and the young woman’s father said, “Strengthen your heart with bread, and campaign^a until the day declines.” And both of them ate and drank. ⁹And the man got up to leave, he and his concubine and his young servant, and his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look now, the day has declined towards evening. Stay here today as well, and let your heart be glad, and tomorrow you shall rise early for your journey and shall depart for your dwelling.”	19 And it came about in those days that there was no king in Israel. And it came about that a man, a Leuite, was living as a resident alien in the thighs of the hill country of Ephraim. And he took him a wife, a concubine from Bethleem of Ioudas. ²And his concubine left him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethleem of Ioudas and was there the days of four months. ³And her husband got up and set out after her, to speak to her heart, to turn her back to him. And his young man was with him, and a team of donkeys. And she led him into her father’s house, and the young woman’s father saw him and was delighted to meet him. ⁴And his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him and sat with him for three days, and they ate and drank and lodged there. ⁵And it came about on the fourth day that they rose early in the morning, and he got up to go, and the young woman’s father said to his groom, “Strengthen your heart with a scrap of bread, and you shall go after that.” ⁶And he sat down, and the two ate in the same place, and they drank, and the young woman’s father said to the man, “Come now, lodge, and your heart will be glad.” ⁷And the man got up to go, and his father-in-law put great pressure on him, and he sat down and lodged there. ⁸And on the fifth day he rose early in the morning to go, and the young woman’s father said, “Do strengthen your heart, and campaign^a until the day declines.” And the two ate. ⁹And the man got up to go, he and his concubine and his young man, and his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look now, the day has weakened towards evening. Lodge here, and your heart will be glad, and tomorrow you shall rise early for your journey and leave for your dwelling.”
10 And the man did not want to lodge,a and he got up and departed, and they came as far as opposite Iebous (this is Ierousalem). And with him was a team of loaded draft animals, and his concubine was with him. ¹¹While they were still near Iebous (and the day was far spent), then the young servant said to his master, “Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Iebousite and lodge in it.” ¹²And his master said to him, “I will not turn aside into a foreigner’s city, which is not of the sons of Israel, and we will continue on as far as Gabaa.” ¹³And he said to his young servant, “Come, and let us enter one of the places and lodge in Gabaa or in Rama.” ¹⁴And they passed by and went on, for the sun sank near Gabaa, which belongs to Beniamin. ¹⁵And they turned aside there, to go in to stay in Gabaa. And they went in and sat down in the square of the city, and there was no man who would take them into the house to stay.	10 And the man was not pleased to lodge, and he got up and departed, and he came as far as opposite Iebous (this is Ierousalem). And with him was a team of loaded donkeys, and his concubine was with him. ¹¹And they came as far as Iebous, and the day was far advanced, and the young man said to his master, “Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Iebousi and lodge in it.” ¹²And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a foreign city in which there is none from among the sons of Israel here, and we will continue on as far as Gabaa.” ¹³And he said to his young man, “Come, and let us go near one of the places, and we will lodge in Gabaa or in Rama.” ¹⁴And they passed by and went on, and the sun sank on them near Gabaa, which belongs to Beniamin. ¹⁵And they turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gabaa. And they went in and sat down in the square of the city, and there was no man taking them in to a house to lodge.
16 And at evening, see, an old man came in from his work, from the field. And the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he himself was a resident alien in Gabaa (and the men of the place were sons of Beniamin). ¹⁷And when he looked up with his eyes, he saw the man, the wayfarer in the square of the city, and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸And he said to him, “We are passing through from Bethleem of Ioudas as far as the thighs of the hill country of Ephraim. Now, I am from there, and I went as far as Bethleem of Ioudas, and I am returning to my home, and there is no man taking me into the house. ¹⁹And indeed, there is straw and fodder for our donkeys, and indeed there is bread and wine for me and for your slave-woman and for the young servant, your slaves. There is no lack of anything.” ²⁰And the old man said, “Peace be to you. Yet, everything you lack is my concern; only do not spend the night in the square.” ²¹And he led him into his house and fed his draft animals, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.	16 And at evening, see, an old man was coming in from his work, from the field. And the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he himself was a resident alien in Gabaa (and the men of the place were sons of Beniamin). ¹⁷And the old man lifted up his eyes and saw the wayfaring man in the square of the city, and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸And he said to him, “We are passing by from Bethleem of Ioudas as far as the thighs of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went as far as Bethleem of Ioudas, and I am going to my home, and there is no man taking me into the house. ¹⁹And indeed, there is straw and fodder for our donkeys, and there are loaves and wine for me and for your servant-woman and for the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” ²⁰And the old man said, “Peace be to you. Yet, everything you lack is my concern; only do not lodge in the square.” ²¹And he brought him into his house and made space for the donkeys, and they washed their feet themselves and ate and drank.
22 Now when they were glad in their heart, then see, the men of the city, sons of transgressors, encircled the house and pounded on the door. And they said to the man, the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house so that we may know him.” ²³And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, no, my brothers, you must not act wickedly. After this man has come into my house, do not do this madness. ²⁴See, my virgin daughter and his concubine, I will bring them out now, and you humiliate them and do to them what is good in your eyes, and against this man do not carry out the thing of this madness.” ²⁵And the men did not want to listen to him. And the man seized his concubine and led her out to them outside, and they knew her and sported with her all through the night until the early morning. And just as the dawn began to break, they sent her away. ²⁶And towards morning, the woman came and fell down by the door at the gateway to the man’s house, there where her master was, until it was light.	22 Now they were cheering their heart, and see, men of the city, sons of lawless men, surrounded the house, pounding on the door. And they said to the man, the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house so that we may know him.” ²³And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said, “No, my brothers, you must not commit evil. After this man has come into my house, do not do this madness. ²⁴See, my virgin daughter and his concubine, I will bring them out, and you humiliate them and do to them what is good in your eyes, and against this man you will not carry out the thing of this madness.” ²⁵And the men did not see fit to listen to him. And the man seized his concubine and led her out to them outside, and they knew her and were sporting with her all through the night until the early morning. And as the morning rose, they sent her away. ²⁶And towards dawn, the woman came and fell down at the door of the house, there where her husband was, until it was light.
27 And her master got up early and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, and see, the woman, his concubine, lying by the door, and her hands were in the entrance. ²⁸And he said to her, “Get up, and let’s go.” And she did not answer him, but she had died. And he took her up onto the draft animal, and the man got up and departed for his place. ²⁹And he entered his house and took his dagger and took hold of his concubine and dismembered her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent them to all the tribes of Israel. ³⁰And it came about that everyone who saw would say, “Neither has it happened nor has it appeared thus from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel from Egypt until this day. And he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, “This is what you shall say to every man of Israel, ‘Has it happened according to this thing from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel from Egypt until this day? Do take counsel with yourselves about her, and speak out.’ ”	27 And her husband got up early and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, and see, the woman, his concubine, lying by the doors of the house, and her hands were in the entrance. ²⁸And he said to her, “Get up, and let’s go.” And she did not answer, for she was a corpse. And he took her onto the donkey and went to his place. ²⁹And he took his sword and seized his concubine and dismembered her into twelve members and sent them to every territory of Israel. ³⁰And it came about that everyone who beheld it would say, “It has not happened, and nothing like this^a has been seen, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt and until this day. You yourselves take counsel in regard to her, and speak out.”
20 And all the sons of Israel came out, from Dan and up to Bersabee, and the land of Galaad, and all the congregation assembled like one man to the Lord at Massepha. ²And the region of all the people stood, all the tribes of Israel in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men, foot-soldiers drawing a sword. ³(And the sons of Beniamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to the Lord at Massepha.) And the sons of Israel said, “Say where this evil took place.” ⁴And the Leuite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, answered and said, “I came to Gabaa in the territory of Beniamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. ⁵And the men from Gabaa rose up against me and encircled the house at night against me. And they wanted to kill me, and they humiliated my concubine and sported with her, and she died. ⁶And I took hold of my concubine and dismembered her and sent out throughout every territory of Israel’s inheritance, for they had committed madness in Israel. ⁷See, all of you, the sons of Israel, give yourselves advice and counsel.”	20 And all the sons of Israel came out, from Dan and up to Bersabee, and the land of Galaad, and the congregation assembled like one man before the Lord at Massepha. ²And all the tribes of Israel took their stand before the Lord, in an assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men, foot-soldiers, drawing a sword. ³(And the sons of Beniamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Massepha.) And when they came, the sons of Israel said, “Say where this wickedness took place.” ⁴And the man, the Leuite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered and said, “I came to Gabaa in the territory of Beniamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. ⁵And the men of Gabaa rose up against me and surrounded the house at night against me. They wanted to murder me, and they humiliated my concubine, and she died. ⁶And I seized my concubine and dismembered her and sent throughout every territory of the inheritance of the sons of Israel, for they committed zema^a and an error in Israel. ⁷See, all of you, sons of Israel, give yourselves advice and counsel there.”
8 And all the people got up like one man, saying, “We will not go, a man into his dwelling, and we will not turn aside, a man to his house. ⁹And now this is the word that we will carry out against Gabaa: we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰And we will take ten men for a hundred, and a hundred for a thousand, and a thousand for ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, those who are going in to carry out against Gabaa of Beniamin according to all the madness that they have committed in Israel.” ¹¹And every man of Israel gathered from their cities, coming as one man.	8 And all the people got up like one man, saying, “We will not depart, a man to his covert, and we will not turn around, a man to his house. ⁹And now this is the word that will be carried out against Gabaa: we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰Only, we will take ten men for a hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred for a thousand, and a thousand for ten thousand, to bring provisions, to bring it about that they enter Gabaa of Beniamin to do to it according to all the error that it has committed in Israel.” ¹¹And every man of Israel gathered into the city as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Beniamin, saying, “What wickedness is this that has happened among you? ¹³Now then, hand over the men, sons of transgressors, those in Gabaa, and we will put them to death and purge wickedness from Israel.” And the sons of Beniamin did not see fit to listen to the voice of their brothers, sons of Israel. ¹⁴And the sons of Beniamin came together from their cities to Gabaa, to go out to battle against sons of Israel. ¹⁵And in that day the sons of Beniamin were reviewed, twenty-three thousand from the cities, a man drawing a sword, excluding the inhabitants of Gabaa, who were reviewed, seven hundred men, handpicked ¹⁶from all the people, ambidextrous. All these were slingers of stones at a hair and not missing. ¹⁷And a man of Israel—they were reviewed, excluding Beniamin, four hundred thousand men drawing a sword. All of these were men of battle.	12 And the tribes of Israel sent out men through all the tribe of Beniamin, saying, “What evil is this that has happened among you? ¹³Now then, hand over the godless men in Gabaa, the sons of Belial, and we will put them to death and remove evil from Israel.” And the sons of Beniamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. ¹⁴And the sons of Beniamin came together out of their cities to Gabaa, to go out to fight with sons of Israel. ¹⁵And in that day the sons of Beniamin were reviewed, twenty-five thousand men from the cities drawing a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa. They were reviewed, seven hundred men, handpicked young men, ¹⁶ambidextrous. All these were slingers, throwing a stone at a hair and not missing. ¹⁷And every man of Israel—they were reviewed, apart from the sons of Beniamin, four hundred thousand men drawing a sword. All of these were men, warriors.
18 And they arose and went up to Baithel, and the sons of Israel inquired by God and said, “Who shall go up for us as leader, to fight with Beniamin?” And the Lord said, “Ioudas shall go up as leader.”	18 And they arose and went up to Baithel, and they inquired by God. And the sons of Israel said, “Who shall go up for us to start with, for battle against the sons of Beniamin?” And the Lord said, “Ioudas shall go up to start with, as leader.”
19 And the sons of Israel arose and encamped against Gabaa. ²⁰And every man of Israel went out to battle with Beniamin, and they mustered with them for battle, a man of Israel against Gabaa. ²¹And the sons of Beniamin came out of the city and destroyed among Israel in that day twenty-two thousand men upon the land. ²²And a man of Israel was strong, and they added to draw up for war in the place, there where they had drawn up in the first day. ²³And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening, and they inquired by the Lord, saying, “Shall I add to draw near for war with my brother Beniamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”	19 And the sons of Israel arose in the morning and encamped against Gabaa. ²⁰And they went out, every man of Israel, for battle against Beniamin, and they joined battle with them by Gabaa. ²¹And the sons of Beniamin came out of Gabaa and destroyed among Israel in that day twenty-two thousand men upon the land. ²²And they were strong, a man of Israel, and they added to join battle in the place where they had joined battle in the first day. ²³And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening, and they inquired by the Lord, saying, “Shall we add to draw near for battle against our brothers, sons of Beniamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.”
24 And the sons of Israel advanced against Beniamin in the second day. ²⁵And Beniamin went out to meet them from Gabaa in the second day and destroyed eighteen thousand men of the people upon the land; all these had drawn a sword. ²⁶And all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Baithel and wept before the Lord, and they fasted in that day and offered whole burnt offerings of deliverance before the Lord. ²⁷And the sons of Israel inquired by the Lord (and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there in those days, ²⁸and Phinees son of Eleazar son of Aaron stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet add to go out for battle with the sons of Beniamin my brother, or shall I desist?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver him in your hand.”	24 And the sons of Israel advanced against the sons of Beniamin in the second day. ²⁵And the sons of Beniamin went out to meet them from Gabaa in the second day and destroyed a further eighteen thousand men from the sons of Israel upon the land; all these were drawing a sword. ²⁶And all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Baithel and wept and sat there before the Lord, and they fasted in that day until evening and offered whole burnt offerings and ones of completion before the Lord. ²⁷For the ark of the covenant of the Lord God was there, ²⁸and Phinees son of Eleazar son of Aaron stood before it in those days. And the Israelites inquired by the Lord, saying, “Shall we yet add to go out for battle against the sons of Beniamin our brothers, or are we to call a halt?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”
29 And the sons of Israel set ambushes against Gabaa all around. ³⁰And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Beniamin in the third day and joined battle against Gabaa, as ^aonce and once^a. ³¹And the sons of Beniamin went out to meet the people, and they poured out of the city. And as ^aonce and once^a they began to strike down some of the people as casualties along the roads, one of which goes up to Baithel and one to Gabaa, in fields, about thirty men in Israel. ³²And the sons of Beniamin said, “They are falling before us as at first.” And the sons of Israel said, “Let us retreat and clear them out, away from the city toward the roads.” And so they did. ³³And every man went up from his position, and they formed up in Baalthamar, and the Israelite ambush was coming up from its position, from Maaragabe. ³⁴And there came in front of Gabaa ten thousand men, hand-picked from all Israel, and battle was grievous. And they did not realize that evil was overtaking upon them.	29 And the sons of Israel set ambushes against Gabaa all around. ³⁰And Israel drew up against Beniamin in the third day, and they deployed against Gabaa, as ^aonce and once^a. ³¹And the sons of Beniamin went out to meet the people, and they were drawn away out of the city, and as ^aoonce and once^a they began to strike down some from the people along the roads, one of which goes up to Baithel and one goes up to Gabaa, in the fields, about thirty men in Israel. ³²And the sons of Beniamin said, “They are stumbling before us as previously.” And the sons of Israel said, “Let us retreat and draw them out of the city toward the roads.” ³³And every man of Israel went up from his position, and they mustered in Baalthamar, and the Israelite ambush was struggling out of its position west of Gabaa. ³⁴And there arrived in front of Gabaa ten thousand men, hand-picked out of all Israel, and the war became grievous. And they did not realize that evil had touched them.
35 And the Lord routed Beniamin in front of Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men among Beniamin in that day; all these were drawing a sword.	35 And the Lord struck down Beniamin before the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men from Beniamin in that day; all these would draw a sword.
36 And Beniamin saw that he was routed.	36 And the sons of Beniamin saw that they were beaten.
And a man of Israel gave ground to Beniamin, because they looked to the ambush that they had stationed against Gabaa. ³⁷And the ambush rushed forward, and they spread out against Gabaa, and the ambush advanced, and they struck down the whole city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸And the command for a man of Israel as regards the ambush was that they should send up a signal of the smoke of the city. ³⁹And they turned, a man of Israel, in the battle, and Beniamin had begun to strike down wounded in the man of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, “But being routed he is routed before us, just like the previous battle.”	And a man of Israel gave ground to Beniamin, because they looked to the ambush that they had positioned against Gabaa. ³⁷And when they retreated, the ambush also moved, and they stretched out towards Gabaa, and the ambush spread out, and they struck down the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸And there was a sign for the sons of Israel with the ambush in the battle, that they should send up a signal of smoke from the city. ³⁹And the sons of Israel saw that the ambush had quickly seized Gabaa, and they formed up in their battle-line. And Beniamin began to strike down wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, “Again they are falling with a falling before us, just like the previous battle.”
⁴⁰And the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise out of the city, and Beniamin looked behind him, and see, the annihilation of the city went up toward the sky! ⁴¹And a man of Israel turned back, and a man of Beniamin made haste, and he saw that evil had touched him. ⁴²And they turned before a man of Israel in the direction of the wilderness, and the battle overtook them, and those from the cities destroyed him in their midst. ⁴³And they cut down Beniamin, to stop him with a stopping, and they trampled him down until opposite Gabaa from the east. ⁴⁴And there fell eighteen thousand men of Beniamin. With all these were powerful men. ⁴⁵And they turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Remmon. And they gleaned five thousand men along the roads, and they clung on after him as far as Gadaam, and they struck down two thousand men of them. ⁴⁶And all those who fell in that day among Beniamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew a sword. With all these were powerful men. ⁴⁷And six hundred turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Remmon and remained at the rock of Remmon for four months. ⁴⁸And a man of Israel shut out the sons of Beniamin, and they struck them down with the edge of the sword, from city, one after another, up to animal and up to everything that was found, into all the cities. And the cities that were found they sent off with fire.	⁴⁰And the signal went up more clearly over the city, like a pillar of smoke, and Beniamin looked behind him, and see, the annihilation of the city went up to the sky! ⁴¹And a man of Israel wheeled around, and the men of Beniamin made haste, for they saw that wickedness had come to meet them. ⁴²And in front of the sons of Israel they looked in the direction of the wilderness and fled, and the battle overtook upon them, and those from the cities were destroying them in their midst. ⁴³And they were cutting down Beniamin, and they pursued him from Noua, at his heel, until opposite Gabaa to the east. ⁴⁴And there fell eighteen thousand men from Beniamin, all these men of power. ⁴⁵And the rest looked around and began to flee into the wilderness to the rock of Remmon. And the sons of Israel gleaned five thousand men of them, and the sons of Israel went down after them as far as Gedan, and they struck down two thousand men of them. ⁴⁶And all who fell that day from Beniamin were twenty-five thousand men drawing a sword, all these men of power. ⁴⁷And the rest looked around and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Remmon, six hundred men, and they remained at the rock of Remmon for four months.⁴⁸And the sons of Israel turned back against the sons of Beniamin and struck them down with the edge of the sword, from the city of Methla and up to animal and up to everything that could be found, into all the cities. And the cities that were found they burned with fire.
21 And a man of Israel had sworn at Massepha, saying, “A man out of us shall not give his daughter to Beniamin for a wife.” ²And all the people came to Massepha and Baithel and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping. ³And they said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this^a come about in Israel, that today in Israel one tribe should be reviewed?” ⁴And it came about in the next day that the people rose early, and they built an altar there and offered up whole burnt offerings of deliverance. ⁵And the sons of Israel said, “Who is the one who did not come up in the assembly to the Lord, out of all the tribes of Israel?” For there was a solemn oath against the one who did not come up to the Lord to Massepha, saying, “He will die by death.” ⁶And the sons of Israel were comforted concerning Beniamin their brother, and they said, “One tribe has been taken away from Israel this day. ⁷What are we to do for wives for them that are left? And it was we who swore by the Lord that we would not give them any of our daughters for wives.”	21 And the sons of Israel had sworn at Massepha, saying, “A man out of us shall not give his daughter to Beniamin for a wife.” ²And the people came to Baithel, and they sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping. ³And they said, “O Lord, God of Israel, for what reason has this^a come about that today from Israel one tribe should be reviewed?” ⁴And it came about on the next day that the people rose early, and they built an altar there and offered up whole burnt offerings and ones of completion. ⁵And the sons of Israel said, “Who did not come up in the assembly to the Lord, from all the tribes of Israel?” For the oath was solemn for those who had not come up to the Lord to Massepha, saying, “He will be put to death by death.” ⁶And the sons of Israel were comforted as regards Beniamin their brother, and they said, “One tribe has been cut off from Israel this day. ⁷What are we to do for wives for them that remain, those who are left? And it was we who swore by the Lord that we would not give them any of our daughters for wives.”
8 And they said, “What one of the tribes of Israel is there which did not come up to the Lord to Massepha?” And see, a man did not come from Iabis Galaad to the camp, to the assembly. ⁹And the people were reviewed, and see, there was not a man there of the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad. ¹⁰And the congregation sent twelve thousand men there of the sons of power and commanded them, saying, “Go, and strike down all the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad with the edge of the sword, both the women and the people. ¹¹And this is the word that you shall carry out: everything male and every woman who is familiar with intercourse with a male you shall anathematize.” ¹²And they found from among the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad four hundred young women, virgins, who had not known a man for intercourse with a male, and they led them to the camp at Selo, which is in the land of Chanaan.	8 And they said, “What one^b from the tribes of Israel is there who did not come up to the Lord to Massepha?” And see, a man did not come from Iabis Galaad to the camp, to the assembly. ⁹And the people were reviewed, and there was not a man there of the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad. ¹⁰And the congregation sent twelve thousand men there of the sons of power and commanded them, saying, “Go, and strike down the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad with the edge of the sword. ¹¹And this is what you will do: everything male and every woman who knows intercourse with a male you shall anathematize, but keep the virgins for yourselves.” And they did so. ¹²And they found from among the inhabitants of Iabis Galaad four hundred young women, virgins who had not known a man for intercourse with a male, and they brought them to the camp at Selon, which is in the land of Chanaan.
13 And the whole congregation sent, and they spoke to Beniamin, who was at the rock of Remmon, and called them to peace. ¹⁴And Beniamin turned back to the sons of Israel in that time, and they gave them the women who were from among the women of Iabis Galaad, and in this way they were content.	13 And the whole congregation sent, and they spoke to the sons of Beniamin at the rock of Remmon and called them to peace. ¹⁴And Beniamin returned to the sons of Israel in that time, and the sons of Israel gave them the women whom they had caused to live from among the daughters of Iabis Galaad, and in this way they were content.
15 And the people were comforted over Beniamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶And the elders of the congregation said, “What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since a woman has disappeared from Beniamin?” ¹⁷And they said, “An inheritance has survived for Beniamin, and a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. ¹⁸And we will not be able to give them wives from among our daughters, for we, the sons of Israel, swore, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Beniamin.’ ” ¹⁹And they said, “There is a feast to the Lord at Selo ^afrom days to daysa, which is to the north of Baithel, to the east, on the road that goes up from Baithel to Sikima, and to the south of Lebanon of Lebona.” ²⁰And they commanded the sons of Beniamin, saying, “Spread out, and lie in wait in the vineyards. ²¹And you will watch, and see, when the daughters of the inhabitants of Selo in Selo come out to dance in dances, you shall also come out from the vineyards and carry off, a man a wife for himself, from the daughters of Selo, and you shall go away to the land of Beniamin. ²²And it will be, when their fathers or their brothers come to dispute with you, that we will say to them, ‘Have mercy on them, because they did not capture, a man his wife, in war. For it was not you who gave to them; you erred based on circumstance.’ ” ²³And the sons of Beniamin did so, and they took wives according to their number from the dancers whom they abducted. And they went away and turned back to their inheritance, and they built cities for themselves and lived in them. ²⁴And the sons of Israel went about from there in that time, a man to his tribe and to his family, and they went away from there, a man to his own inheritance.	15 And the people were comforted over Beniamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶And the elders of the congregation said, “What are we to do for wives for those who are left over, since a woman disappeared from Beniamin?” ¹⁷And they said, “There is an inheritance of survivors for Beniamin, and a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. ¹⁸For we will not be able to give them wives from among our daughters, for we swore among the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Beniamin.’” ¹⁹And they said, “See now, there is a feast of the Lord at Selon ^afrom days to days^a, which is to the north of Baithel, to the east, by the road that goes up from Baithel to Sychem, and to the south of Lebona.” ²⁰And they commanded the sons of Beniamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards. ²¹And you will watch, and see, if the daughters of the inhabitants of Selon come out to dance in their dances, you shall also come out of the vineyards; then carry off for yourselves, a man a wife, from the daughters of Selon, and you shall go to the land of Beniamin. ²²And it will be, when their fathers or their brothers come to dispute with you, that we will say to them, ‘Do us mercy concerning them, because we did not capture, a man his wife, in battle. For it is not you who have given them to them; err as circumstance dictates!’ ” ²³And the sons of Beniamin did so, and they took wives up to their number from the dancers whom they abducted. And they went and turned back to their inheritance, and they built the cities and settled in them. ²⁴And the sons of Israel went about from there in that time, a man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there, a man to his own inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; each man would do what was right in his own eyes.	25 Now in those days there was no king in Israel; a man would do what was right before him.

Or father-in-law

Possibly images

Possibly lowest part

Or father-in-law

Heb = sheepfolds

Heb = galloping

Or suspended spots

Heb 1 ephah = 22 liters

Or against him

Heb = briers

I.e. each one

I.e. the enemy

Heb = crescents?

Heb = pendants

Or sedition

Heb = rejoicings

Heb = diviners’ oak

Heb = house of El of the covenant

I.e. everyone

Heb = house of El of the covenant

Heb = Mizpah

I.e. the east

I.e. year to year

Heb = Zaphon

Aram = strong drink

Possibly system

I.e. each one

Possibly image

Heb = images or household gods

Or constitution

Or decision

I.e. Laisa

Heb = images or household gods

Possibly image

Heb = images or household gods

Possibly image

Possibly march

Antecedent unclear

Heb = outrage

I.e. before

Antecedent unclear

I.e. person

I.e. annually

JUDGESTO THE READER

EDITION OF GREEK TEXT

OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT(S) OF JUDGES

TRANSLATION PROFILE OF THE GREEK

The Hebrew of Judges

LXX Judges and its Vorlage

Selected Words and Phrases

Transliterations

Word-for-Word Approach

“Theological” Renderings

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

JUDGES
TO THE READER