Chapter 9

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

1 And aAbimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s 1relatives, and spoke to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother’s father, saying,

2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that aseventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am byour bone and your flesh.”

3 And his mother’s 1relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem; and 2they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is aour 3relative.”

4 They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of aBaal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him.

5 Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and akilled his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, bseventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.

6 All the men of Shechem and all 1Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the 2oak of the pillar which was in Shechem.

7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of aMount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

8 “Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’

9 “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness with 1which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’

11 “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good 1fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’

13 “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’

14 “Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’

15 “The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in 1truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

16 “Now therefore, if you have dealt in 1truth and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with aJerubbaal and his house, and 2have dealt with him 3as he deserved—

17 for my father fought for you and 1risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

18 but you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed ahis sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, bthe son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your 1relative—

19 if then you have dealt in 1truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

20 “But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and 1Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from 1Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech.”

21 Then Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer and remained there because of Abimelech his brother.

Shechem and Abimelech Fall

22 Now Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

23 aThen God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem bdealt treacherously with Abimelech,

24 aso that the violence 1done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and btheir blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

25 The men of Shechem set 1men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who might pass by them along the road; and it was told to Abimelech.

26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his 1relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.

27 They went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them, and held a 1festival; and they went into the house of atheir god, and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.

28 Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is Zebul not his 1lieutenant? Serve the men of aHamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?

29 “1aWould, therefore, that this people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”

30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned.

31 He sent messengers to Abimelech 1deceitfully, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his 2relatives have come to Shechem; and behold, they are 3stirring up the city against you.

32 “Now therefore, arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.

33 “In the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall ado to them 1whatever you can.”

34 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him arose by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four 1companies.

35 Now Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and the people who were with him arose from the ambush.

36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “1Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”

37 Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from athe 1highest part of the land, and one 2company comes by the way of 3the diviners’ 4oak.”

38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your 1boasting now with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them!”

39 So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.

40 Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; and many fell wounded up to the entrance of the gate.

41 Then Abimelech remained at Arumah, but Zebul drove out Gaal and his 1relatives so that they could not remain in Shechem.

42 Now it came about the next day, that the people went out to the field, and it was told to Abimelech.

43 So he took 1his people and divided them into three 2companies, and lay in wait in the field; when he looked and 3saw the people coming out from the city, he arose against them and 4slew them.

44 Then Abimelech and the 1company who was with him dashed forward and stood in the entrance of the city gate; the other two 2companies then dashed against all who were in the field and 3slew them.

45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people who were in it; then he arazed the city and sowed it with salt.

46 When all the leaders of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the inner chamber of the 1temple of aEl-berith.

47 It was told Abimelech that all the leaders of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

48 So Abimelech went up to Mount aZalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took 1an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees, and lifted it and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do 2likewise.”

49 All the people also cut down each one his branch and followed Abimelech, and put them on the inner chamber and set the inner chamber on fire over those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it.

51 But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the leaders of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower.

52 So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.

53 But aa certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

54 Then ahe called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman slew him.’ ” So 1the young man pierced him through, and he died.

55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each departed to his 1home.

56 Thus aGod repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.

57 Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came 1upon them.

Chapter 10

Oppression of Philistines and Ammonites

1 Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, aarose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.

2 He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

3 After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years.

4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities 1in the land of Gilead athat are called 2Havvoth-jair to this day.

5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, aserved the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, bthe gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus cthey forsook the Lord and did not serve Him.

7 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He asold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.

8 They 1afflicted and crushed the sons of Israel 2that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan 3in Gilead in the land of the Amorites.

9 The sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

10 Then the asons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.”

11 The Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not deliver you afrom the Egyptians, bthe Amorites, cthe sons of Ammon, and the Philistines?

12 “Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites aoppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands.

13 “Yet ayou have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you.

14 “aGo and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”

15 The sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, ado to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.”

16 aSo they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord; and 1bHe could bear the misery of Israel no longer.

17 Then the sons of Ammon were summoned and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in aMizpah.

18 The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Chapter 11

Jephthah the Ninth Judge

1 Now aJephthah the Gileadite was a 1valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead 2was the father of Jephthah.

2 Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”

3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of aTob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves 1about Jephthah, and they went out with him.

4 It came about after a while that athe sons of Ammon fought against Israel.

5 When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob;

6 and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.”

7 Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “aDid you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?”

8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and abecome head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up 1to me, will I become your head?”

10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “aThe Lord is 1witness between us; surely we will do 2as you have said.”

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at aMizpah.

12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”

13 The king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel atook away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the bJabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceably now.”

14 But Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon,

15 and they said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon.

16 ‘For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel awent through the wilderness to the 1Red Sea and bcame to Kadesh,

17 then Israel asent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. bAnd they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

18 ‘Then they went through the wilderness and aaround the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they bdid not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 ‘And Israel sent amessengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”

20 ‘But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel.

21 ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they 1adefeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

22 ‘aSo they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.

23 ‘Since now the Lord, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it?

24 ‘Do you not possess what aChemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God has driven out before us, we will possess it.

25 ‘Now are you any better than aBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

26 ‘aWhile Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

27 ‘I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; amay the Lord, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.’ ”

28 But the king of the sons of Ammon 1disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29 Now athe Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.

30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand,

31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

32 So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand.

33 He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer 1to the entrance of aMinnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

34 When Jephthah came to his house at aMizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him bwith tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter.

35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have 1given my word to the Lord, and aI cannot take it back.”

36 So she said to him, “My father, you have 1given your word to the Lord; ado to me 2as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.”

37 She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may 1go to the mountains and weep because of amy virginity, I and my companions.”

38 Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.

39 At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she 1had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel,

40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to 1commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Chapter 12

Jephthah and His Successors

1 Then the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they crossed 1to Zaphon and asaid to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you.”

2 Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the sons of Ammon; when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.

3 “When I saw that you would not deliver me, I 1atook my life in my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”

4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead 1defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.”

5 The Gileadites acaptured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”

6 then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’ ” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not 1pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.

7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

8 Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.

9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he 1gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 Now Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; and he judged Israel ten years.

12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 Now Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel after him.

14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel eight years.

15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Chapter 13

Philistines Oppress Again

1 Now the sons of Israel aagain did evil in the sight of the Lord, so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

2 There was a certain man of aZorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

3 aThen the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

4 “Now therefore, be careful anot to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

5 “aFor behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a bNazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “aA man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.

7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let athe man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.”

9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and athe angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10 So the woman ran quickly and told her 1husband, “Behold, athe man who 2came the other day has appeared to me.”

11 Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you athe man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.”

12 Manoah said, “Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation?”

13 So athe angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “bLet the woman pay attention 1to all that I said.

14 “She should not eat anything that comes from the avine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.”

15 Then Manoah said to athe angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.”

16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, aI will not eat your 1food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.

17 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “aWhat is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?”

18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is 1awonderful?”

19 So aManoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on.

20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they afell on their faces to the ground.

21 Now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. aThen Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

22 So Manoah said to his wife, “aWe will surely die, for we have seen God.”

23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have ashown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”

24 Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the achild grew up and the Lord blessed him.

25 And athe Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in 1bMahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.