¹⁰Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and served other gods—the Baals.”

¹¹The Lord said to the people of Israel, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, ¹²the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to me for help. Didn’t I rescue you from them? ¹³But you still abandoned me and served other gods. That’s why I won’t rescue you again. ¹⁴Cry out for help to the gods you chose. Let them rescue you when you’re in trouble.”

¹⁵The people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do to us whatever you think is right. But please rescue us today!” ¹⁶Then they got rid of the foreign gods they had and served the Lord. So the Lord could not bear to have Israel suffer any longer.

¹⁷The troops of Ammon were summoned to fight, and they camped at Gilead. The people of Israel also gathered together and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever starts the fight against Ammon will rule everyone who lives in Gilead.”

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