Judges 10

Tola

10After the time of Abimelek,^k a man of Issachar^l named Tola son of Puah,^m the son of Dodo, rose to saveⁿ Israel. He lived in Shamir,^o in the hill country of Ephraim. ²He led^a Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

Jair

³He was followed by Jair^p of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. ⁴He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys.^q They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.^{br 5}When Jair^s died, he was buried in Kamon.

Jephthah

⁶Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.^t They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths,^u and the gods of Aram,^v the gods of Sidon,^w the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites^x and the gods of the Philistines.^y And because the Israelites forsook the Lord^z and no longer served him, ⁷he became angry^a with them. He sold them^b into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, ⁸who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead,^c the land of the Amorites. ⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,^d Benjamin and Ephraim;^e Israel was in great distress. ¹⁰Then the Israelites cried^f out to the Lord, “We have sinned^g against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”^h

¹¹The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians,ⁱ the Amorites,^j the Ammonites,^k the Philistines,^{l 12}the Sidonians, the Amalekites^m and the Maonites^cn oppressed you^o and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³But you have forsaken^p me and served other gods,^q so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save^r you when you are in trouble!^s”

¹⁵But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best,^t but please rescue us now.” ¹⁶Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.^u And he could bear Israel’s misery^v no longer.^w

¹⁷When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.^{x 18}The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head^y over all who live in Gilead.”