to hold sway over the trees? 14Then said all the trees unto the bramble. Gome thou, and reign over us. IBAnd the bramble said unto the trees* If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the ce- dars of Lebanon. 16Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the de- serving of his hands— "for my father fought for you, and adventured his Me, and delivered you out of ^the hand of Midian; 18and ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, three- score and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother — "if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and Beth-mill o; and let fire come out from the men of Skechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.' 21And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
^And Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. ^And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Sbechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech; ^hat the violence done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. 25And the men of Shechem set liers-in-wait for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them; and it was told Abimelech.
26And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went on to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. 27And they went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 28And Gaal the son of Ebed said: 'Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve ye the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 2*And would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech.' And he said to Abimelech: 'Increase thine army, and come out.' 30And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31And he sent messengers unto Abimelech in Tormah, saying: 'Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem; and, behold, they will incite the city against thee. 32Now therefore, up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in wait in the field. ^And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city; and, behold, when he and the people that are with him corne out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt be able.'
^And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they ky in wait against JUDGES Shechem in four companies. 35And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from the ambushment. 35And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul: 'Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains.' And Zebul said unto him: * Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men/ 37And Gaal spoke again and said: ' See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company cometh by the way of Elon- meonenim/ 38Then said Zebul unto him: 'Where is now thy mouth, that thou saidst: Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them' 39And Gaal went out bef ore the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, even unto the entrance of the gate. ^And Abimeleeh dwelt at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
^And it came to pass on the mor- row, that the people went out into the field; and it was told Abimelech. ^And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field; and he looked, and, behold, the people were coming forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. ^And Abim- elech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and the two companies rushed upon all that were in the field, and smote them. 45And Abimelech fought against the' city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were therein; and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
^And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard thereof, they en- tered into the hold of the house of El-berith. ^And it was told Abim- elech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48And Abimelech got him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough^ from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder; and he said unto the people that were with him: ' What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done/ 49And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abim- elech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
60Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, even all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and got them up to the roof of the tower. 52And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went close unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. wAnd a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull. MThen he called hastily unto the young man his armour-bearer, and said unto him: Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men say not of me: A woman slew him/ And his young man thrust him through, and he died. ^And when the men of Israel saw that Abirn- elech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. eeThus God re- quited the wickedness of Abimelech, JUDGES which he did unto his father, in slay- ing his seventy brethren; 57and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God requite upon their heads, and upon them came the curse oi Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of 10 Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. 2And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
3And after him arose Jair* the Gil- eadite; and he judged Israel twenty and two years. 4And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called *Hawoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
6And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD, and served Him not. 7And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them over into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. 8And they oppressed and crushed the children of Israel that year-; eighteen years [oppressed they] all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was sore distressed. 10And the children of Israel cried unto the * That is, The milages o/ Jair, LORD, saying: 'We have sinned against Thee, in that we have for- saken our God, and have served the Baalim.' uAnd the LORD said unto the children of Israel: 'Did not I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the ^ children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12The Zidonians also, and the Amalek- ites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried unto Me, and I saved you out of their hand. ^Yet ye have forsaken Me, and served other gods; wherefore I will save you no more. 14Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.7 15And the children of Israel said unto the LORD: 'We have sinned; do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee; only deliver us, we pray Thee, this day.' 16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD; and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpah. 18And the peo- ple, the princes of Gilead, said one to another: 'What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.' •j ~j Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2And Gil- ead's wife bore him, sons; and when bis wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said unto him: 'Thou shalt not inherit in our father's louse; for thou art the son of another woman.' 8Then Jephthah fled from lis brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and there were gathered vain JUDGES fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
4And it came to pass after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 6And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob. 6And they said unto Jephthah: 'Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.' 7And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead: 'Did not ye hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?' 8And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: 'Therefore are we returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon, and thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.' 9And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead: 'If ye bring me back home to fight with the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, I will be your head.' 10And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: 'The LOUD shall be wit- ness between us; surely according to thy word so will we do/ uThen 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 LOED in Mizpah.
^And Jephthah sent messengers un- to the long of the children of Ammon, saying: 'What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come unto me to fight against my land?' "And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah: 'Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; now therefore restore those cities peace- ably.' 14And Jephthah sent messen- gers again unto the king of the children of Ammon; 16and he said unto him: ' Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon. 16But when they came up from Egypt, and Israel walked through the wilder- ness unto the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh; 17then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying: Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom heark- ened not. And in like manner he sent unto the king of Moab; but he would not; and Israel abode in Ka- desh. 18Then he walked through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they pitched on the other side of the Arnon, but they came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon long of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him: Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place. 20But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ^And the LOED, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the in- habitants of that country. ^And they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto the Jordan. ^So now the LOED, the God of Israel, hath dis- the Amorites from before people Israel, and shouldest thou JUDGES possess them? ^Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God hath dispossessed from before us, them will we possess. 25And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight agair them? 26While Israel dwelt in Hesh- bon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; where- fore did ye not recover them within that time? 27I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me; the LORD, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.' 28Howbeit the king of the children of Amrnon heark- ened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
29Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over un- to the children of Aram on. 30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said: 'If Thou wilt indeed de- liver the children of Ammon into my hand, 81then it shall be, that whatso- ever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Am- mon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering/ ^So Jephthah passed over unto the children of A mm on to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand. 83And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Min- nith, even twenty cities, and unto Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only child* beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 85And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said* 'Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art become my troubler; for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.' 86And she said unto him: 'My father, thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD; do unto me according to that which hath pro- ceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon/ 37And she said unto her father: 'Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon^ the mountains, and bewail ^my virginity, I and my companions.' 38And he said: 'Go.' And he sent her away for two months; and she departed, she and her com- panions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39And it came to pass at the end of two months,, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed; and she had not known man. And it was a cus- tom in Israel, 40that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. "| O And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed to Zaphon; and they said unto Jephthah: 'Wherefore didst thou pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go JUDGES with thee? we will burn thy house upon thee with fire/ 2And Jephthah said unto them: 'I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand. 3And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand; wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?' 4Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said: 'Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh.' 5And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites; and it was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said: 'Let me go over7, the men of Gilead said unto him: 'Art thou an Ephraimite?' If he said: 'Nay'; ^hen said they unto him: 'Say now Shibboleth'; and he said 'Sibboleth'; for he could not frame to pronounce it right; then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan; and there fell at that tune of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
7And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judge4 Israel. 9And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10And Ibzan died, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
nAnd after V>iin Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13And after him Abdpn the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14And he had forty sons and thirty sons' sons, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts; and he judged Israel eight years. 15And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.
•j O And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bore not. 3And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her 'Behold now, thou art barren, and hast not borne; but thou shalt con- ceive, and bear a son. 4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. 5For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.' 6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying: 'A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; and I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name; ^ut he said unto me: Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God JUDGES from the womb to the day of his death.'
8Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said: 'Oh, Lord, I pray Thee, let the man of God whom Thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born/ 9And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10And the woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said unto him: 'Behold, the man *hath appeared unto me, that came unto me that day.' uAnd Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him: 'Art thou the man that spokest unto the woman?' And he said: 'I am.' ^And Manoah said: 'Now when thy word cometh to pass, what shall be the rule for the child, and what shall be done with him?' ^A the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah: 'Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the grape-vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any un- clean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.' 15And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD: 'I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may make ready a kid for thee/ 16And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah: 'Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt make ready a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD.' For Manoah knew not that he was the angel of the LORD. 17And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD: 'What is thy name, that when thy words come to pass we may do thee honour?' 18And the angel of the, LORD said unto him: ' Wherefore askest thou after my name, seeing it is hidden?' 19S6 Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock unto the LORD; and [the angel] did wondr ously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. 21But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. 22And Manoah said unto his wife: 'We shall sure- ly die, because we have seen God ' ^But his wife said unto him: 'If the LORD were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt- offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would He have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.'
^And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him, 25And the spirit of the LORD began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
A And Samson went down to *- Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said: 'I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to wife.' 3Then 'his father and his mother said unto him: 'Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?' And Samson said unto his father: JUDGES 'Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.' 4But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
6Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah; and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as one would have rent a lad, and he had nothing in his hand; but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8And after a while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9And he scraped it out into his hands, and went on, eating as he went, and he came to his father and mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat; but he told them not that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. 10And his father went down unto the woman; and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. uAnd it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. ^And Samson said unto -them: 'Let me now put forth a riddle unto you; if ye can declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment; Mbut if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment.' And they said unto him: 'Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.' 14And he said unto them: