Judges

Judges

Book Outhne

Key theme: Obedience brings God’s blessing; disobedience brings God’s discipline

Key verses: (see also ; ; )

I. Disobedience: Israel Turns from God ()

A. Early victories ()

B. Repeated defeats ()

C. National apostasy ()

D. Divine mercy ()

II. Discipline: The Lord Chastens Israel ()

A. Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar ()

B. Deborah and Barak ()

C. Gideon ()

D. Abimelech ()

E. Tola and Jair ()

F. Jephthah ()

G. Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon ()

H. Samson ()

III. Disorder: Israel Sinks into Anarchy ()

A. Religious confusion ()

B. Immorality ()

C. Civil war ()

Book Overview

The spiritual health of the nation of Israel quickly decayed after a new generation took over—a generation that knew neither Joshua nor Joshua’s God. “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outhved Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. . . . When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel” (, ; and see ). Instead of exhibiting spiritual fervor, Israel sank into apathy; instead of obeying the Lord, the people moved into apostasy; and instead of the nation enjoying law and order, the land was filled with anarchy. Indeed, for Israel it was the worst of times.

One of the key verses in the Book of Judges is : “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (see ; ; ). At Mount Sinai, the Lord had taken Israel to be His “kingdom of priests,” declaring that He alone would reign over them (). Moses reaffirmed the kingship of Jehovah when he explained the covenant to the new generation before they entered Canaan (.). After the conquest of Jericho and Ai, Joshua declared to Israel her kingdom responsibilities (), and he reminded the people of them again before his death (). Even Gideon, perhaps the greatest of the judges, refused to set up a royal dynasty. “But Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you’ ” ().

outhned the nation’s basic responsibilities: Love and obey Jehovah as the only true God (vv. ); teach the children God’s laws (vv. ); be thankful for God’s blessings (vv. ); and separate from the worship of pagan gods in the land of Canaan (vv. ). Unfortunately, the new generation failed in each of those responsibilities. The people didn’t want to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (); they preferred to experiment with the idolatry of the godless nations around them. As a result, Israel plunged into moral, spiritual, and political disaster.

“Be Transformed”

Philosophers have debated for centuries whether or not a bad person can be a good leader. Perhaps the key question is, “What kind of leadership are you looking for?” A general who swears, bullies, lies, and ignores the Word of God, if he’s an experienced soldier, can no doubt provide effective leadership for an army, but he won’t provide the kind of example that builds character. Success in the eyes of the world is no substitute for the rewards of becoming like Jesus Christ.

All of God’s servants are flawed in some way, but that shouldn’t be a reason to sin or to do less than our best. We should all strive to build Christian character and to develop our skills to the glory of God. Good intentions are no excuse for careless work. Like David, we should serve the Lord with both integrity and skillfulness ().

The Book of Judges makes it clear that God can work in and through all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews. God has “made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (). He’s the God of both history and geography. He can use Gentile nations to chasten His own people Israel. He can raise one ruler and bring another down.

While historians may search for a pattern to history, we know there is a plan because God is in control. Events that may look like accidents are really appointments (). As dark as the days were in the time of the judges, God was still on the throne, accomplishing His purposes. This ought to encourage us to trust Him and keep serving Him, no matter how grim the prospects might be in this wicked world.

The Book of Judges is the inspired record of Israel’s failures and God’s faithfulness. But if we study this book only as past history, we’ll miss the message completely. This book is about God’s people today. Israel as portrayed in the Book of Judges illustrates the difference between “religious reformation” and “spiritual revival.” Reformation temporarily changes outward conduct while revival permanently alters inward character. When Ehud removed the idols and commanded the people to worship only Jehovah, they obeyed him, but when that constraint was removed, the people obeyed their own desires. The nation of Israel was like the man in Jesus’ parable who got rid of one demon, cleaned house, and then ended up with seven worse demons (). The empty heart is prey to every form of evil.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

2And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”

4Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

5And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

8Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

9And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland.

10Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)

12Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.”

13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

14Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”

15So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

17And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah.

18Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

20And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

22And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

23So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.)

24And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.”

25So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.

26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

Incomplete Conquest of the Land

28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.

29Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.

31Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

32So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.

34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;

35and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute.

36Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

4So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the LORD.

6And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.

Death of Joshua

7So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outhved Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

8Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.

9And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

10When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;

12and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.

13They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

14And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

15Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

17Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so.

18And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them.

20Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice,

21“I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

22“so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”

23Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

The Nations Remaining in the Land

3namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

4And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

6And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

Othniel

7So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.

8Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.

10The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim.

Ehud

12And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

13Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession of the City of Palms.

14So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

16Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.

17So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

18And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

19But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.

20So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat.

21Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

22Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.

23Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24When he had gone out, Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.”

25So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.

26But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.

27And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.

28Then he said to them, “Follow me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.

29And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.

Shamgar

Deborah

5And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

7‘and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”

9So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men under his command, and Deborah went up with him.

12And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

13So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon.

14Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

15And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

16But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

17However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

19Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him.

20And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’ ”

21Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

23So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel.

The Song of Deborah

When the people willingly offer themselves,

Bless the LORD!

3“Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!

I, even I, will sing to the LORD;

I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

4“LORD, when You went out from Seir,

When You marched from the field of Edom,

The earth trembled and the heavens poured,

The clouds also poured water;

5The mountains gushed before the LORD,

This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

6“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,

In the days of Jael,

The highways were deserted,

And the travelers walked along the byways.

7Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,

Until I, Deborah, arose,

Arose a mother in Israel.

8They chose new gods;

Then there was war in the gates;

Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

9My heart is with the rulers of Israel

Who offered themselves willingly with the people.

Bless the LORD!

10“Speak, you who ride on white donkeys,

Who sit in judges’ attire,

And who walk along the road.

11Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places,

There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD,

The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel;

Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.

12“Awake, awake, Deborah!

Awake, awake, sing a song!

Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away,

O son of Abinoam!

The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

14From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek.

After you, Benjamin, with your peoples,

From Machir rulers came down,

And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.

15And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;

As Issachar, so was Barak

Sent into the valley under his command;

Among the divisions of Reuben

There were great resolves of heart.

16Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,

To hear the pipings for the flocks?

The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.

17Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,

And why did Dan remain on ships?

Asher continued at the seashore,

And stayed by his inlets.

18Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death,

Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.

19“The kings came and fought,

Then the kings of Canaan fought

In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;

They took no spoils of silver.

20They fought from the heavens;

The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

21The torrent of Kishon swept them away,

That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon.

O my soul, march on in strength!

22Then the horses’ hooves pounded,

The galloping, galloping of his steeds.

23‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD,

‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly,

Because they did not come to the help of the LORD,

To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’

The wife of Heber the Kenite;

Blessed is she among women in tents.

25He asked for water, she gave milk;

She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.

26She stretched her hand to the tent peg,

Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;

She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,

She split and struck through his temple.

27At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;

At her feet he sank, he fell;

Where he sank, there he fell dead.

28“The mother of Sisera looked through the window,

And cried out through the lattice,

‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?

Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’

29Her wisest ladies answered her,

Yes, she answered herself,

30‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:

To every man a girl or two;

For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments,

Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed,

Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’

But let those who love Him be like the sun

When it comes out in full strength.”

So the land had rest for forty years.

Midianites Oppress Israel

2and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.

3So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.

4Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.

6So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

8that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage;

9‘and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.

10‘Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ”

Gideon

12And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

13Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

15So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

16And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

19So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.

20The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.

21Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

22Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.”

23Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”

26“and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.”

27So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built.

29So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”

30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”

31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!”

32Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

33Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.

34But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.

35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

37“look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

38And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.”

40And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred

2And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

3“Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

5So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.”

6And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.

7Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”

8So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

10“But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,

11“and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

12Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

14Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”

16Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.

18“When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’ ”

19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

20Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”

21And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.

22When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

23And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

24Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.

25And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

Gideon Subdues the Midianites

2So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

3“God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.

5Then he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

6And the leaders of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”

8Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

9So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!”

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen.

11Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the camp felt secure.

12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

13Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres.

14And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

15Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ”

16And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

17Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

19Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

20And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

21So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.”

24Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

25So they answered, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder.

26Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks.

28Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Death of Gideon

30Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives.

31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

32Now Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god.

34Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;

35nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

2“Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”

3And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

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

The Parable of the Trees

“Listen to me, you men of Shechem,

That God may listen to you!

8“The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.

And they said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us!’

9But the olive tree said to them,

‘Should I cease giving my oil,

With which they honor God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

10“Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You come and reign over us!’

11But the fig tree said to them,

‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,

And go to sway over trees?’

12“Then the trees said to the vine,

‘You come and reign over us!’

13But the vine said to them,

‘Should I cease my new wine,

Which cheers both God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

14“Then all the trees said to the bramble,

‘You come and reign over us!’

15And the bramble said to the trees,

‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you,

Then come and take shelter in my shade;

But if not, let fire come out of the bramble

And devour the cedars of Lebanon!’

16“Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as he deserves—

17“for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

18“but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—

19“if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

20“But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!”

21And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

Downfall of Abimelech

22After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years,

23God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

24that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.

25And the men of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was told Abimelech.

26Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

27So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and made merry. And they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

28Then 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 not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?

29“If only this people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”

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

31And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Take note! Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and here they are, fortifying the city against you.

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

33“And it shall be, as soon as the sun is up in the morning, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them as you find opportunity.”

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

35When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from lying in wait.

36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!” But Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.”

37So Gaal spoke again and said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the Diviners’ Terebinth Tree.”

38Then Zebul said to him, “Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight with them now.”

39So Gaal went out, leading the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

40And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded, to the very entrance of the gate.

41Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.

42And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.

43So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and attacked them.

44Then Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed them.

46Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.

47And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

48Then Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.”

49So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire above them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it.

51But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower.

52So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

53But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

54Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died.

55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.

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

57And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Tola

1After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim.

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

Jair

3After him arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.

4Now he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, which are called “Havoth Jair” to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

5And Jair died and was buried in Camon.

Israel Oppressed Again

6Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.

7So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.

8From that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years—all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead.

9Moreover the people of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah also, against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

10And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!”

11So the LORD said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines?

12“Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and Maonites oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand.

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

15And the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.”

16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

17Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled together and encamped in Mizpah.

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

Jephthah

2Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”

3Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

5And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

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

7So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

8And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”

11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

13And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”

14So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon,

15and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon;

16‘for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

17‘Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh.

18‘And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

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

20‘But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

21‘And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.

22‘They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

24‘Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess.

25‘And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

26‘While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

28However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.

Jephthah’s Vow and Victory

30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,

32So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

33And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Jephthah’s Daughter

34When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.”

36So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.”

38So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.

39And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel

40that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim

2And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.

3“So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”

6then they would say to him, “Then say, ‘Shibboleth’!” And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.

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

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

8After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

9He had thirty sons. And he gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

10Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

11After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years.

12And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.

13After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

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

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

The Birth of Samson

2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children.

4“Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.

5“For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

6So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.

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

10Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”

11So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.”

12Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

13So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

14“She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

15Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”

16And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.)

17Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

18And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—

21When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.

22And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”

23But 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 shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

Samson’s Philistine Wife

2So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”

3Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”

4But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

5So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah.

Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.

6And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

7Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

8After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.

9He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

10So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so.

11And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

12Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.

13“But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”

14So he said to them:

“Out of the eater came something to eat,

And out of the strong came something sweet.”

Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.

15But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so?”

16Then Samson’s wife wept on him, and said, “You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.” And he said to her, “Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?”

“What is sweeter than honey?

And what is stronger than a lion?”

And he said to them:

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

You would not have solved my riddle!”

20And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

Samson Defeats the Philistines

1After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.

2Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”

3And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!”

5When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

6Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

7Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”

8So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

10And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” So they answered, “We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”

11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

12But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”

13So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.

15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.

16Then Samson said:

“With the jawbone of a donkey,

Heaps upon heaps,

With the jawbone of a donkey

I have slain a thousand men!”

17And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.

20And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

2When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”

6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”

7And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

8So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.

9Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

10Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”

11So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

12Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.

14So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.

15Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”

16And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,

17that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

18When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

19Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

20And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

22However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

Samson Dies with the Philistines

23Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:

“Our god has delivered into our hands

Samson our enemy!”

24When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said:

“Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy,

The destroyer of our land,

And the one who multiplied our dead.”

25So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

26Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.”

27Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed.

28Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”

29And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left.

30Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

31And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.

Micah’s Idolatry

2And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!”

3So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.”

4Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.

5The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

7Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there.

8The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

9And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”

10Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in.

11Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.

13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!”

The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry

2So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

3While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”

4He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.”

6And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The presence of the LORD be with you on your way.”

7So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.

8Then the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?”

9So they said, “Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land.

10“When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

11And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

12Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.)

13And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.”

15So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him.

16The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

17Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.

18When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

20So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.

21Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.

22When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

23And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?”

24So he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’ ”

25And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!”

26Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

Danites Settle in Laish

27So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

28There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.

29And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

The Levite’s Concubine

2But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.

3Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.

4Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

5Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”

6So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”

7And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again.

8Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.

9And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”

11They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”

12But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.”

13So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”

14And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

15They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.

16Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.

17And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”

18So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the LORD. But there is no one who will take me into his house,

19“although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.”

20And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.”

Gibeah’s Crime

23But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage.

26Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.

27When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.

28And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.

29When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

30And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”

Israel’s War with the Benjamites

2And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?”

4So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night.

5“And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died.

6“So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel.

7“Look! All of you are children of Israel; give your advice and counsel here and now!”

8So all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house;

9“but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up against it by lot.

10“We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.”

11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.

14Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel.

15And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men.

16Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss.

17Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

19So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.

20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah.

21Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites.

22And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day.

23Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.”

24So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.

25And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.

26Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

27So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

28and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

29Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah.

30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times.

31So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

32And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

33So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba.

34And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them.

35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.

36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

37And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword.

38Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city,

39whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”

40But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven.

41And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.

42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst.

43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east.

44And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor.

45Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.

46So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months.

48And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.

Wives Provided for the Benjamites

1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”

2Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,

4So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

5The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

6And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today.

7“What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them our daughters as wives?”

9For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there.

11“And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.”

12So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them.

14So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them.

15And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.

16Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”

17And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel.

18“However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”

19Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

20Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,

21“and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.

22“Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”

23And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.

24So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.

Annotations for Judges

, When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed” (). The people of Israel owned all the land, but they didn’t possess all of it, and therefore they couldn’t enjoy all of it.

Initially, the people wisely sought God’s guidance about which tribe should engage the enemy first. Perhaps God told Judah to go first because Judah was the kingly tribe (). Judah believed God’s promise and obeyed God’s counsel. As a result, they had consistent victories (). Step one in making plans should always include placing both our intentions and actions in God’s hands.

When Joshua was Israel’s leader, all the tribes worked together in obeying the will of God. In the Book of Judges, however, you don’t find the nation working together as a unit; here only a couple of tribes make arrangements to work together independent of the others. Unfortunately, God’s people today aren’t working together to defeat the enemy, but here and there, God is raising up men and women of faith who are experiencing His blessing and power and are leading His people to victory.

Those seventy kings illustrate the sad plight of anybody who has given in to the enemy: They couldn’t walk or run correctly; they couldn’t use a sword effectively; they were in a humiliating position instead of on the throne; and they were living on scraps and leftovers instead of feasting at the table. What a difference it makes when you live by faith and triumph over sin and death through Jesus Christ ().

What is important about the military history is that the Lord was with the people, and that’s what gave them victory. (See , ; and ; and .) “If God is for us, who can be against us?” ().

The priests possessed a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy and were commanded to read it publicly to the nation every sabbatical year during the Festival of Shelters (). Had they been faithful to do their job, the spiritual leaders would have read and warned the Israelites not to spare their pagan neighbors. The first step the new generation took toward defeat and slavery was neglecting the Word of God, and generations ever since have made that same mistake (cf. , ). Too many believers today are trying to live on religious fast-food dispensed for easy consumption (no chewing necessary) by entertaining teachers who give people what they want, not what they need.

God didn’t want the filth of the Canaanite society and religion to contaminate His people, Israel. The main deity in Canaan was Baal, god of rainfall and fertility, and Ashtoreth was his consort. If you wanted to have fruitful orchards and vineyards, flourishing crops, and increasing flocks and herds, you worshiped Baal by visiting a temple prostitute. This combination of idolatry, immorality, and agricultural success was difficult for men to resist, which explains why God told Israel to wipe out the Canaanite religion completely.

In the Old Testament, the “Angel of the LORD” is generally interpreted to be the Lord Jesus Himself, the second person of the Godhead. He occasionally came to earth in a temporary pre-incarnation appearance (a theophany) to deliver an important message. (See ; ; ; ; ; ; .) The fact that God Himself came to give the message shows how serious things had become in Israel.

The Israelites eventually became so accustomed to the sinful ways of their pagan neighbors that those ways didn’t seem sinful any more. The Israelites then became interested in how their neighbors worshiped, until finally Israel started to live like their enemies and imitate their ways. For believers today, the first step away from the Lord is “be[ing] a friend of the world” (), which then leads to our letting the world corrupt us (). The next step is to “love the world” () and gradually “be conformed to this world” (). This can lead to being “condemned with the world” (), the kind of judgment that came to Lot (), Samson (), and Saul (; ).

In this day of “pluralism,” when society contains people of opposing beliefs and lifestyles, it’s easy to get confused and start thinking that tolerance is the same as approval. We have the obligation before God to maintain a separate walk so we won’t become defiled by those who disagree with us (). We must seek by prayer, witness, and loving persuasion to win those to Christ who as yet haven’t trusted Him.

Israel had adopted some of the Canaanites’ pleasures, but in the long run, they would only experience pain. They rejoiced in their freedom from Egypt, but as a result of disobedience, they would see that freedom dissolve into bondage. No wonder the people wept when they heard the message! However, their sorrow was motivated by the consequences of their sins, rather than true conviction of their wickedness. It was a shallow and temporary regret that never led them to true repentance (). In His covenant, God promised to bless Israel if the people obeyed Him and to discipline them if they disobeyed Him (see ). The people of Israel found themselves enslaved to one pagan nation after another as the Lord kept His word and chastened His people.

God is always faithful to His Word, whether in blessing us or chastening us—for in both, He displays His integrity and His love (). Like the Israelites’ history shows, the sin in our lives that we fail to conquer will eventually conquer us. God would prefer to bestow the blessings of life that bring us enjoyment, but He doesn’t hesitate to remove those blessings if our suffering will motivate us to return to Him in true repentance.

Catalyst

The people forgot what the Lord had done (). Joshua had stood with Moses as a great hero, and yet the new generation didn’t recognize who he was or what he had done. How important it is for each new generation to recognize and appreciate the great men and women who helped to build and protect their nation!

The people forsook what the Lord had said (). Had they remembered Joshua, they would have known his “farewell speeches” to the leaders and people of Israel (). Had they known those speeches, they would have known the law of Moses, for in his final messages, Joshua emphasized the covenant God had made with Israel and their responsibility to keep it. When you forget the Word of God, you are in danger of forsaking the God of the Word, which explains why Israel turned to the vile and vicious worship of Baal.

The people forfeited what the Lord had promised (, ). When they went out to fight their enemies, Israel was defeated because the Lord wasn’t with His people, as Moses had said would happen if they turned from God (, ). But that isn’t all: Israel’s enemies eventually became their masters! God permitted one nation after another to invade the Promised Land and enslave His people, making life so miserable for them that they cried out for help.

The people failed to learn from what the Lord did (). When in their misery they turned back to Him, crying for help, He liberated them. But just as soon as they were free and their situation was comfortable again, Israel went right back into the same old sins. The people wasted their suffering. They didn’t learn the lessons God wanted them to learn and profit from His chastening.

We can easily make the same mistakes the people of Israel made, and if we do, we should not be surprised if we experience similar consequences.

Go to the

God delivered His people by raising up judges, who defeated the enemy and set Israel free. The Hebrew word translated “judge” means “to save, to rescue.” The judges were deliverers who won great military victories with the help of the Lord. But the judges were also leaders who helped the people settle their disputes (, ).

The cycle of disobedience, discipline, despair, and deliverance is seen today whenever God’s people turn away from His Word and go their own way. If disobedience isn’t followed by divine discipline, then the person is not truly a child of God, for God chastens all of His children (). God has great compassion for His people, but He is angry at their sins.

“The LORD,” meaning Jehovah God, is named fifteen times in these thirty-one verses, so there is no doubt who is really in charge. As He executes His divine decrees, God never violates human responsibility, but He does sovereignly intervene in the affairs of individuals and nations to accomplish His great purposes on earth.

God could have judged Israel for sparing the wicked Canaanite nations, but in His mercy He spared them because He had purposes for them to fulfill. Israel had committed a serious blunder in not trusting God to give them victory, but God sought to use their mistake for their own good. worked even in Old Testament days.

God had commanded Israel not to intermarry with her neighbors, not because Israel was better than any other nation, but because she was different. Instead of letting God use them as a singular example for their neighbors, the Israelites were influenced to worship their neighbors’ gods, and everything Moses warned them not to do, they did. They broke down the wall of separation between themselves and the godless nations around them, and the results were tragic. If the history of Israel teaches the contemporary church anything it’s the obvious lesson that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” ().

There’s no evidence that the people repented of their sins when they cried out to God for help, but the Lord responded to their plight and gave them a deliverer. It was the exodus experience all over again: “God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (). In the long term, we must learn the profound difference between depending on God, even when we fail from time to time, and coming to take God (and His help) for granted.

Othniel not only rescued His nation from bondage, but he also served forty years as judge for his people. This meant that he exercised authority in managing the affairs of the nation, and it was his spiritual and civil leadership that brought rest to the land. Never underestimate the good that one person can do who is filled with the Spirit of God and obedient to His will.

The text “a left-handed man” can be translated “a man handicapped in the right hand,” which suggests that he was not ambidextrous at all but able to use only his left hand. Either way, Ehud’s plan for killing Eglon was a masterpiece of strategy. It’s also a great encouragement to people with physical disabilities who may have the erroneous idea that God can’t use them in His service.

If the Israelites had been asked to vote on a leader, Ehud probably would have lost on the first ballot. But he was God’s choice, and God used him to set the nation free. Moses was not very good with words () and Paul was not imposing in his appearance (), but Moses and Paul, like Ehud, were men of faith who led others to victory. Ehud turned a disability into a possibility because he depended on the Lord.

Here was a man who obeyed God and defeated the enemy even though his resources were limited. Instead of complaining about not possessing a sword or spear, Shamgar gave what he had to the Lord, and the Lord used it. How does that basic approach compare with your availability to God?

, The priests and Levites were not only to officiate at the tabernacle, but they also were to teach the law to the people and encourage them to obey it (; , ; ; cf. ; ). Jewish parents were expected to teach their children the ways of the Lord (; ; cf. ; ) and be good examples for them to follow. During the period of the judges, however, it appears that the older generation neglected the important ministry of instructing the new generation about the fear of the Lord ().

For eighty years, the Israelites had enjoyed rest because of the leadership of Ehud, the longest period of peace recorded in the Book of Judges. But no sooner was this godly judge removed than the people lapsed back into idolatry, and God had to punish them (). Shallow righteousness quickly fails without external support. Godly leadership helps, but a deepening of righteousness among people preserves spiritual growth.

Canaan was made up of a number of city-states, each of which was ruled by a king (see ). “Jabin” was the official title or name of the king of Hazor (). He was also called “the Canaanite king,” which could mean that he was the head of a confederacy of kings. Although he was a pagan ruler, Jabin was the key person in God’s next interaction with His people. God raised Jabin up to discipline the people of Israel.

Once again, the people of Israel cried out to God, not to forgive their sins but to relieve their suffering. Had they truly repented, God would have done much more than deliver them from physical slavery. He would have liberated them from their spiritual bondage as well. To ask God for comfort and not cleansing is only to sow seeds of selfishness that will eventually produce another bitter harvest.

God had raised up a courageous woman named Deborah to be the judge in the land. This was an act of grace, but it was also an act of humiliation for the Israelites, for they lived in a male-dominated society that wanted only mature male leadership. Deborah was both a judge and a prophetess. Moses’ sister Miriam was a prophetess (), and later biblical history introduces us to Huldah (), Noadiah (), Anna (), and the four daughters of Philip ().

, When God wants to glorify Himself through His people, He always has the perfect plan. God chose the leader of His army, the place for the battle, and the plan for His army to follow. God also guaranteed the victory. It was like the “good old days” of Joshua again!

We know that “God’s commandments are God’s enablements” and that we should obey His will in spite of circumstances, feelings, or consequences. But we don’t always do it! The fact that Deborah agreed to accompany Barak suggests that his request wasn’t out of God’s will, although in granting it, God took the honor from the men and gave it to the women.

The Lord is the leading actor in this scene. He not only controlled the enemy army and brought it into the trap, but He also threw Sisera’s troops into a panic. How often have believers overlooked the loving providence of God by accounting natural works to chance or happenstance?

, When Heber’s wife, Jael, came out to meet Sisera and invited him into her tent, the Canaanite captain was sure that he was at last safe. After all, in that culture nobody would dare enter a wife’s tent except her husband. Jael gave him milk instead of water and then covered him with a blanket, and he was confident that he had found a dependable ally and could rest in peace.

When Barak arrived on the scene, he discovered that his enemy was dead and that Deborah’s prediction had been fulfilled. For a captain to flee from a battle was embarrassing; for him to be killed while fleeing was humiliating; but to be killed by a woman was the most disgraceful thing of all ().

Jael not only helped deliver the nation of Israel from bondage, but also she helped to protect the women from the most vicious brutality. She wasn’t a Semitic “Lady Macbeth” who murdered her guest for her own personal gain. There was a war on, and this courageous woman finally stopped being neutral and took her stand with the people of God.

A poem or song isn’t something you can easily outhne because it’s a spontaneous emotional expression that often defies analysis. Unlike classical English poetry, Hebrew poetry contains recurring themes expressed in different ways and frequent outbursts of praise and prayer.

In verses , Deborah and Barak praise the Lord for all that He did for His people. He gave unity to the leaders so that Barak could assemble an army (v. ; cf. v. ). The same God who gave Israel victory in the past would give them victory again. Israel had entered into a covenant with the Lord at Mount Sinai (cf. v. ), and He would fulfill His promises to His special people.

Deborah was grateful that the people offered themselves willingly in the service of the Lord (vv. , ). They were not “summer soldiers” but brave men who were serious about fighting the Lord’s battles. However, there were four tribes that didn’t volunteer to do their share of fighting. The people of God today are not unlike the people of Israel when it comes to God’s call for service: Some immediately volunteer and follow the Lord; some risk their lives; some give the call serious consideration but say no; and others keep to themselves as though the call had never been given.

Deborah’s blessing on Jael reminds us of Elizabeth’s words to Mary (). Because of Barak’s hesitation, Deborah announced that a woman would get the credit for killing the captain of the enemy army (, ).

Deborah’s closing prayer contrasts the enemies of the Lord—who, like Sisera, come to their end in darkness—with the people who love God, who rise like the sun in all its power. The battle at Megiddo was more than just a conflict between opposing armies. It was a conflict between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. We either love Christ and walk in the light, or we are His enemy and perish in the darkness.

Gideon’s response to the Lord’s message was “the LORD has forsaken us” (v. ); and yet the Lord had given Israel proof of His personal concern. He had chastened them (vv. ). He had rebuked them (vv. ).

Chastening is evidence of God’s hatred for sin and His love for His people. We can’t conceive of a holy God wanting anything less than His very best for His children, and the best He can give us is a holy character like that of Jesus Christ. Obedience to the Lord builds character, but sin destroys character, and God cannot sit idly by and watch His children destroy themselves. The purpose of chastening is to make God’s children willing to listen to His Word. Often after spanking a child, parents will reassure the child of their love and then gently admonish the child to listen to what they say and obey it. God speaks to His children, either through the loving voice of Scripture or the heavy hand of chastening, and if we ignore the first, we must endure the second. One way or another, the Lord is going to get our attention and deal with us.

God had already rebuked His people. Before Joshua died, an angel of the Lord, probably the Son of God, had come to Bokim to reprove Israel for her sins (), and now an unnamed prophet came to repeat the message. Often in the Old Testament, when the Lord denounced His people for their disobedience, He reminded them of the wonderful way He had delivered them from Egypt. He also reminded them of His generosity in giving them the land and helping them overcome their enemies.

Now God came down to help the Israelites. The people were crying out to the Lord for help (v. ), as people usually do when they’re in trouble. The Israelites gave no evidence of real repentance, but their affliction moved God’s loving heart. God in His mercy doesn’t give us what we do deserve; in His grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve.

Once God has called and commissioned us, all we have to do is obey Him by faith, and He will do the rest. Faith means obeying God in spite of what we see, how we feel, or what the consequences might be. Our modern “practical” world laughs at faith without realizing that people live by faith all day long. “If it wasn’t for faith, there would be no living in this world,” wrote humorist Josh Billings nearly a century ago. “We couldn’t even eat hash with any safety.”

, When you consider the kind of man Gideon was at this time, you wonder why God selected him, but God often chooses the “weak things of the world” to accomplish great things for His glory (). Gideon wasn’t a man of strong faith or courage, and God had to patiently work with him to prepare him for leadership. God is always ready to make us what we ought to be if we’re willing to submit to His will (; , ).

When you review God’s gracious promises to Gideon, you wonder why this young man wavered in his faith. God promised to be with him. God had called him a “mighty hero” and promised that Gideon would save Israel from the Midianites and smite them as if he “were fighting against one man.” Gideon asked for a sign to assure him that it was really the Lord who was speaking to him (), and the Lord was gracious to accommodate Himself to Gideon’s doubts.

The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) means much more than a cessation of hostilities: It carries with it the ideas of well-being, health, and prosperity. Gideon now believed the Lord was able to use him, not because of who he was, but because God is a God of provision and peace. We can pray for that same kind of contented purposefulness in our relationship with God.

, Our God is a jealous God () and will not share His glory or our love with another. Gideon had privately built His own altar to the Lord (), but now he had to take his public stand, and he had to do it without compromise. Before he could declare war on Midian, he had to declare war on Baal.

Knowing that Gideon was still afraid, God assigned him a task right at home to show him that He would see him through. After all, if we don’t practice our faith at home, how can we practice it sincerely anyplace else? Gideon had to take his stand in his own village before he dared to face the enemy on the battlefield.

, The phrase “putting out the fleece” is a familiar one in religious circles. It means asking God to guide us in a decision by fulfilling some condition that we lay down. “Putting out the fleece” is not a biblical method for determining the will of God. Rather, it’s an approach used by people like Gideon who lack the faith to trust that God will do what He said He would do. Twice Gideon reminded God of what He had promised, and twice Gideon asked God to reaffirm his promises with a miracle. The fact that God stooped to Gideon’s weakness only proves that He’s a gracious God who understands how we’re made ().

God told Gideon why He was decreasing the size of the army: He didn’t want the soldiers to boast that they had won the victory over the Midianites. We win victories by faith, and that brings glory to God. People who live by faith know their own weakness more and more as they depend on God’s strength. Pride after the battle robs God of glory, and fear during the battle robs God’s soldiers of courage and power. Fear has a way of spreading, and one timid soldier can do more damage than a whole company of enemy soldiers. Fear and faith can’t live together very long in the same heart.

God put Gideon’s surviving 10,000 men through a second test by asking them all to take a drink down at the river. We never know when God is testing us in some ordinary experience of life. We’d be wise not to read into the text some weighty spiritual lesson that God never put there. Perhaps God chose this method of sifting the army because it was simple, unassuming (no soldier knew he was being tested), and easy to apply.

How grateful we should be that God understands us and doesn’t condemn us because we have doubts and fears! He keeps giving us wisdom and doesn’t scold us when we keep asking (). Our great High Priest in heaven sympathizes with our weaknesses () and keeps giving us more grace (). God remembers that we’re only dust () and flesh ().

, We must not conclude from these examples that this is the Lord’s normal method of communicating with people or that we should seek His guidance in our dreams today. Dreams can be deceptive (), and apart from divine instruction we can’t know the correct interpretation (). The best way to get God’s guidance is through the Word of God, prayer, and sensitivity to the Spirit as we watch circumstances.

Faith means more than simply trusting God; it also means seeking God and wanting to please Him. We don’t trust God just to get Him to do things for us. We trust Him because it brings joy to His heart when His children rely on Him, seek Him, and please Him.

Christians who believe God’s promises and see Him do great things are humbled to know that the God of the universe cares about them and is on their side. They claim no merit in their faith or honor from their victories. All the glory goes to the Lord because He did it all! It’s the unbelieving child of God who grieves the Lord and makes Him a liar ().

The church today can learn from this event and be encouraged by it. God doesn’t need large numbers to accomplish His purposes, nor does He need especially gifted leaders. Gideon and his 300 men were available for God to use, and He enabled them to conquer the enemy and bring peace to the land. When the church starts to depend on “bigness”—big buildings, big crowds, big budgets—then faith becomes misplaced, and God can’t give His blessing. When leaders depend on their education, skill, and experience rather than on God, then God abandons them and looks for a Gideon.

The important thing is for us to be available for God to use just as He sees fit. We may not fully understand His plans, but we can fully trust His promises. Our faith in Him brings victory.

Gideon was the example for them to follow. “Look at me and do likewise.” Gideon had come a long way since the day God had found him hiding in the winepress! No longer did he ask “If . . . why . . . where?” (). No longer did he seek a sign. Instead, he confidently gave orders to his men, knowing that the Lord would give them the victory.

Ephraim was a proud tribe. If Gideon had included them in the initial attack on Midian, he would have offended their bravado when he told the frightened men to go home, and the volunteers would not have tolerated his further thinning out the ranks to only 300 soldiers! If Gideon had called them and then sent most of them back, they would have created a far worse problem before the battle than they did afterward. Ephraim was on hand to help in the “mopping up” operations, and that’s what really counted. Ephraim, however, missed out on acquiring some valuable spoils of war from over 100,000 soldiers, and this may have been what irritated them.

When the Israelites passed through their land in the exodus from Egypt, the Ammonites and Moabites, relatives of the Israelites through Lot, failed to help them with food and water. Because of their lack of hospitality, God declared war on them (). Hospitality is one of the basic laws of the East, and custom demands that people meet the needs of strangers as well as relatives. Hospitality was also an important ministry in the early church. In times of persecution many believers were fleeing, and there were no hotels where they could stay. (See ; ; ; .) Indeed, helping a hungry, needy brother or sister is an opportunity to minister to the Lord Jesus ().

Why didn’t Gideon show the people of Succoth and Peniel the same kindness that he showed the Ephraimites and simply forgive their offenses? For one thing, their offenses were not alike. The pride of Ephraim was nothing compared to the rebellion of Succoth and Peniel. Ephraim was protecting their tribal pride––a sin but not a costly one––while Succoth and Peniel were rebelling against God’s chosen leader and assisting the enemy at the same time. Leaders must have discernment or they will make wrong decisions as they deal with different situations. Personal insults are one thing, but rebellion against the Lord and His people is quite something else.

According to Mosaic law, the family was to avenge crimes like this by killing those responsible for the murder. There was no police system in the land, and each family was expected to track down and punish those who had murdered their relatives, provided the culprit was guilty (see ). In the case of Zebah and Zalmunna, the culprits were not only murderers but also enemies of Israel.

, The Israelites’ request was a confession of unbelief, for as Gideon reminded them, God was their king. Gideon rejected their generous offer purely on theological grounds: He would not take the place of Jehovah God. However, after rejecting the throne, he lived like a king! Verses describe the lifestyle of a monarch, not that of a judge or a retired army officer. Gideon also seems to have assumed priestly duties, for he made his own ephod and probably consulted it on behalf of the people.

At this point the man of faith led the people into idolatry, for Gideon made an ephod, and the people “played the harlot” with it. This meant that they stopped giving their true devotion to the Lord and used the ephod as an idol. In Scripture, idolatry is looked upon as prostitution. The ephod was used in worship and became a snare to Gideon and the people (cf. ).

Contrast Abram and Gideon in the decisions they made after their respective victories (): Abram took nothing for himself but made sure that others received their share of the spoils (). He especially refused to take anything from the heathen king of Sodom (, ). Instead, Abram fellowshipped with Melchizedek, King of Salem, a type of our Lord Jesus Christ (); and in all that he said and did, Abram gave glory to the Lord of heaven and earth.

, Abimelech was the son of Gideon by a slave woman who lived with her father’s family in Shechem (, ; ). His name means “my father is a king.” Although Gideon had certainly lived like a king, he had still refused to establish a dynasty in Israel, but Abimelech felt that his father had made a mistake.

Abimelech broke both of the first two commandments. It’s obvious that he was his own god and that he had no interest in God’s will for the nation. His accepting money from the Baal worshipers to finance his crusade was a public announcement that he had renounced the God of Israel and was on the side of Baal.

Because the people of Israel had forgotten both the goodness of the Lord and the kindness of Gideon (), they had neither the conviction to be concerned nor the courage to intervene. It doesn’t take long for society to change yesterday’s hero into today’s scoundrel, or to ignore the best examples from history.

Jotham’s parable told the people of Shechem they would each have to sacrifice something in order to have a godly kingdom, and they weren’t prepared to make that sacrifice. When they chose Abimelech as their king, the men of Shechem didn’t get useful olive oil, tasty figs, or cheery wine; they got a bramble—useful only as fuel for the fire.

Abimelech considered himself to be a stately tree of great value, but Jotham said he was nothing but a useless weed. For a bramble to invite the other trees to trust in its shadow is a laughable proposition indeed! What a blow to the new king’s pride! It’s a dangerous thing for us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (). We should discover the gifts God has given us and then use them where He places us. Each member in the body of Christ is important (), and we all need to minister to one another.

In order to make sure the city didn’t rebel against him again, Abimelech destroyed it and sowed salt over it. The sowing of salt on a conquered city was a symbolic action that condemned the city to desolation so nobody would want to live there. (See and footnote.)

Catalyst

There were at least three deficiencies in Israel during this time in Israel’s history that gave evidence that the nation was decaying spiritually.

Israel’s lack of gratitude to the Lord (). The people of Israel didn’t take advantage of the years of peace to grow in their relationship to the Lord. After the death of Jair, the nation openly returned to idolatry and once again invited the chastening of the Lord. They enjoyed forty-five years of peace and prosperity but didn’t take time to thank the Lord for what He had done for them. The essence of idolatry is enjoying God’s gifts but not being grateful to the Giver, and Israel was guilty.

Israel’s lack of submission to the Lord (). If the people had only reviewed their own history and learned from it, they would never have turned from Jehovah God to worship the false gods of their neighbors. When God chastens us in love and we’re suffering, because of our sins, it’s easy to cry out to Him for deliverance and make all kinds of promises. But when we’re comfortable and enjoying His blessings, we tend to forget God and assume that we can sin and get away with it. Comfortable living often produces weak character.

Israel’s lack of adequate leadership (, ). The people were prepared to act, but from all the tribes of Israel, there was nobody to take the lead. Whether in a nation or a local church, the absence of qualified leaders is often a judgment of God and evidence of the low spiritual level of the people. When the Spirit is at work among believers, He will equip and call servants to accomplish His will and bless His people ().

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For the people to abandon God was one thing, but for God to abandon His people was quite something else. The greatest judgment God can send to His people is to let them have their own way and not interfere. “So God gave them up . . . God gave them up . . . He gave them over” (, , ). Suddenly the people were faced with the painful consequences of their choices. This was too much for the Israelites, so they repented, put away their false gods, and told God he could do to Israel whatever He wanted to do.

Jephthah was an unwanted brother. He wasn’t to blame for his birth. His father, Gilead, had only one wife, but he consorted with a prostitute and fathered a son. At least Gilead acknowledged the boy and took him into his home, but his other sons didn’t accept this “son of another woman.” When Gilead died and the inheritance was to be divided, the legitimate sons drove Jephthah away. Little did they realize they were rejecting a future judge of Israel. The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jephthah was a man of faith and his victory was a victory of faith (). The circumstances of birth or family are not a handicap to the person who lives by faith. In his message to the king of Ammon, Jephthah revealed his knowledge of the Word of God, and this Word was the source of his faith.

Jephthah was an unopposed leader. Jephthah’s brothers didn’t want him, but Israel needed him and sent a deputation eighty miles to the land of Tob to ask him to take charge. Jephthah’s reply sounds a good deal like what the Lord had said to the people when they turned to Him for help ().

Jephthah emphasized the Lord in all his negotiations with the leaders of Israel. It was the Lord who would give the victory, not Jephthah, and the agreement between him and the elders must be ratified before the Lord at Mizpah (v. ; see ). Jephthah didn’t see the challenge as a political opportunity for himself but as an occasion to trust the Lord and serve Him. In addition, the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jephthah was a man of faith, not simply an opportunist ().

Jephthah was an unsuccessful diplomat. Before declaring war, Jephthah tried peaceful negotiations with the Ammonites, but the negotiations failed. Nevertheless, this section does tell us two things about Jephthah: (1) He knew the Scriptures and the history of his people, and (2) he was not a hothead who was looking for a fight.

, The Lord had given Israel the land. Jephthah was always careful to give the Lord the glory for any victories Israel won (vv. , , , ). When the other nations captured enemy territory, they claimed that it was the will of their god that they take the land, and they gave their idols credit for the victory. Jephthah declared that the God of Israel was the true God and that His will had been fulfilled in allowing Israel to take the land.

, Jephthah hadn’t declared war on Ammon; it was Ammon that declared war on Israel. But if God gave Israel the land, then the Ammonites were declaring war on the Lord God, and that could only mean disaster and defeat for Ammon. Jephthah had tried to reason with the king of Ammon, but he wouldn’t listen. We don’t always get to choose the confrontations that occur in life, but we can make it our practice to behave in a godly way in any confrontation.

Jephthah was an undefeated warrior. Empowered by the Spirit of God (see ; ), Jephthah called for volunteers (, ) and mustered his army. The Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, and he captured twenty of their strongholds as he pursued the fleeing enemy army. This would guarantee freedom and safety for the Israelites as they traveled in the Gilead territory.

Catalyst

While going out to battle, Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. Jephthah’s vow was really a bargain with the Lord: If God would give the Israelites victory over the Ammonites, Jephthah would sacrifice to the Lord whatever came out of his house when he arrived home in Mizpah.

It was certainly acceptable to God for the Israelites to make vows, provided they obeyed the laws that He had given through Moses to govern the use of vows (; ; ). Vows were completely voluntary, but the Lord expected the people to fulfill them ().

One of the crucial conclusions we need to draw is that if we want our words and promises to be taken seriously, we must make sure we are willing to back up what we say. We must make sure we don’t make promises we know are too painful to keep.

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Jephthah knew that Jehovah didn’t approve of or accept human sacrifices. More than one expositor has pointed out that the little word waw in the Hebrew that follows “when I return in triumph” can be translated either “and” [I will sacrifice it] or “or” [I will sacrifice it]. If we take the latter approach, then the vow was twofold: Whatever met him when he returned home would be dedicated to the Lord (if a person) or sacrificed to the Lord (if an animal).

It is doubtful that Jephthah’s friends and neighbors would have permitted him to slay his own daughter in order to fulfill a foolish vow. King Saul’s soldiers didn’t let him kill his son Jonathan, who had violated his father’s foolish vow ().

Jephthah could have learned from any priest that paying the proper amount of money could have redeemed his daughter (). As a successful soldier who had just returned from looting the enemy, Jephthah could easily have paid the redemption price.

Since he was met by his daughter, Jephthah gave her to the Lord to serve at the tabernacle (; ). She remained a virgin, which meant that she would not know the joys of motherhood and perpetuate her father’s inheritance in Israel. This would be reason enough for her and her friends to spend two months grieving, for every daughter wanted a family and every father wanted grandchildren to maintain the family inheritance.

Nowhere in the text are we told that Jephthah actually killed his daughter, nor do we find anybody bewailing the girl’s death. The emphasis in is the fact that she remained a virgin. It’s difficult to believe that young Israelite women would establish a custom to lament the awful sacrifice of a human being, but we can well understand that they would commemorate the devotion and obedience of Jephthah’s daughter in helping her father fulfill his vow.

The leaders of the tribe of Ephraim expressed to Jephthah the same pride and anger they had shown to Gideon (). As before, they wanted to share the glory of the victory, but they hadn’t been too eager to risk their lives in the battle. They had absolutely no respect for the new ruler of the Transjordanic tribes.

Perhaps Jephthah should have practiced and and avoided a war, but then, maybe it was time somebody called Ephraim’s bluff and taught them a lesson. The men of Ephraim resorted to name-calling and taunted the Gileadites by calling them “fugitives of Ephraim and Manasseh.” Thus the words of the Ephraimites were an insult to the Lord and his servants.

, It was a simple test, but it worked. Because of this story, the word “shibboleth” has become a part of our English vocabulary and is now found in our dictionaries. It stands for any kind of test that a group gives to outsiders to see whether they really belong.

The life of Samson occupies the next four chapters of Judges. Samson was unpredictable and undependable because he was double-minded, and people like that are “unstable in all [their] ways” (). It has well been said that “the greatest ability is dependability,” and you could depend on Samson to be undependable.

With monotonous regularity we’ve read the phrase “the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD” in the Book of Judges (, ; ; ; ), and here it appears for the last time. It introduces the longest period of oppression that God sent to His people––forty years of Philistine domination. It’s worth noting that there is no evidence given in the text that Israel cried out to God for deliverance at any time during this period. indicates that the Israelites were apparently content with their lot. It is frightening how quickly some get accustomed to bondage and learn to accept the status quo.

God uses the weak things of the world to shame the mighty (). Babies must have time to grow up, but God is patient and is never late in accomplishing His will. Each baby God sends is a gift from God, a new beginning, and carries with it tremendous potential. What a tragedy that we live in a society that sees the unborn baby as matter instead of a miracle, an intruder instead of an inheritance.

Like John the Baptist, Samson would be a Nazirite from his mother’s womb (). The word Nazirite comes from a Hebrew word that means “to separate, to consecrate.” Nazirites were persons who, for a stated period of time, consecrated themselves to the Lord in a special way. The laws governing the Nazirite vow are given in .

We can’t help but be impressed with the devotion of this husband and wife to each other and to the Lord. The time of the judges was one of apostasy and anarchy, but there were still Israelite homes that were dedicated to the Lord. They knew God’s Word and believed in prayer, and God was still working through them.

, Ordinarily, Jewish worshipers had to bring their offerings to the tabernacle altar at Shiloh, but since the “Angel of the LORD” commanded Manoah to offer the burnt offering, it was permissible to do it there, using a rock as the altar.

The baby was born and was named Samson, which means “sunny” or “brightness.” Certainly he brought light and joy to Manoah and his wife, who thought they would never have a family, and he also began to bring light to Israel during the dark days of Philistine oppression.

The secret of Samson’s great strength was his Nazirite vow, symbolized by his unshorn hair (), and the source of that strength was the Holy Spirit of God (; , ; ). We aren’t told that Samson’s physique was especially different from that of other men.

The Lord had given Samson a godly heritage, and he had been raised to honor the Lord, but when Samson fell in love, he wouldn’t listen to his parents’ warning. Samson had wandered four miles into enemy territory where he was captivated by a Philistine woman and decided to marry her. This, of course, was contrary to God’s law (; ; and see ). We can often trace the beginning of sins in our lives to a decision we made to be somewhere we should not have been.

First the Philistine woman enticed him (v. ), then she controlled him (v. ), and then she betrayed him (v. ), which is the way the world always treats the compromising believer. Samson could kill lions and break ropes, but he couldn’t overcome the power of a woman’s tears.

We wonder how his wife felt being compared to a heifer! The proverb simply means, “You couldn’t have done what you did if you hadn’t broken the rules,” because heifers weren’t used for plowing. Since the guests had played foul, technically Samson could have refused to pay the prize, but he generously agreed to keep his promise.

The passion to get even seemed to govern Samson’s life. His motto was, “I only did to them what they did to me” (, , ). If we’re looking by faith into the face of the Lord, He can guide us with his eye, the way parents guide their children. But if we turn our backs on Him, He has to treat us like animals and harness us. Samson was either impetuously rushing ahead like the horse or stubbornly holding back like the mule, and God had to deal with him (, ).

His riddle and his rhyme (v. ) indicate that Samson had a boyish sense of humor, and perhaps this approach to agricultural arson was just another fun time for him. However, we must keep in mind that God was using Samson’s exploits to harass the Philistines and prepare them for the sure defeat that was coming in a few years. By putting two animals together and turning them loose, Samson could be fairly sure that their fear of the fire and their inability to maneuver easily would make them panic. It was a costly devastation.

Violence breeds violence, and the Philistines weren’t about to stand around doing nothing while their food and fortune went up in flames. They figured out that Samson was behind the burning of their crops, and they knew they had to retaliate. Since they couldn’t hope to overcome Samson, they did the next best thing and vented their wrath on his wife and father-in-law.

It’s difficult to be a leader if you have no followers, but part of the fault lay with Samson. He didn’t challenge the people, organize them, and trust God to give them victory. He preferred to work alone, fighting the battles of the Lord as though they were his own private feuds.

His victory celebration didn’t last very long, for God reminded him that he was only a man and had to have water to stay alive. So often in Scripture, testing follows triumph. No sooner had the Israelites crossed the Red Sea than they became thirsty () and hungry (). Elijah’s victory on Mount Carmel was followed by his humiliating flight to Mount Sinai (). If triumphs aren’t balanced with trials, there’s a danger that we’ll become proud and self-confident.

Samson’s prayer indicates that he considered himself God’s servant and that he didn’t want to end his life falling into the hands of the godless Philistines. So God was merciful and performed a miracle by opening up a spring of water in a hollow place. Samson quenched his thirst and then gave the place the name “Spring of the Caller.” And he obviously told others what God had done for him there, because the event was eventually recorded. How do you think about and talk about the times in your life when God has intervened?

It seems incredible to us that a servant of God (), who did great works in the power of the Spirit, would visit a prostitute, but the record is here for all to read. The Lord certainly didn’t approve of such behavior, and the experience was for Samson one more step down into darkness and destruction. There have been enough ministerial scandals in modern times alone to put all of us on guard ().

Samson’s actions illustrate the phrase “possess the gate of his enemies” which was an idiom meaning “to defeat your enemies.” The city gate was the center of civic power. When Jesus spoke about the gates of hell (hades) not prevailing against the church (see and footnote), He was picturing the victory of the church over the forces of Satan and evil. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has stormed the gates of hell and carried them off in victory!

The valley of Sorek lay between Zorah and Timnah on the border of Judah and Philistia. The city of Beth Shemesh was located there. Whenever Samson went into enemy territory, he “went down” both geographically and spiritually (, , , ). This time he found a woman in the valley, not too far from home, and he fell in love with her. Again, it’s a dangerous thing to linger at the enemy’s border; you might get caught.

The Philistines didn’t want to kill Samson. They wanted to neutralize his power, capture him, torture him, and then use him for their own purposes. To humiliate Samson was a much more effective strategy than simply to kill him. Being able to exhibit and control the great champion of Israel would give the Philistines both security and stature among the nations and would certainly satisfy their egos as they humiliated the Israelites. How often we forget that our enemy, the devil, would prefer to make us ineffective and hypocritical examples of Christ-followers rather than to destroy us!

When Delilah began to probe for the secret of his strength, Samson should have been aware of his danger and, like Joseph (), fled as fast as possible (). But passion had gripped him, sin had anesthetized him, and he was unable to act rationally. Anybody could have told him that Delilah was making a fool out of him, but Samson would have believed no one.

, The Philistines easily overpowered Samson and finally had their way with him. They put out his eyes, bound him, and took him to Gaza where he toiled at the grinding mill, doing work usually assigned to slaves, women, or donkeys. Someone has said that reminds us of the blinding, binding, and grinding results of sin.

Samson’s decline began when he disagreed with his parents about marrying a Philistine girl. Then he disdained his Nazirite vow and defiled himself. He disregarded the warnings of God, disobeyed the Word of God, and was defeated by the enemies of God. He probably thought that he had the privilege of indulging in sin since he wore the badge of a Nazirite and won so many victories for the Lord, but he was wrong.

The name Micah means “Who is like Jehovah?” but the man certainly didn’t live to honor the Lord. He had a family (v. ), although nothing is said about his wife, and we get the impression that his mother lived with him and that she was wealthy. In Israel, it was common for the extended family to live under one roof.

Because Micah and his family didn’t submit to the authority of God’s Word, their home was a place of religious and moral confusion. It was a good deal like some homes today where the family worships the god of money, where children steal from their parents and lie about what they do, where family honor is unknown, and where the true God is unwanted.

Have you ever seen a family more spiritually and morally confused than this one? They managed to break almost all the Ten Commandments () and yet not feel the least bit guilty before the Lord! In fact, they thought they were serving the Lord by the bizarre things they did!

Not only did God establish the home and instruct parents how to raise their children (), but He also instituted spiritual leadership in the worshiping community. God told the Old Testament priests what they were supposed to do, and in His Word today, the Holy Spirit guides His church and explains its order and its ministry. The sad part of the story is that Micah thought he had God’s favor because a genuine Levitical priest was serving as his private chaplain. Micah practiced a false religion and worshiped false gods (with Jehovah thrown in for good measure), and all the while he rested on the false confidence that God was blessing him!

, The Lord had assigned the tribal allotments under the direction of Joshua, with the help of Eleazar the high priest and the elders from the tribes (). As He did with the nations (), so He did with the tribes: God put each tribe just where He wanted it. For the tribe of Dan to reject God’s assigned territory and covet another place was to oppose His divine will.

If the tribe of Dan had really wanted God’s counsel, they could have consulted with the high priest. But they were actually rejecting God’s counsel by refusing to remain in the land He had assigned to them. Therefore, it wasn’t likely God would have revealed anything to them ().

Whenever the church has a “hireling ministry,” it can’t enjoy the blessing of God. The church needs true and faithful shepherds who work for the Lord, not for personal gain, and who will stay with the flock to feed them and protect them. True shepherds don’t see their work as a “career” and run off to a “better job” when the opportunity comes. They stay where God puts them and don’t move until he sends them. (See .)

The account of Micah, Jonathan, and the Danites is more than a story from ancient history. It’s a revelation of the wickedness of the human heart and the hopelessness of human society without God. Our modern world has substituted idols for the true and living God and has devised its own humanistic religion, complete with experts who tell us the Bible is wrong and their way is right. But neither their idols nor their leaders have any power against the violence of the human heart.

This Levite illustrates the careless attitude of many believers today. They are children of the day, but they act like children of the night (). Judgment is around the corner, but these people think of nothing but enjoying life. When his nation was so far from God, how could this Levite waste his time eating, drinking, and making merry? “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” ().

A concubine was a lawful wife who was guaranteed only food, clothing, and marital privileges (; ). Any children she bore would be considered legitimate, but because of her second-class status, they wouldn’t necessarily share in the family inheritance (). If a man’s wife was barren, he sometimes took a concubine so he could establish a family.

During the period of the judges, it was dangerous to travel in the daytime () and even more so at night. The Levite didn’t want to stay in Jerusalem because it was in the hands of the pagan Jebusites. Thus he pressed on four miles to Gibeah so he could be with his own people. But the men of Gibeah turned out to be as wicked as the heathen around them! The raw immorality of this account shouldn’t distract us from the point that our fellowship as believers should be a place of safety for outsiders. What kind of welcome do the visitors experience in your church or home?

Only one man in the city showed any concern, and he was an Ephraimite. He not only took them into his home but also used his own provisions to feed them and their animals. God’s people are commanded to practice hospitality. It’s one of the qualifications for a pastor (; ). “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” ().

Gibeah had become like Sodom, a city so wicked that God wiped it off the face of the earth (). The men of the city were indulging in immoral practices that were contrary to nature () and the laws of God (; ; see , ).

Like Lot in Sodom, the host offered them his daughter, which shows the low estimate some men in that day had of women and of sexual purity. How a father could offer his own daughter as a sacrifice to the lusts of a mob is difficult to understand. Yet many parents today allow their sons’ and daughters’ minds and hearts to be violated by what they see and hear in movies, on television, and at rock concerts. Chastity of mind and heart is essential for chastity of the body.

Our hearts ought to revolt at the thought of a man so insensitive to the feelings of a human being made in the image of God, so indifferent to the sanctity of sex and the responsibility of marriage, and so unconcerned about the laws of God, that he would sacrifice his concubine to save his own skin. He was so calloused that he was able to lie down and go to sleep while they were abusing her in the street!

After hearing the Levite’s indictment of the men of Gibeah, the people of Israel delivered a verdict and made a vow. The verdict was that the men of Gibeah were guilty and should be handed over to the authorities to be slain (). The vow was that none of the tribes represented would give their daughters in marriage to the men of Benjamin ().

The eleven tribes had agreed together to attack Gibeah, but first they sent representatives throughout the tribe of Benjamin, calling for the people to confess their wickedness and hand over the guilty men. Whatever law they were obeying, the tribes were concerned to “remove the evil” from among themselves, a phrase that is found at least nine times in Deuteronomy (see ). The men of Gibeah were evil men and had to be punished before the Lord could be pleased with His people and cleanse His land.

When sin isn’t exposed, confessed, and punished, it pollutes society and defiles the land. The wicked men of Gibeah were like a cancerous tumor in the body that had to be cut out. “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump??” ().

Note that “the people of Benjamin” in verse becomes “our relatives from Benjamin” in verse . Perhaps this was one reason why God permitted the Israelites to lose that first battle. It gave them an opportunity to reflect on the fact that they were fighting their own flesh and blood. But on the second day of the war, Benjamin won again, this time killing 18,000 men.

Once their anger cooled off, the eleven tribes realized that they had just about eliminated a tribe from the nation of Israel, and this made them weep (v. ). They offered sacrifices to the Lord, but there’s no record that the people humbled themselves, confessed their sin, and sought the help of the Lord.

, Nobody had come to the war from Jabesh Gilead, which meant two things: They hadn’t participated in the oath, and the city deserved to be punished. It’s possible that when the twelve parts of the concubine’s body were sent throughout Israel, a warning was issued that any tribe or city that didn’t respond and help fight Benjamin would be treated the same way.

All of this carnage and destruction happened because one Levite didn’t have the courage to stand up for what was right and treat his concubine honorably. Once again, as with Jonathan, Micah, and the Danites (chs. ), the problem started in the home. As goes the home, so goes the nation.

For the fourth time (; ; ), the writer tells us that “there was no king in Israel,” and for the second time (see ), he adds that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Today, there is no king in Israel because the nation chose Barabbas instead of Jesus (). They said, “We do not want him to be our king” (). Because there’s no king in Israel, people in this world are rebelling against God and doing whatever pleases them; and it will be that way until the King returns and takes His throne on earth.

Judges 1

1:1

1:1

1:1 ,

1:2 ,

1:3

1:3

1:4

1:7

1:8

1:9 ; ;

1:9 Hebrew Negev, and so throughout this book

1:10

1:10

1:11

1:12 ,

1:13

1:14 ,

1:14 Septuagint and Vulgate read he urged her.

1:15

1:16

1:16

1:16

1:16

1:17

1:17

1:18

1:19 ,

1:20 ,

1:20

1:21

1:22

1:23 ;

1:23

1:24 ,

1:27

1:27

1:27

1:29

1:30

1:31

1:32 ,

1:33

1:35

1:35 Spelled Shaalabbin in

1:36

Judges 2

2:1

2:1

2:1 ,

2:2

2:2

2:2

2:3

2:3

2:3

2:3 Septuagint, Targum, and Vulgate read enemies to you.

2:5 Literally Weeping

2:6 ;

2:7

2:8

2:9

2:9 ,

2:10

2:11 , ; ;

2:12

2:12

2:12

2:13

2:13 Canaanite goddesses

2:14

2:14

2:14

2:14

2:15

2:16

2:17

2:18

2:18

2:19

2:20 []

2:21 , ,

2:22 ,

2:22 , ;

Judges 3

3:1 ; ,

3:3

3:5

3:6 ,

3:7

3:7

3:7 Name or symbol for Canaanite goddesses

3:8

3:8

3:9

3:9

3:9

3:10

3:12

3:12

3:13

3:13

3:14

3:15

3:15

3:19

3:24

3:24 Literally his

3:25 ;

3:27

3:27

3:28 ,

3:28

3:30

3:31

3:31

3:31

3:31

Judges 4

4:1

4:1

4:2

4:2 ,

4:2

4:2 ,

4:3

4:3

4:5

4:6

4:6 ;

4:6

4:7

4:7 ,

4:9

4:10

4:10

4:10 Literally at his feet

4:11

4:11

4:11

4:14 ;

4:16

4:17

4:19

4:21

Judges 5

5:1

5:2

5:2

5:3 ,

5:3

5:4

5:4

5:5

5:5

5:6

5:6

5:6

5:8

5:10 ;

5:12

5:14

5:15 Following Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads And my princes in Issachar.

5:15 Literally at his feet

5:17

5:17 ,

5:17 Or at ease

5:18 ,

5:19

5:21

5:23 Or Angel

5:24 []

5:27

5:31

5:31

5:31 ; ,

5:31

Judges 6

6:1

6:1 ;

6:2

6:3

6:4

6:4

6:6

6:8

6:9 ,

6:10 , ,

6:10 ,

6:11

6:11

6:12

6:12

6:13 []

6:13

6:13

6:13 Hebrew adoni, used of man

6:14

6:14

6:15

6:15 Hebrew Adonai, used of God

6:16

6:17 ,

6:18 ,

6:19

6:20

6:20 ,

6:21

6:22 ,

6:22

6:23

6:24

6:24 Hebrew YHWH Shalom

6:25

6:25

6:25

6:25 Hebrew Asherah, a Canaanite goddess

6:32

6:32 Literally Let Baal Plead

6:33

6:33

6:34

6:34

6:35 ;

6:35 , ;

6:37 []

6:39

Judges 7

7:1

7:2

7:3

7:7

7:9

7:11 ,

7:12 , ;

7:12

7:14 ,

7:21

7:21

7:22 , ,

7:22

7:22

7:22

7:22 Hebrew Beth Shittah

7:23

7:24

7:24

7:24

7:25

7:25

7:25

Judges 8

8:1

8:2

8:3 ,

8:3

8:4

8:4

8:5

8:6

8:6

8:7

8:8 ,

8:9

8:9

8:10

8:10

8:11 ,

8:11

8:12

8:15

8:16

8:17

8:17

8:18

8:21

8:22 []

8:22 ;

8:23 ; ;

8:24 ,

8:27

8:27 ,

8:27 []

8:27

8:28

8:29 ;

8:30 ,

8:31

8:32

8:32 ;

8:33

8:33

8:33 ,

8:34

8:35

Judges 9

9:1 ,

9:2 ; ,

9:2

9:3

9:4

9:4

9:5

9:5 ,

9:7 ;

9:8

9:8 ,

9:9 []

9:13

9:15

9:15

9:15

9:16

9:17

9:17

9:18 , ; , ,

9:18

9:19

9:20 , , ,

9:21

9:23

9:23 ; ,

9:23

9:24

9:24

9:27

9:28

9:28 ,

9:29

9:29 Literally hand

9:29 Following Masoretic Text and Targum; Dead Sea Scrolls read they; Septuagint reads I.

9:37 Hebrew Meonenim

9:38 ,

9:45

9:45

9:46

9:48

9:53

9:54

9:56

9:57

Judges 10

10:1

10:4 ;

10:4

10:4 Literally Towns of Jair (compare and )

10:6 ; ; ;

10:6

10:6

10:6

10:7

10:7

10:7

10:8

10:10

10:10

10:11

10:11 , ,

10:11 ,

10:11

10:12 ;

10:12 ;

10:12 ,

10:12 Some Septuagint manuscripts read Midianites.

10:13 []

10:14 ,

10:15

10:16 ,

10:16

10:17 ,

10:18 ,

Judges 11

11:1

11:1

11:2

11:3 ,

11:3

11:4 ,

11:7

11:8

11:8 []

11:8

11:10 ;

11:11

11:11 ;

11:12

11:13

11:13

11:13

11:15 ,

11:16 ;

11:17

11:17

11:17

11:17

11:18 , ,

11:18

11:19

11:19

11:20

11:21

11:21 ,

11:22 ,

11:24

11:24 [, ]

11:25

11:26 ,

11:26

11:27

11:27 ;

11:29

11:30

11:31 , ,

11:31

11:33

11:33 Literally Plain of Vineyards

11:34 ;

11:34

11:35 ,

11:35 , ,

11:35

11:36

11:36 ,

11:39

Judges 12

12:1

12:3 ;

12:4

12:5

12:6 ,

12:14 ;

12:15 , ;

Judges 13

13:1

13:1

13:2

13:3

13:4 , ,

13:5

13:5

13:5

13:6

13:6

13:6 ,

13:14 ,

13:15

13:18

13:19

13:20

13:21

13:22

13:24

13:24

13:25

13:25

13:25

13:25 Literally Camp of Dan (compare )

Judges 14

14:1 ,

14:1

14:2

14:3 ,

14:3

14:4

14:4

14:6

14:9

14:12

14:12

14:12

14:13

14:15

14:15

14:15 Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint and Syriac read fourth.

14:16

14:19 ;

14:20

14:20

Judges 15

15:1

15:2

15:6

15:8

15:9

15:11 ;

15:13 ,

15:14 ;

15:15

15:17 Literally Jawbone Height

15:18

15:19

15:19 Literally Jawbone (compare verse )

15:19 Literally Spring of the Caller

15:20 ;

15:20

15:20

Judges 16

16:1

16:2

16:5

16:5

16:11

16:15

16:17 []

16:17

16:19 ,

16:19 Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint reads he began to be weak.

16:20 []

16:21

16:23

16:24

16:25

16:27

16:28

16:31

16:31

Judges 17

17:1

17:2

17:2

17:3 , ;

17:4

17:5

17:5 ;

17:5 ,

17:5 Hebrew teraphim

17:6 ;

17:6

17:7 , ,

17:7

17:10

17:10

17:12

17:12

17:13

Judges 18

18:1 ; ;

18:1

18:2

18:2

18:2

18:4 ,

18:5

18:5 ; ;

18:6

18:7

18:7

18:7

18:7 Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint reads with Syria.

18:8

18:9

18:9

18:10 ,

18:10

18:12

18:12

18:12 Literally Camp of Dan

18:13

18:14

18:14

18:16

18:17 ,

18:17 ,

18:19 ; ;

18:19

18:23

18:24

18:27

18:28

18:28

18:29

18:29

18:30

18:30 Septuagint and Vulgate read Moses.

18:31 ,

Judges 19

19:1 ; ;

19:1

19:3 ;

19:5

19:10 ,

19:11 ,

19:12

19:13

19:15

19:16

19:18

19:20

19:20

19:21 ;

19:21

19:22 ; ,

19:22 ;

19:22

19:22 [, ]

19:22 Literally sons of Belial

19:23 ,

19:23

19:24

19:24

19:24 Literally his

19:25

19:28

19:29

19:29 Literally with her bones

19:30

Judges 20

20:1

20:1 ;

20:1

20:1

20:2

20:4

20:5

20:5 ,

20:6

20:6

20:7

20:9

20:12

20:13

20:13

20:13 Literally sons of Belial

20:15 , ; ;

20:16

20:18 ,

20:18

20:18 ,

20:18 Or Bethel

20:21 []

20:23 ,

20:25

20:26 , ;

20:26 Or Bethel

20:27

20:28

20:28 ;

20:29

20:31

20:34

20:34 Literally they

20:36

20:37

20:38

20:40

20:45

20:45 Septuagint reads the rest.

20:47

Judges 21

21:1

21:2 ,

21:2 Or Bethel

21:4

21:5

21:8 ;

21:10

21:11

21:12

21:13

21:15

21:18 ;

21:19

21:19

21:19

21:21

21:23

21:25 ; ;

21:25

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