Shofetim
1:1It happened after the death of Yehoshua, the children of Yisra'el
asked of the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the
Kana`anim, to fight against them? 1:2The LORD said,
Yehudah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
1:3Yehudah said to Shim`on his brother, Come up with me into my lot,
that we may fight against the Kana`anim; and I likewise will go with you
into your lot. So Shim`on went with him.
1:4Yehudah
went up; and the LORD delivered the Kana`anim and the Perizzi into their
hand: and they struck of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
1:5They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and
they struck the Kana`anim and the Perizzi.
1:6But
Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off
his thumbs and his great toes. 1:7Adoni-bezek said,
"Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered
their food under my table: as I have done, so G-d has requited me."
They brought him to Yerushalayim, and he died there.
1:8The children of Yehudah fought against Yerushalayim, and took it,
and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
1:9Afterward the children of Yehudah went down to fight against the
Kana`anim who lived in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the
lowland. 1:10Yehudah went against the Kana`anim who lived in Chevron (now the
name of Chevron before was Kiryat-Arba); and they struck Sheshai, and
Achiman, and Talmai. 1:11From there he
went against the inhabitants of Devir. (Now the name of Devir before was
Kiryat Sepher.)
1:12Kalev said, He who strikes Kiryat
Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give `Akhsah my daughter as wife.
1:13`Otni'el the son of Kenaz, Kalev's younger brother, took it: and
he gave him `Akhsah his daughter as wife.
1:14It
happened, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her
father a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Kalev said to
her, What would you? 1:15She said to him,
Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South,
give me also springs of water. Kalev gave her the upper springs and the
lower springs.
1:16The children of the Keni, Moshe#s
brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of
Yehudah into the wilderness of Yehudah, which is in the south of `Arad;
and they went and lived with the people.
1:17Yehudah
went with Shim`on his brother, and they struck the Kana`anim who inhabited
Tzefat, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Chormah.
1:18Also Yehudah took `Aza with the border of it, and Ashkelon with
the border of it, and `Ekron with the border of it.
1:19The LORD was with Yehudah; and drove out the inhabitants of
the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the
valley, because they had chariots of iron.
1:20They
gave Chevron to Kalev, as Moshe had spoken: and he drove out there the
three sons of `Anak. 1:21The children of
Binyamin did not drive out the Yevusi who inhabited Yerushalayim; but the
Yevusi dwell with the children of Binyamin in Yerushalayim to this day.
1:22The house of Yosef, they also went up against Beit-El; and the
LORD was with them. 1:23The house of
Yosef sent to spy out Beit-El. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
1:24The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said
to him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will deal
kindly with you.
1:25He shown them the entrance into
the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they
let the man go and all his family. 1:26The man went into
the land of the Chitti, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz,
which is the name of it to this day.
1:27Menashsheh
did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, nor
of Ta`nakh and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns,
nor the inhabitants of Yivle`am and its towns, nor the inhabitants of
Megiddo and its towns; but the Kana`anim would dwell in that land.
1:28It happened, when Yisra'el had grown strong, that they put the
Kana`anim to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
1:29Efrayim didn't drive out the Kana`anim who lived in Gezer; but
the Kana`anim lived in Gezer among them.
1:30Zevulun
didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol;
but the Kana`anim lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
1:31Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of `Akko, nor the
inhabitants of Tzidon, nor of Achlav, nor of Akhziv, nor of Chelbah, nor
of Afik, nor of Rechov; 1:32but the Asheri
lived among the Kana`anim, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not
drive them out.
1:33Naftali didn't drive out the
inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beit-`Anat; but he
lived among the Kana`anim, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the
inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beit-`Anat became subject to forced
labor. 1:34The Amori forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for
they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
1:35but the Amori would dwell in Mount Cheres, in Ayalon, and in
Sha`alvim: yet the hand of the house of Yosef prevailed, so that they
became subject to forced labor. 1:36The border of the
Amori was from the ascent of `Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
2:1The angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bokhim. He said, I
made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I
swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with
you: 2:2and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land;
you shall break down their altars. But you have not listened to my voice:
why have you done this? 2:3Therefore I also
said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as
thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.
2:4It happened, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all
the children of Yisra'el, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
2:5They called the name of that place Bokhim: and they sacrificed
there to the LORD.
2:6Now when Yehoshua had sent the
people away, the children of Yisra'el went every man to his inheritance to
possess the land.
2:7The people served the LORD all the
days of Yehoshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Yehoshua,
who had seen all the great work of the LORD that he had worked for
Yisra'el. 2:8Yehoshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one
hundred ten years old. 2:9They buried him in
the border of his inheritance in Timnat-Cheres, in the hill country of
Efrayim, on the north of the mountain of Ga`ash.
2:10Also
all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose
another generation after them, who didn't know the LORD, nor yet the work
which he had worked for Yisra'el. 2:11The children of
Yisra'el did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the
Ba`alim; 2:12and they forsook the LORD, the G-d of their fathers, who brought
them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the
peoples who were round about them, and bowed themselves down to them: and
they provoked the LORD to anger. 2:13They forsook the
LORD, and served Ba`al and the `Ashtarot.
2:14The
anger of the LORD was kindled against Yisra'el, and he delivered them into
the hands of spoilers who despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands
of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand
before their enemies. 2:15Wherever they
went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had
spoken, and as the LORD had sworn to them: and they were sore distressed.
2:16The LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of
those who despoiled them. 2:17Yet they didn't
listen to their judges; for they played the prostitute after other gods,
and bowed themselves down to them: they turned aside quickly out of the
way in which their fathers walked, obeying the mitzvot
of the LORD; but they didn't do so.
2:18When
the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and
saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for
it repented the LORD because of their groaning by reason of those who
oppressed them and vexed them. 2:19But it happened,
when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly
than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down
to them; they didn't cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.
2:20The anger of the LORD was kindled against Yisra'el; and he said,
Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their
fathers, and have not listened to my voice;
2:21I
also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations
that Yehoshua left when he died; 2:22that by them I
may prove Yisra'el, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk
therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
2:23So
the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither
delivered he them into the hand of Yehoshua.
3:1Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Yisra'el
by them, even as many of Yisra'el as had not known all the wars of
Kana`an; 3:2only that the generations of the children of Yisra'el might know,
to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of it:
3:3namely, the five lords of the Pelishtim,
and all the Kana`anim, and the Tzidonim, and the Chivvi who lived on Mount
Levanon, from Mount Ba`al-Chermon to the entrance of Chamat.
3:4They were left, to prove Yisra'el by them, to know whether
they would listen to the mitzvot of the LORD, which he
commanded their fathers by Moshe. 3:5The children of
Yisra'el lived among the Kana`anim, the Chitti, and the Amori, and the
Perizzi, and the Chivvi, and the Yevusi:
3:6and
they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters
to their sons and served their gods.
3:7The
children of Yisra'el did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and
forgot the LORD their G-d, and served the Ba`alim and the Asherot.
3:8Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Yisra'el, and
he sold them into the hand of Kushan-Rish`atayim king of Aram-Naharayim:
and the children of Yisra'el served Kushan-Rish`atayim eight years.
3:9When the children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD, the LORD raised
up a savior to the children of Yisra'el, who saved them, even `Otni'el the
son of Kenaz, Kalev's younger brother.
3:10The
Spirit of the LORD came on him, and he judged Yisra'el; and he went out to
war, and the LORD delivered Kushan-Rish`atayim king of Aram-Naharayim into
his hand: and his hand prevailed against Kushan-Rish`atayim.
3:11The land had rest forty years. `Otni'el the son of Kenaz died.
3:12The children of Yisra'el again did that which was evil in the
sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened `Eglon the king of Mo'av
against Yisra'el, because they had done that which was evil in the sight
of the LORD.
3:13He gathered to him the children of `Ammon
and `Amalek; and he went and struck Yisra'el, and they possessed the city
of palm trees.
3:14The children of Yisra'el served `Eglon
the king of Mo'av eighteen years. 3:15But when the
children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD, the LORD raised them up a savior,
Ehud the son of Gera, the Binyamini, a man left-handed. The children of
Yisra'el sent tribute by him to `Eglon the king of Mo'av.
3:16Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and
he girded it under his clothing on his right thigh.
3:17He offered the tribute to `Eglon king of Mo'av: now `Eglon was a
very fat man.
3:18When he had made an end of offering
the tribute, he sent away the people who bore the tribute.
3:19But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal,
and said, I have a secret errand to you, king. He said, Keep silence. All
who stood by him went out from him.
3:20Ehud
came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room.
Ehud said, I have a message from G-d to you. He arose out of his seat.
3:21Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right
thigh, and thrust it into his body:
3:22and
the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade,
for he didn't draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind.
3:23Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the
upper room on him, and locked them.
3:24Now
when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the
doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, Surely he is covering
his feet in the upper chamber. 3:25They waited until
they were ashamed; and, behold, he didn't open the doors of the upper
room: therefore they took the key, and opened them, and, behold,
their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
3:26Ehud
escaped while they waited, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to
Seirah. 3:27It happened, when he had come, that he blew a
shofar in the hill-country of Efrayim; and the children of Yisra'el
went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them.
3:28He said to them, Follow after me; for the LORD has delivered your
enemies the Mo`avim into your hand. They went down after him, and took the
fords of the Yarden against the Mo`avim, and didn't allow a man to pass
over. 3:29They struck of Mo'av at that time about ten thousand men, every
lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man.
3:30So Mo'av was subdued that day under the hand of Yisra'el. The
land had rest eighty years. 3:31After him was
Shamgar the son of `Anat, who struck of the Pelishtim six hundred men with
an ox-goad: and he also saved Yisra'el.
4:1The children of Yisra'el again did that which was evil in the
sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
4:2The
LORD sold them into the hand of Yavin king of Kana`an, who reigned in
Chatzor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who lived in Charoshet of
the Goyim. 4:3The children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD: for he had nine
hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the
children of Yisra'el. 4:4Now Devorah, a
prophetess, the wife of Lappidot, she judged Yisra'el at that time.
4:5She lived under the palm tree of Devorah between Ramah and Beit-El
in the hill-country of Efrayim: and the children of Yisra'el came up to
her for judgment.
4:6She sent and called Barak the son
of Avino`am out of Kedesh-Naftali, and said to him, Hasn't the LORD, the
G-d of Yisra'el, commanded, saying, Go and draw to Mount Tavor, and
take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naftali and of the
children of Zevulun? 4:7I will draw to
you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Yavin's army, with his
chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.
4:8Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if
you will not go with me, I will not go.
4:9She
said, I will surely go with you: notwithstanding, the journey that you
take shall not be for your honor; for the LORD will sell Sisera into the
hand of a woman. Devorah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
4:10Barak called Zevulun and Naftali together to Kedesh; and there
went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Devorah went up with him.
4:11Now Chever the Keni had separated himself from the Kinim, even
from the children of Chovav the brother-in-law of Moshe, and had pitched
his tent as far as the oak in Tza`anannim, which is by Kedesh.
4:12They told Sisera that Barak the son of Avino`am was gone up to
Mount Tavor.
4:13Sisera gathered together all his
chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were
with him, from Charoshet of the Goyim, to the river Kishon.
4:14Devorah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD
has delivered Sisera into your hand; hasn't the LORD gone out before you?
So Barak went down from Mount Tavor, and ten thousand men after him.
4:15The LORD confused Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host,
with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his
chariot, and fled away on his feet.
4:16But
Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, to Charoshet of the
Goyim: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was
not a man left.
4:17However Sisera fled away on his
feet to the tent of Ya`el the wife of Chever the Keni; for there was
shalom between Yavin the king of Chatzor and the house of Chever the Keni.
4:18Ya`el went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord,
turn in to me; don't be afraid. He came in to her into the tent, and she
covered him with a rug. 4:19He said to her,
Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. She opened a
bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
4:20He said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be,
when any man does come and inquire of you, and say, Is there any man here?
that you shall say, No. 4:21Then Ya`el
Chever's wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went
softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through
into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died.
4:22Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Ya`el came out to meet him, and
said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. He came to
her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples.
4:23So G-d subdued on that day Yavin the king of Kana`an before the
children of Yisra'el. 4:24The hand of the
children of Yisra'el prevailed more and more against Yavin the king of
Kana`an, until they had destroyed Yavin king of Kana`an.
5:1Then sang Devorah and Barak the son of Avino`am on that day,
saying,
5:2For that the leaders took the lead in Yisra'el,
For that the people offered themselves willingly,
Bless you the LORD.
5:3Hear, you kings; give ear, you princes;
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el.
5:4LORD, when you went forth out of Se`ir,
When you marched out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled, the sky also dropped,
Yes, the clouds dropped water.
5:5The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD,
Even Sinai at the presence of the LORD, the G-d of
Yisra'el.
5:6In the days of Shamgar the son of `Anat,
In the days of Ya`el, the highways were unoccupied,
The travelers walked through byways.
5:7The rulers ceased in Yisra'el, they ceased,
Until that I Devorah arose,
That I arose a mother in Yisra'el.
5:8They chose new gods;
Then was war in the gates:
Was there a shield or spear seen
Among forty thousand in Yisra'el?
5:9My heart is toward the governors of Yisra'el,
Who offered themselves willingly among the people:
Bless you the LORD.
5:10Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
You who walk by the way.
5:11Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water,
There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD,
Even the righteous acts of his rule in Yisra'el.
Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.
5:12Awake, awake, Devorah;
Awake, awake, utter a song:
Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of
Avino`am.
5:13Then came down a remnant of the nobles and the people;
The LORD came down for me against the mighty.
5:14Out of Efrayim came down they whose root is in `Amalek;
After you, Binyamin, among your peoples;
Out of Makhir came down governors,
Out of Zevulun those who handle the marshal's staff.
5:15The princes of Yissakhar were with Devorah;
As was Yissakhar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet.
By the watercourses of Re'uven
There were great resolves of heart.
5:16Why sat you among the sheepfolds,
To hear the whistling for the flocks?
At the watercourses of Re'uven
There were great searchings of heart.
5:17Gil`ad abode beyond the Yarden:
Dan, why did he remain in ships?
Asher sat still at the haven of the sea,
Abode by his creeks.
5:18Zevulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death,
Naftali, on the high places of the field.
5:19The kings came and fought;
Then fought the kings of Kana`an.
In Ta`nakh by the waters of Megiddo:
They took no gain of money.
5:20From the sky the stars fought,
From their courses they fought against Sisera.
5:21The river Kishon swept them away,
That ancient river, the river Kishon.
My soul, march on with strength.
5:22Then did the horse hoofs stamp
By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong
ones.
5:23Curse you Meroz, said the angel of the LORD.
Curse you bitterly the inhabitants of it,
Because they didn't come to the help of the LORD,
To the help of the LORD against the mighty.
5:24Blessed above women shall Ya`el be,
The wife of Chever the Keni;
Blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
5:25He asked water, and she gave him milk;
She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
5:26She put her hand to the tent-pin,
Her right hand to the workmen's hammer;
With the hammer she struck Sisera, she struck through his
head;
Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples.
5:27At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
At her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
5:28Through the window she looked forth, and cried,
The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice,
Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why do the wheels of his chariots wait?
5:29Her wise ladies answered her,
Yes, she returned answer to herself,
5:30Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil?
A lady, two ladies to every man;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments,
A spoil of dyed garments embroidered,
Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks
of the spoil?
5:31So let all your enemies perish, LORD:
But let those who love him be as the sun when he goes
forth in his might.
The land had rest forty years.
6:1The children of Yisra'el did that which was evil in the sight of
the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midyan seven years.
6:2The hand of Midyan prevailed against Yisra'el; and because of
Midyan the children of Yisra'el made them the dens which are in the
mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
6:3So
it was, when Yisra'el had sown, that the Midyanim came up, and the `Amaleki,
and the children of the east; they came up against them;
6:4and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the
earth, until you come to `Aza, and left no sustenance in Yisra'el, neither
sheep, nor ox, nor donkey. 6:5For they came up
with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude;
both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the
land to destroy it.
6:6Yisra'el was brought very low
because of Midyan; and the children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD.
6:7It happened, when the children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD
because of Midyan,
6:8that the LORD sent a prophet to
the children of Yisra'el: and he said to them, Thus says the LORD, the G-d
of Yisra'el, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the
house of bondage;
6:9and I delivered you out of the
hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and
drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;
6:10and I said to you, I am the LORD your G-d; you shall not fear the
gods of the Amori, in whose land you dwell. But you have not listened to
my voice. 6:11The angel of the LORD came, and sat under the oak which was in
Ofrat, that pertained to Yo'ash the Avi-Ezri: and his son Gid`on was
beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midyanim.
6:12The angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, the LORD
is with you, you mighty man of valor.
6:13Gid`on
said to him, Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this
happened to us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers
told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the
LORD has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midyan.
6:14The LORD looked at him, and said, Go in this your might, and save
Yisra'el from the hand of Midyan: have not I sent you?
6:15He said to him, Oh, Lord, with which shall I save Yisra'el?
behold, my family is the poorest in Menashsheh, and I am the least in my
father's house.
6:16The LORD said to him, Surely I
will be with you, and you shall strike the Midyanim as one man.
6:17He said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, then
show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.
6:18Please
don't go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it
before you. He said, I will wait until you come again.
6:19Gid`on went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an
efah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot,
and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
6:20The angel of G-d said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened
cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. He did so.
6:21Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that
was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there
went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened
cakes; and the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
6:22Gid`on saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gid`on said,
Alas, Lord G-d! because I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.
6:23The LORD said to him, Shalom be to you; don't be afraid: you
shall not die.
6:24Then Gid`on built an altar there
to the LORD, and called it Yahweh-shalom: to this day it is yet in Ofrat
of the Abiezrites.
6:25It happened the same night, that
the LORD said to him, Take your father's bull, even the second bull seven
years old, and throw down the altar of Ba`al that your father has, and cut
down the Asherah that is by it; 6:26and build an
altar to the LORD your G-d on the top of this stronghold, in the orderly
manner, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood
of the Asherah which you shall cut down.
6:27Then
Gid`on took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken to
him: and it happened, because he feared his father's household and the men
of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
6:28When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the
altar of Ba`al was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by
it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
6:29They said one to another, Who has done this thing? When they
inquired and asked, they said, Gid`on the son of Yo'ash has done this
thing. 6:30Then the men of the city said to Yo'ash, Bring out your son, that
he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Ba`al, and because he
has cut down the Asherah that was by it.
6:31Yo'ash
said to all who stood against him, Will you contend for Ba`al? Or will you
save him? he who will contend for him, let him be put to death while it
is yet morning: if he be a G-d, let him contend for himself, because
one has broken down his altar. 6:32Therefore on that
day he named him Yerubba`al, saying, Let Ba`al contend against him,
because he has broken down his altar.
6:33Then
all the Midyanim and the `Amaleki and the children of the east assembled
themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of
Yizre`el. 6:34But the Spirit of the LORD came on Gid`on; and he blew a
shofar; and Avi-Ezer was gathered together after him.
6:35He sent messengers throughout all Menashsheh; and they also were
gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to
Zevulun, and to Naftali; and they came up to meet them.
6:36Gid`on said to G-d, If you will save Yisra'el by my hand, as you
have spoken,
6:37behold, I will put a fleece of wool on
the threshing floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on
all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Yisra'el by my hand,
as you have spoken. 6:38It was so; for he
rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung
the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
6:39Gid`on
said to G-d, Don't let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak
but this once: Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece;
let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be
dew. 6:40God did so that night: for it was dry on the fleece only, and
there was dew on all the ground.
7:1Then Yerubba`al, who is Gid`on, and all the people who were with
him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Charod: and the camp
of Midyan was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the
valley. 7:2The LORD said to Gid`on, The people who are with you are too many
for me to give the Midyanim into their hand, lest Yisra'el vaunt
themselves against me, saying, My own hand has saved me.
7:3Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever
is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gil`ad.
There returned of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand. 7:4The LORD said to Gid`on, The people are yet too many; bring them
down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be,
that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with
you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall
not go. 7:5So he brought down the people to the water: and the LORD said to
Gid`on, Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him
shall you set by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to
drink. 7:6The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their
mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down on
their knees to drink water. 7:7The LORD said to
Gid`on, By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver
the Midyanim into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his
place. 7:8So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he
sent all the men of Yisra'el every man to his tent, but retained the three
hundred men: and the camp of Midyan was beneath him in the valley.
7:9It happened the same night, that the LORD said to him, Arise, get
you down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.
7:10But if you fear to go down, go you with Purah your servant down
to the camp:
7:11and you shall hear what they say; and
afterward shall your hands be strengthened to go down into the camp. Then
went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men
who were in the camp. 7:12The Midyanim and
the `Amaleki and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like
locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand
which is on the sea-shore for multitude.
7:13When
Gid`on had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow;
and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and, behold, a cake of barley
bread tumbled into the camp of Midyan, and came to the tent, and struck it
so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
7:14His fellow answered, This is nothing else save the sword of
Gid`on the son of Yo'ash, a man of Yisra'el: into his hand G-d has
delivered Midyan, and all the host.
7:15It
was so, when Gid`on heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation
of it, that he worshiped; and he returned into the camp of Yisra'el, and
said, Arise; for the LORD has delivered into your hand the host of Midyan.
7:16He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put
into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches
within the pitchers. 7:17He said to them,
Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost
part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall you do.
7:18When I blow the shofar, I and all who are with
me, then blow you the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and
say, For the LORD and for Gid`on. 7:19So Gid`on, and
the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp
in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the
watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that
were in their hands. 7:20The three
companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches
in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to
blow; and they cried, The sword of the LORD and of Gid`on.
7:21They stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all
the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
7:22They blew the three hundred trumpets, and the LORD set every
man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host; and the host
fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Tzererah, as far as the border of
Avel-Mecholah, by Tabbat. 7:23The men of
Yisra'el were gathered together out of Naftali, and out of Asher, and out
of all Menashsheh, and pursued after Midyan.
7:24Gid`on
sent messengers throughout all the hill-country of Efrayim, saying, Come
down against Midyan, and take before them the waters, as far as Beit-Barah,
even the Yarden. So all the men of Efrayim were gathered together, and
took the waters as far as Beit-Barah, even the Yarden.
7:25They took the two princes of Midyan, `Orev and Ze'ev; and they
killed `Orev at the rock of `Orev, and Ze'ev they killed at the winepress
of Ze'ev, and pursued Midyan: and they brought the heads of `Orev and
Ze'ev to Gid`on beyond the Yarden.
8:1The men of Efrayim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that
you didn't call us, when you went to fight with Midyan? They did chide
with him sharply.
8:2He said to them, What have I now
done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Efrayim
better than the vintage of Avi-Ezer?
8:3God
has delivered into your hand the princes of Midyan, `Orev and Ze'ev: and
what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated
toward him, when he had said that. 8:4Gid`on came to the
Yarden, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were
with him, faint, yet pursuing. 8:5He said to the men
of Sukkot, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for
they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zevach and Tzalmunnah, the kings
of Midyan. 8:6The princes of Sukkot said, Are the hands of Zevach and
Tzalmunnah now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?
8:7Gid`on said, Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zevach and
Tzalmunnah into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of
the wilderness and with briers. 8:8He went up there
to Penu'el, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Penu'el
answered him as the men of Sukkot had answered.
8:9He
spoke also to the men of Penu'el, saying, When I come again in shalom, I
will break down this tower. 8:10Now Zevach and
Tzalmunnah were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen
thousand men, all who were left of all the host of the children of the
east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.
8:11Gid`on went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east
of Novach and Yogbehah, and struck the host; for the host was secure.
8:12Zevach and Tzalmunnah fled; and he pursued after them; and he
took the two kings of Midyan, Zevach and Tzalmunnah, and confused all the
host. 8:13Gid`on the son of Yo'ash returned from the battle from the ascent
of Cheres.
8:14He caught a young man of the men of
Sukkot, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of
Sukkot, and the elders of it, seventy-seven men.
8:15He
came to the men of Sukkot, and said, See Zevach and Tzalmunnah, concerning
whom you did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zevach and Tzalmunnah now
in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?
8:16He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and
briers, and with them he taught the men of Sukkot.
8:17He
broke down the tower of Penu'el, and killed the men of the city.
8:18Then said he to Zevach and Tzalmunnah, What manner of men were
they whom you killed at Tavor? They answered, As you are, so were they;
each one resembled the children of a king.
8:19He
said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother: as the LORD lives, if
you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.
8:20He
said to Yeter his firstborn, Up, and kill them. But the youth didn't draw
his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
8:21Then Zevach and Tzalmunnah said, Rise you, and fall on us; for as
the man is, so is his strength. Gid`on arose, and killed Zevach and
Tzalmunnah, and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.
8:22Then the men of Yisra'el said to Gid`on, Rule you over us, both
you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of
the hand of Midyan. 8:23Gid`on said to
them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the
LORD shall rule over you. 8:24Gid`on said to
them, I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the
ear-rings of his spoil. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were
Yishme`elim.)
8:25They answered, We will willingly give
them. They spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the ear-rings
of his spoil.
8:26The weight of the golden ear-rings
that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of
gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing
that was on the kings of Midyan, and besides the chains that were about
their camels' necks. 8:27Gid`on made an
efod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ofrat: and all Yisra'el played
the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gid`on, and to his
house. 8:28So Midyan was subdued before the children of Yisra'el, and they
lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days
of Gid`on.
8:29Yerubba`al the son of Yo'ash went and
lived in his own house. 8:30Gid`on had
seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives.
8:31His concubine who was in Shekhem, she also bore him a son, and he
named him Avimelekh. 8:32Gid`on the son of
Yo'ash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Yo'ash his
father, in Ofrat of the Abiezrites.
8:33It
happened, as soon as Gid`on was dead, that the children of Yisra'el turned
again, and played the prostitute after the Ba`alim, and made Ba`al-Berit
their G-d.
8:34The children of Yisra'el didn't
remember the LORD their G-d, who had delivered them out of the hand of all
their enemies on every side; 8:35neither shown
they kindness to the house of Yerubba`al, who is Gid`on, according
to all the goodness which he had shown to Yisra'el.
9:1Avimelekh the son of Yerubba`al went to Shekhem to his mother's
brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his
mother's father, saying, 9:2Please speak in
the ears of all the men of Shekhem, Whether is better for you, that all
the sons of Yerubba`al, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that
one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
9:3His mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of
Shekhem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Avimelekh;
for they said, He is our brother. 9:4They gave him
seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Ba`al-Berit, with
which Avimelekh hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
9:5He went to his father's house at Ofrat, and killed his brothers
the sons of Yerubba`al, being seventy persons, on one stone: but Yotam the
youngest son of Yerubba`al was left; for he hid himself.
9:6All the men of Shekhem assembled themselves together, and all the
house of Millo, and went and made Avimelekh king, by the oak of the pillar
that was in Shekhem. 9:7When they told it
to Yotam, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his
voice, and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, you men of Shekhem, that
G-d may listen to you. 9:8The trees went
forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive
tree, Reign you over us. 9:9But the olive tree
said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor G-d
and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
9:10The trees said to the fig tree, Come, and reign over us.
9:11But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and
my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
9:12The trees said to the vine, Come, and reign over us.
9:13The vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers
G-d and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
9:14Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come, and reign over us.
9:15The bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me king
over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come
out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Levanon.
9:16Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that
you have made Avimelekh king, and if you have dealt well with Yerubba`al
and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his
hands 9:17(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and
delivered you out of the hand of Midyan:
9:18and
you are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his
sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Avimelekh, the son of
his maid-servant, king over the men of Shekhem, because he is your
brother); 9:19if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Yerubba`al and
with his house this day, then rejoice you in Avimelekh, and let him also
rejoice in you:
9:20but if not, let fire come out
from Avimelekh, and devour the men of Shekhem, and the house of Millo; and
let fire come out from the men of Shekhem, and from the house of Millo,
and devour Avimelekh. 9:21Yotam ran away,
and fled, and went to Be'er, and lived there, for fear of Avimelekh his
brother. 9:22Avimelekh was prince over Yisra'el three years.
9:23God sent an evil spirit between Avimelekh and the men of Shekhem;
and the men of Shekhem dealt treacherously with Avimelekh:
9:24that the violence done to the seventy sons of Yerubba`al might
come, and that their blood might be laid on Avimelekh their brother, who
killed them, and on the men of Shekhem, who strengthened his hands to kill
his brothers.
9:25The men of Shekhem set liers-in-wait
for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along
that way by them: and it was told Avimelekh.
9:26Ga`al
the son of `Eved came with his brothers, and went over to Shekhem; and the
men of Shekhem put their trust in him.
9:27They
went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the
grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their G-d, and
did eat and drink, and cursed Avimelekh.
9:28Ga`al
the son of `Eved said, Who is Avimelekh, and who is Shekhem, that we
should serve him? Isn't he the son of Yerubba`al? and Zevul his officer?
serve you the men of Chamor the father of Shekhem: but why should we serve
him? 9:29Would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove
Avimelekh. He said to Avimelekh, Increase your army, and come out.
9:30When Zevul the ruler of the city heard the words of Ga`al the son
of `Eved, his anger was kindled. 9:31He sent
messengers to Avimelekh craftily, saying, Behold, Ga`al the son of `Eved
and his brothers are come to Shekhem; and, behold, they constrain the city
to take part against you. 9:32Now therefore, up
by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the
field: 9:33and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up,
you shall rise early, and rush on the city; and, behold, when he and the
people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as
you shall find occasion. 9:34Avimelekh rose
up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait
against Shekhem in four companies. 9:35Ga`al the son of
`Eved went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and
Avimelekh rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.
9:36When Ga`al saw the people, he said to Zevul, Behold, there come
people down from the tops of the mountains. Zevul said to him, You see the
shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
9:37Ga`al
spoke again and said, Behold, there come people down by the middle of the
land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Me`onenim.
9:38Then said Zevul to him, Where is now your mouth, that you said,
Who is Avimelekh, that we should serve him? is not this the people that
you have despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
9:39Ga`al went out before the men of Shekhem, and fought with
Avimelekh.
9:40Avimelekh chased him, and he fled
before him, and there fell many wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.
9:41Avimelekh lived at Arumah: and Zevul drove out Ga`al and his
brothers, that they should not dwell in Shekhem.
9:42It
happened on the next day, that the people went out into the field; and
they told Avimelekh. 9:43He took the
people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field;
and he looked, and, behold, the people came forth out of the city; He rose
up against them, and struck them. 9:44Avimelekh, and
the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the
entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed on all who
were in the field, and struck them.
9:45Avimelekh
fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the
people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with
salt. 9:46When all the men of the tower of Shekhem heard of it, they
entered into the stronghold of the Beit-El-Berit.
9:47It
was told Avimelekh that all the men of the tower of Shekhem were gathered
together. 9:48Avimelekh got him up to Mount Tzalmon, he and all the people who
were with him; and Avimelekh took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough
from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder: and he said
to the people who were with him, What you have seen me do, make haste, and
do as I have done.
9:49All the people likewise cut down
every man his bough, and followed Avimelekh, and put them to the
stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the men of
the tower of Shekhem died also, about a thousand men and women.
9:50Then went Avimelekh to Tevetz, and encamped against Tevetz, and
took it. 9:51But there was a strong tower within the city, and there fled all
the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and
got them up to the roof of the tower.
9:52Avimelekh
came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the
tower to burn it with fire. 9:53A certain woman
cast an upper millstone on Avimelekh's head, and broke his skull.
9:54Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and
said to him, Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, A woman
killed him. His young man thrust him through, and he died.
9:55When the men of Yisra'el saw that Avimelekh was dead, they
departed every man to his place. 9:56Thus G-d requited
the wickedness of Avimelekh, which he did to his father, in killing his
seventy brothers;
9:57and all the wickedness of the men
of Shekhem did G-d requite on their heads: and on them came the curse of
Yotam the son of Yerubba`al.
10:1After Avimelekh there arose to save Yisra'el Tola the son of
Pu`ah, the son of Dodo, a man of Yissakhar; and he lived in Shamir in the
hill-country of Efrayim. 10:2He judged
Yisra'el twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
10:3After him arose Ya'ir, the Gil`adite; and he judged Yisra'el
twenty-two years.
10:4He had thirty sons who rode on
thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called
Chavvot-Ya'ir to this day, which are in the land of Gil`ad.
10:5Ya'ir died, and was buried in Kamon.
10:6The
children of Yisra'el again did that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD, and served the Ba`alim, and the `Ashtarot, and the gods of Aram, and
the gods of Tzidon, and the gods of Mo'av, and the gods of the children of
`Ammon, and the gods of the Pelishtim; and they forsook the LORD, and
didn't serve him.
10:7The anger of the LORD was kindled
against Yisra'el, and he sold them into the hand of the Pelishtim, and
into the hand of the children of `Ammon.
10:8They
vexed and oppressed the children of Yisra'el that year: eighteen years
oppressed they all the children of Yisra'el that were beyond the
Yarden in the land of the Amori, which is in Gil`ad.
10:9The children of `Ammon passed over the Yarden to fight also
against Yehudah, and against Binyamin, and against the house of Efrayim;
so that Yisra'el was sore distressed.
10:10The
children of Yisra'el cried to the LORD, saying, We have sinned against
you, even because we have forsaken our G-d, and have served the Ba`alim.
10:11The LORD said to the children of Yisra'el, Didn't I save you from
the Egyptians, and from the Amori, from the children of `Ammon, and from
the Pelishtim?
10:12The Tzidonim also, and the `Amaleki,
and the Ma`on, did oppress you; and you cried to me, and I saved you out
of their hand.
10:13Yet you have forsaken me, and
served other gods: therefore I will save you no more.
10:14Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you
in the time of your distress. 10:15The children of
Yisra'el said to the LORD, We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems
good to you; only deliver us, we pray you, this day.
10:16They put away the foreign gods from among them, and served the
LORD; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Yisra'el.
10:17Then the children of `Ammon were gathered together, and encamped
in Gil`ad. The children of Yisra'el assembled themselves together, and
encamped in Mitzpah. 10:18The people, the
princes of Gil`ad, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to
fight against the children of `Ammon? he shall be head over all the
inhabitants of Gil`ad.
11:1Now Yiftach the Gil`adite was a mighty man of valor, and he was
the son of a prostitute: and Gil`ad became the father of Yiftach.
11:2Gil`ad's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up,
they drove out Yiftach, and said to him, You shall not inherit in our
father's house; for you are the son of another woman.
11:3Then Yiftach fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tov:
and there were gathered vain fellows to Yiftach, and they went out with
him. 11:4It happened after a while, that the children of `Ammon made war
against Yisra'el.
11:5It was so, that when the children
of `Ammon made war against Yisra'el, the elders of Gil`ad went to get
Yiftach out of the land of Tov; 11:6and they said to
Yiftach, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of `Ammon.
11:7Yiftach said to the elders of Gil`ad, Didn't you hate me, and
drive me out of my father's house? and why are you come to me now when you
are in distress?
11:8The elders of Gil`ad said to
Yiftach, Therefore are we turned again to you now, that you may go with
us, and fight with the children of `Ammon; and you shall be our head over
all the inhabitants of Gil`ad. 11:9Yiftach said to
the elders of Gil`ad, If you bring me home again to fight with the
children of `Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your
head? 11:10The elders of Gil`ad said to Yiftach, the LORD shall be witness
between us; surely according to your word so will we do.
11:11Then Yiftach went with the elders of Gil`ad, and the people made
him head and chief over them: and Yiftach spoke all his words before the
LORD in Mitzpah.
11:12Yiftach sent messengers to the
king of the children of `Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that
you are come to me to fight against my land?
11:13The
king of the children of `Ammon answered to the messengers of Yiftach,
Because Yisra'el took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the
Arnon even to the Yabbok, and to the Yarden: now therefore restore those
lands again peaceably. 11:14Yiftach sent
messengers again to the king of the children of `Ammon;
11:15and he said to him, Thus says Yiftach: Yisra'el didn't take away
the land of Mo'av, nor the land of the children of `Ammon,
11:16but when they came up from Egypt, and Yisra'el went through the
wilderness to the Sea of Suf, and came to Kadesh;
11:17then
Yisra'el sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pass
through your land; but the king of Edom didn't listen. In the same way, he
sent to the king of Mo'av; but he would not: and Yisra'el abode in Kadesh.
11:18Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land
of Edom, and the land of Mo'av, and came by the east side of the land of
Mo'av, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn't
come within the border of Mo'av, for the Arnon was the border of Mo'av.
11:19Yisra'el sent messengers to Sichon king of the Amori, the king of
Cheshbon; and Yisra'el said to him, Let us pass, we pray you, through your
land to my place.
11:20But Sichon didn't trust Yisra'el
to pass through his border; but Sichon gathered all his people together,
and encamped in Yahatz, and fought against Yisra'el.
11:21The LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el, delivered Sichon and all his
people into the hand of Yisra'el, and they struck them: so Yisra'el
possessed all the land of the Amori, the inhabitants of that country.
11:22They possessed all the border of the Amori, from the Arnon even
to the Yabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Yarden.
11:23So now the LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el, has dispossessed the Amori
from before his people Yisra'el, and should you possess them?
11:24Won't you possess that which Kemosh your G-d gives you to
possess? So whoever the LORD our G-d has dispossessed from before us, them
will we possess.
11:25Now are you anything better than
Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av? did he ever strive against
Yisra'el, or did he ever fight against them?
11:26While
Yisra'el lived in Cheshbon and its towns, and in `Aro`er and its towns,
and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three
hundred years; why didn't you recover them within that time?
11:27I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to
war against me: the LORD, the Judge, be judge this day between the
children of Yisra'el and the children of `Ammon.
11:28However
the king of the children of `Ammon didn't listen to the words of Yiftach
which he sent him. 11:29Then the Spirit
of the LORD came on Yiftach, and he passed over Gil`ad and Menashsheh, and
passed over Mitzpeh of Gil`ad, and from Mitzpeh of Gil`ad he passed over
to the children of `Ammon. 11:30Yiftach vowed a
vow to the LORD, and said, If you will indeed deliver the children of `Ammon
into my hand,
11:31then it shall be, that whatever
comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in shalom
from the children of `Ammon, it shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it
up for a burnt offering. 11:32So Yiftach
passed over to the children of `Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD
delivered them into his hand. 11:33He struck them
from `Aro`er until you come to Minnit, even twenty cities, and to
Avel-Keramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of `Ammon were
subdued before the children of Yisra'el.
11:34Yiftach
came to Mitzpah to his house; and, behold, his daughter came out to meet
him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her
he had neither son nor daughter. 11:35It happened,
when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter!
you have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for
I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I can't go back.
11:36She said to him, My father, you have opened your mouth to the
LORD; do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth,
because the LORD has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even on the
children of `Ammon. 11:37She said to her
father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may
depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my
companions.
11:38He said, Go. He sent her away for two
months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her
virginity on the mountains. 11:39It happened at
the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her
according to his vow which he had vowed: and she was a virgin. It was a
custom in Yisra'el, 11:40that the
daughters of Yisra'el went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Yiftach the
Gil`adite four days in a year.
12:1The men of Efrayim were gathered together, and crossed
Tzafon; and they said to Yiftach, Why did you pass over
to fight against the children of `Ammon, and didn't call us to go with
you? we will burn your house on you with fire.
12:2Yiftach
said to them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of `Ammon;
and when I called you, you didn't save me out of their hand.
12:3When I saw that you didn't save me, I put my life in my hand, and
passed over against the children of `Ammon, and the LORD delivered them
into my hand: why then are you come up to me this day, to fight against
me? 12:4Then Yiftach gathered together all the men of Gil`ad, and fought
with Efrayim; and the men of Gil`ad struck Efrayim, because they said, You
are fugitives of Efrayim, you Gil`adi, in the midst of Efrayim, and
in the midst of Menashsheh. 12:5The Gil`adi took
the fords of the Yarden against the Efrayim. It was so, that when any
of the fugitives of Efrayim said, Let me go over, the men of Gil`ad
said to him, Are you an Efratite? If he said, No;
12:6then
said they to him, Say now Shibbolet; and he said Sibboleth; for he
couldn't manage to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and
killed him at the fords of the Yarden. There fell at that time of Efrayim
forty-two thousand. 12:7Yiftach judged
Yisra'el six years. Then died Yiftach the Gil`adite, and was buried in
one of the cities of Gil`ad. 12:8After him 'Ivtzan
of Beit-Lechem judged Yisra'el. 12:9He had thirty
sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought
in from abroad for his sons. He judged Yisra'el seven years.
12:10'Ivtzan died, and was buried at Beit-Lechem.
12:11After him Elon the Zevulonite judged Yisra'el; and he judged
Yisra'el ten years. 12:12Elon the
Zevulonite died, and was buried in Ayalon in the land of Zevulun.
12:13After him `Avdon the son of Hillel the Pir`atonite judged
Yisra'el.
12:14He had forty sons and thirty sons'
sons, who rode on seventy donkey colts: and he judged Yisra'el eight
years. 12:15`Avdon the son of Hillel the Pir`atonite died, and was buried in
Pirathon in the land of Efrayim, in the hill-country of the `Amaleki.
13:1The children of Yisra'el again did that which was evil in the
sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the
Pelishtim forty years. 13:2There was a
certain man of Tzor`ah, of the family of the Dani, whose name was Manoach;
and his wife was barren, and didn't bear.
13:3The
angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, See now, you are
barren, and don't bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
13:4Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink,
and don't eat any unclean thing: 13:5for, behold, you
shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for
the child shall be a Nazir to G-d from the womb: and he shall begin to
save Yisra'el out of the hand of the Pelishtim.
13:6Then
the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of G-d came to me, and
his face was like the face of the angel of G-d, very awesome; and I didn't
ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name:
13:7but he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son;
and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for
the child shall be a Nazir to G-d from the womb to the day of his death.
13:8Then Manoach entreated the LORD, and said, Oh, Lord, please let
the man of G-d whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we
shall do to the child who shall be born.
13:9God
listened to the voice of Manoach; and the angel of G-d came again to the
woman as she sat in the field: but Manoach, her husband, wasn't with her.
13:10The woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to
him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me the other
day. 13:11Manoach arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and
said to him, Are you the man who spoke to the woman? He said, I am.