Judges-Shophtim

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Judges-Shophtim

To Our Forefathers Yisrael

1 Now after the death of Yahoshua it came to pass, that the children of Yisrael asked YHUH, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Kanaanites first, to fight against them?

2 And YHUH said, Yahudah shall go up: see, I have delivered the land into his hand.

3 And Yahudah said to Shimon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Kanaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot. So Shimon went with him.

4 And Yahudah went up; and YHUH delivered the Kanaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they killed in Bezek ten thousand men.

5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him and they killed the Kanaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adoni-Bezek fled; and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7 And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy melechim, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my shulchan: as I have done, so Ahlohim has repaid me. And they brought him to Yahrushalayim and there he died.

8 Now the children of Yahudah had fought against Yahrushalayim and had taken it and smote it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

9 And afterward the children of Yahudah went down to fight against the Kanaanites, who dwelt in the har and in the south and in the valley.

10 And Yahudah went against the Kanaanites that dwelt in Chebron now the name of Chebron before was Kiryath-Arba and they killed Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Devir: and the name of Devir before was Kiryath-Sepher:

12 And Kalev said, He that smites Kiryath-Sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as an isha.

13 And Othni-El the son of Kenaz, Kalev's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as an isha.

14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her abba a field: and she dismounted from off her donkey; and Kalev said to her, What do you want?

15 And she said to him, Give me a bracha: for you have given me a south land; give me also the springs of mayim. And Kalev gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moshe’s abba-in-law, went up out of the city of palm eytzim with the children of Yahudah into the wilderness of Yahudah, which lies south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

17 And Yahudah went with Shimon his brother and they killed the Kanaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

18 Also Yahudah took Azah with its border and Ashkelon with its border and Ekron with its border.

19 And YHUH was with Yahudah; and He drove out the inhabitants of the har; but the inhabitants of the valley could not be driven out because they had mirkavot of iron.

20 And they gave Chebron to Kalev, as Moshe said: and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

21 And the children of Benyamin did not drive out the Yevusites that inhabited Yahrushalayim; but the Yevusites dwell with the children of Benyamin in Yahrushalayim to this yom.

22 And Beit Yoseph also went up against Beth-El: and YHUH was with them.

23 And Beit Yoseph sent some to spy in Beth-El now the name of the city before was formerly Luz.

24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city and they said to him, Show us, we ask you, the entrance into the city and we will show you rachamim.

25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go along with all his mishpacha.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called the name of it Luz: which is the name of it to this yom.

27 Neither did Menasheh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shean and its villages, nor Taanach and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Ivleam and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages: but the Kanaanites would dwell in that land.

28 And it came to pass, when Yisrael was strong, that they put the Kanaanites to slave labor and did not utterly drive them out.

29 Neither did Efrayim drive out the Kanaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Kanaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30 Neither did Zevulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nachalol; but the Kanaanites dwelt among them and became slave laborers.

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Tzidon, nor of Achlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helvah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehov:

32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Kanaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-Anath; but they dwelt among the Kanaanites, the inhabitants of the land: Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath became slave laborers to them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the har: for they would not allow them to come down to the valley:

35 But the Amorites desired to dwell in Har Heres in Aiyalon and in Shaalvim: yet the hand of Beit Yoseph prevailed, so that they became slave laborers.

36 And the border of the Amorites was from the going up to Akravim, from Sela and upward.

2 And The Malach-YHUH came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, I made you to go up out of Mitzrayim and have brought you to the land that I swore to your ahvot; and I said, I will never break My brit with you.

2 And you shall make no brit with the inhabitants of this land; you shall throw down their altars: but you have not obeyed My voice: why have you done this?

3 Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides and their ahlohim shall be a trap to you.

4 And it came to pass, when The Malach-YHUH spoke these words to all the children of Yisrael, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to YHUH.

6 And when Yahoshua had let the people go, the children of Yisrael went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 

7 And the people served YHUH all the yamim of Yahoshua and all the yamim of the zechanim that outlived Yahoshua, who had seen all the great nisim of YHUH, that He did for Yisrael.

8 And Yahoshua the son of Nun, the eved of YHUH, died, being one hundred ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Cheres, in the Har of Efrayim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all that generation was gathered to their ahvot: and there arose another generation after them, who knew not YHUH, nor the nisim that He had done for Yisrael.

11 And the children of Yisrael did evil in the sight of YHUH and served many of the Ba’alim:

12 And they forsook YHUH Ahlohim of their ahvot, who brought them out of the land of Mitzrayim and followed other ahlohim, even the ahlohim of the peoples that were all around them and bowed themselves to them and provoked YHUH to anger.

13 And they forsook YHUH and served Ba’al and Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of YHUH was hot against Yisrael and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that plundered them and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Wherever they went out, the Hand of YHUH was against them for evil, as YHUH had said and as YHUH had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless YHUH raised up shophtim, who delivered them out of the hand of those that plundered them.

17 And yet they would not listen to their shophtim, but they went whoring after other ahlohim and bowed themselves to them: they turned quickly out of the halacha which their ahvot walked in, who obeyed the mitzvoth of YHUH; but they did not do so.

18 And when YHUH raised up their shophtim, then YHUH was with the shophet and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the yamim of the shophet’s chayim: for YHUH had rachamim because of their groanings because of those that oppressed them and crushed them.

19 And it came to pass, when the shophet was dead, that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their ahvot, in following other ahlohim to serve them and to bow down to them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn halachot.

20 And the anger of YHUH was hot against Yisrael; and He said, Because this people has transgressed My brit which I commanded their ahvot and have not listened to My voice;

21 I will also no longer drive out from before them any of the goyim that Yahoshua left when he died:

22 That through them I may test Yisrael, whether they will keep the halacha of YHUH to have their halacha in it, as their ahvot did keep it, or not.

23 Therefore YHUH left those goyim, without driving them out quickly; neither did He deliver them into the hand of Yahoshua.

3 Now these are the goyim that YHUH left, to test Yisrael, even many in Yisrael who had not known all the wars of Kanaan;

2 Only so that the generations of the children of Yisrael might know, to teach them war, only those who before knew nothing about war;

3 Namely, five masters of the Plishtim and all the Kanaanites and the Tsidonians and the Hivites that dwelt in Har Levanon, from Har Ba’al-Hermon to the entering in of Hamath.

4 And they were to test Yisrael by them, to know whether they would listen to the mitzvoth of YHUH, which He commanded their ahvot through Moshe.

5 And the children of Yisrael dwelt among the Kanaanites, Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivites and Yevusites:

6 And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons and served their ahlohim.

7 And the children of Yisrael did evil in the sight of YHUH and forgot YHUH their Ahlohim and served the Ba’alim and the Asherim.

8 Therefore the anger of YHUH was hot against Yisrael and He sold them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathayim melech of Aram-Naharayim: and the children of Yisrael served Chushan-Rishathayim eight years.

9 And when the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH, then YHUH raised up a deliverer for the children of Yisrael, who delivered them, even Othni-El the son of Kenaz, Kalev's younger brother.

10 And The Ruach of YHUH came upon Othni-El and He gave mishpat to Yisrael and went out to war: and YHUH delivered Khushan-Rishathayim melech of Aram-Naharayim into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Khushan-Rishathayim.

11 And the land had rest for forty years. And Othni-El the son of Kenaz died.

12 And the children of Yisrael did evil again in the sight of YHUH: and YHUH strengthened Eglon the melech of Moav against Yisrael because they had done evil in the sight of YHUH.

13 And Eglon gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek and went and smote Yisrael and possessed the city of palm eytzim.

14 So the children of Yisrael served Eglon the melech of Moav eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH, then YHUH raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benyamite, a man impeded in his right hand: and by him the children of Yisrael sent a present to Eglon the melech of Moav.

16 But Ehud made him a dagger that had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his robe upon his right thigh.

17 And he brought the present to Eglon melech of Moav: and Eglon was a very fat man.

18 And when he had made an end of offering the present, he sent away the people that brought the present.

19 But he himself turned back from the stone quarries that were by Gilgal and said, I have a secret message to you, O melech: who then said, Keep silent. And all that stood by him went out from him.

20 And Ehud came to him; and he was sitting in a cool room, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from Ahlohim to you. And he arose out of his seat.

21 And Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly:

22 And the handle also went in after the blade; and the gooff fat closed over the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and it came out behind him.

23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the cool room upon him and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, his avadim came; and when they saw that, see, the doors of the cool room were locked, they said, Surely he covers his feet in his summer bedroom.

25 And they tarried until they were ashamed: and, see, he did not open the doors of the cool room; therefore they took a key and opened them: and, see, their master was fallen down dead on the earth.

26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried and passed beyond the stone quarries and escaped to Seriah.

27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a shofar in the har of Efrayim and the children of Yisrael went down with him from the har and he went before them.

28 And he said to them, Follow after me: for YHUH has delivered your enemies the Moavites into your hand. And they went down after him and took the fords of the Yarden River toward Moav and allowed not any man to pass over.

29 And they killed from Moav at that time about ten thousand men, all were robust and all men of valor; and there escaped not a single man.

30 So Moav was subdued that yom under the hand of Yisrael. And the land had rest eighty years.

31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed of the Plishtim six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Yisrael.

4 And the children of Yisrael again did evil in the sight of YHUH, when Ehud was dead.

2 And YHUH sold them into the hand of Yavin melech of Kanaan, that reigned in Hatzor; the captain of the army was Sisra, who dwelt in Harosheth Ha-Goyim.

3 And the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH: for Sisra had nine hundred mirkavot of iron and for twenty years he harshly oppressed the children of Yisrael.

4 And Devorah, a neviyah, the isha of Lapidoth, gave mishpat to Yisrael at that time.

5 And she dwelt under the palm eytz of Devorah between Ramah and Beth-El in Har Efrayim: and the children of Yisrael came up to her for mishpat.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Avinoam out of Kedesh-Naphtali and said to him, Has not YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael commanded us saying, Go and draw near towards Har Tavor and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zevulun?

7 And I will draw to you Sisra, the captain of Yavin's army, with his mirkavot and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.

8 And Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go: but if you will not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with you: nevertheless the journey that you take shall not be for your kavod; for YHUH shall sell Sisra into the hand of a woman. And Devorah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 And Barak called Zevulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Devorah went up with him.

11 Now Chever the Kenite, who was of the children of Chovav the abba-in-law of Moshe, had separated himself from the Kenites and camped his tent to the plain of Zaanayim, which is by Kedesh.

12 And they showed Sisra that Barak the son of Avinoam had gone up to Har Tavor.

13 And Sisra gathered together all his mirkavot, even nine hundred mirkavot of iron and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth Ha-Goyim to the river of Kishon.

14 And Devorah said to Barak, Go up; for this is the yom in which YHUH has delivered Sisra into your hand: has not YHUH gone out before you? So Barak went down from Har Tavor and ten thousand men after him.

15 And YHUH destroyed Sisra and all his mirkavot and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisra went down off his mirkavah and fled away on his feet.

16 But Barak pursued after the mirkavot and after the army, to Charosheth Ha-Goyim: and all the army of Sisra fell by the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

17 However Sisra fled away on his feet to the tent of Yah-El the isha of Chever the Kenite: for there was shalom between Yavin the melech of Chazor and the bayit of Chever the Kenite.

18 And Yah-El went out to meet Sisra and said to him, Turn in, my master, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

19 And he said to her, Give me, I beg you, a little mayim to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him to drink and covered him.

20 Again he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent and it shall be, when any man does come and asks you, Is there any man here? You shall say, No.

21 Then Yah-El Cheber's isha took a nail of the tent and took a hammer in her hand and went quietly to him and smote the nail into his temples and nailed it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

22 And, see, as Barak pursued Sisra, Yah-El came out to meet him and said to him, Come and I will show you the man whom you seek. And when he came into her tent, see, Sisra lay dead and the nail was in his temple.

23 So Ahlohim subdued on that yom Yavin the melech of Kanaan before the children of Yisrael.

24 And the hand of the children of Yisrael prospered and prevailed against Yavin the melech of Kanaan, until they had destroyed Yavin melech of Kanaan.

5 Then sang Devorah and Barak the son of Avinoam on that yom, saying,

2 Hallelu-et-YHUH for the avenging of Yisrael, when the people willingly offered themselves.

3 Shema, O you melechim; give ear, O you princes; I, will shir to YHUH; I will shir tehillot to YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael.

4 YHUH, when You went out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the shamayim dropped, the clouds also dropped mayim.

5 The mountains melted from before YHUH, even Senai from before YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael.

6 In the yamim of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the yamim of YAH-El, the highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked through byways.

7 They began to live behind walled towns until it ceased, it ceased in Yisrael, until I Devorah an eema in Yisrael, arose.

8 They chose new Ahlohim; then there was war in the gates. Was there a shield, or spear seen among forty thousand in Yisrael?

9 My lev is for the leaders over the chukim of Yisrael, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Barchu-et-YHUH.

10 Speak up, you that ride on white donkeys, you that sit in mishpat and walk along the derech.

11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing mayim, there shall they rehearse the tzadik acts of YHUH, even the tzadik acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Yisrael: then shall the people of YHUH go down to the gates.

12 Awake, awake, Devorah: awake, awake and utter a shir: arise, Barak and lead your captivity captive, you son of Avinoam.

13 Then He made him that remains to have dominion over the nobles among the people:YHUH made me have dominion over the mighty.

14 Out of Efrayim was there a root of them against Amalek; after you, Benyamin, among your people; out of Machir came leaders over the chukim and out of Zevulun they that handle the quill of the Sopher.

15 And the princes of Yissachar were with Devorah; even Yissachar and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuven there was great resolve of lev.

16 Why did you remain among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleating of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuven there was great searchings of lev.

17 Gilad stayed beyond the Yarden River: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore and stayed in his ports.

18 Zevulun and Naphtali were a people that jeopardized their lives to the death in the high places of the field.

19 The melechim came and fought; then fought the melechim of Kanaan in Taanach by the mayim of Megiddo; they took no spoils of silver.

20 They fought from the shamayim; the cochavim in their courses fought against Sisra.

21 The River Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the River Kishon. O my being, you have trampled in strength.

22 Then were the horse hoofs of the enemy broken by the means of the prancing, of their mighty ones.

23 Curse Meroz, said the Heavenly Malach of YHUH, curse bitterly the inhabitants of it; because they came not to the help of YHUH, to the help of YHUH against the mighty.

24 Blessed above women shall YAH-El the isha of Chever the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tents.

25 He asked mayim and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a noble dish.

26 She put her hand to the nail and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisra, she smashed his head, when she had pierced and struck through his temples.

27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: between her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

28 The eema of Sisra looked out a window and cried through the lattice, Why is his mirkavah so long in coming home? Why are the wheels of his mirkavot delayed?

29 Her wise ladies answered her; yes, she indeed answered herself,

30 Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil? To every man a woman, or two; to Sisra a spoil of dyed garments, a spoil of dyed garments of needlework, of dyed garments of needlework on both sides, made for the necks of those that took the spoil?

31 So let all Your enemies perish, O YHUH: but let them that love Him be as the shemesh when it goes forth in its might. And the land had rest forty years.

6 And the children of Yisrael did evil in the sight of YHUH: and YHUH delivered them into the hand of Midyan seven years.

2 And the hand of Midyan prevailed against Yisrael: and because of the Midyanites the children of Yisrael made dens that are in the mountains and caves and strongholds.

3 And so it was, when Yisrael had sown zera, that the Midyanites came up and the Amalekites and the children of the east, they all came up against them.

4 And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth, all the derech to Azah and left no food for Yisrael, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey.

5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

6 And Yisrael was greatly impoverished because of the Midyanites; and the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH.

7 And it came to pass, when the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH because of the Midyanites,

8 That YHUH sent a navi to the children of Yisrael, who said to them, This says YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael, I brought you up from Mitzrayim and brought you forth out of the bayit of bondage;

9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Mitzrim and out of the hand of all that oppressed you and drove them out from before you and gave you their land;

10 And I said to you, I AM YHUH your Ahlohim; fear not the ahlohim of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but you have not obeyed My voice.

11 And there came The Malach-YHUH, who sat under an oak that was in Ophrah that belonged to Yoash the Avi-Ezrite: and his son Gidyon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midyanites.

12 And The Malach-YHUH appeared to him and said to him, YHUH is with you, you mighty man of valor.

13 And Gidyon said to Him, Oh my Master, if YHUH is with us, why then is all this happened to us? And where are all His nisim which our ahvot told us about, saying, Did not YHUH bring us up from Mitzrayim? But now YHUH has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midyanites.

14 And YHUH looked upon him, and said, Go in this your might and you shall save Yisrael from the hand of the Midyanites: have not I sent you?

15 And he said to Him, Oh my Master, with what shall I save Yisrael? See, my mishpacha is poor in Menasheh and I am the least in my abba's bayit.

16 And YHUH said to him, Surely I will be with you and you shall smite the Midyanites as one man.

17 And he said to Him, If now I have found chen in Your sight, then show me an ot that it is You who is talking with me.

18 Depart not from here, I ask You, until I come to You, to bring forth my present and set it before You. And He said, I will stay until you come again.

19 And Gidyon went in and made ready a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the meat 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.

20 And The Malach-YHUH said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth. And he did so.

21 Then The Malach-YHUH put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then The Malach-YHUH departed out of his sight.

22 And when Gidyon perceived that He was The Malach-YHUH, Gidyon said, Oy, Oy YHUH - Ahlohim ! I have seen The Malach-YHUH panayim-el-panayim.

23 And YHUH said to him, Shalom be to you; fear not: you shall not die.

24 Then Gidyon built an altar there to YHUH and called it YHUH -Shalom: to this yom it is yet in Ophrah of the Avi-Ezrites.

25 And it came to pass the same lyla, that YHUH said to him, Take your abba's young bull, even the second bull of seven years old and throw down the altar of Ba’al that your abba has and cut down the Asherah that is by it:

26 And build an altar to YHUH your Ahlohim on the top of this rock, in the ordered place and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.

27 Then Gidyon took ten men of his avadim, and did as YHUH had said to him: and so it was because he feared his abba's household and the men of the city, that he could not do it by yom, so he did it by lyla.

28 And when the men of the city arose early in the boker and see, the altar of Ba’al was cast down and the Asherah was cut down that was by it and the second bull was offered upon the altar that was built.

29 And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gidyon the son of Yoash has done this thing.

30 Then the men of the city said to Yoash, Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Ba’al, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

31 And Yoash said to all that stood against him, Will you plead for Ba’al? Will you save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet boker: if he be a real ahlohim, let him plead for himself because someone has cast down his altar.

32 Therefore on that yom Yoash called Gidyon; Yahruba’al, saying, Let Ba’al plead against him because his altar is thrown down.

33 Then all the Midyanites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together and went over and camped in the Valley of Yezreel.

34 But The Ruach of YHUH came upon Gidyon and he blew a shofar; and Avi-Ezer was gathered to him.

35 And he sent messengers throughout all Menasheh; who also were gathered to him: and he sent messengers to Asher and to Zevulun and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

36 And Gidyon said to Ahlohim, If You will save Yisrael by my hand, as You have said,

37 See, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew is on the fleece only and it is dry upon all the earth next to it, then shall I know that You will save Yisrael by my hand, as You have said.

38 And it was so: for he rose up early in the boker and squeezed the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece, filling a bowl full of mayim.

39 And Gidyon said to Ahlohim, Let not Your anger be hot against me and I will speak only once more: let me test once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece and upon all the ground next to it let there be dew.

40 And Ahlohim did so that lyla: for it was dry upon the fleece only and there was dew on all the ground.

7 Then Yahruba’al, who is Gidyon and all the people that were with him, rose up early and camped beside the well of Harod: so that the army of the Midyanites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

2 And YHUH said to Gidyon, The people that are with you are too many for Me to give the Midyanites into their hands, lest Yisrael boast themselves against Me, saying, my own hand has saved me.

3 Now therefore go proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Anyone who is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Har Gilad. And there returned from the people twenty two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

4 And YHUH said to Gidyon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the mayim and I will test them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I say to you, This one shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I say to you, This one shall not go with you, the same one shall not go.

5 So he brought down the people to the mayim: and YHUH said to Gidyon, Everyone that laps of the mayim with his tongue, as a dog laps, him shall you set by himself; likewise every one that bows down upon his knees to drink.

6 And the number of those that lapped; putting their hands to their mouth were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink mayim.

7 And YHUH said to Gidyon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you and deliver the Midyanites into your hand: and let all the other people go every man to his place.

8 So the people took food in their hands and their shofars: and he sent all the rest of Yisrael every man to his tent and retained those three hundred men: and the army of Midyan was beneath them in the valley.

9 And it came to pass the same lyla, that YHUH said to him, Arise, get down to the army, for I have delivered it into your hand.

10 But if you fear to go down, go with Phurah your eved down to the army:

11 And you shall hear what they say; and afterward shall your hands be strengthened to go down to the army. Then he went down with Phurah his eved to the edge of the armed men that were in the camp.

12 And the Midyanites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude.

13 And when Gidyon had come, see, there was a man that told a dream to his chaver and said, See, I dreamed a dream and, a cake of barley lechem tumbled into the army of Midyan and came to a tent and smote it so that it fell and overturned it, that the tent lay flat.

14 And his companion answered and said, This is nothing other than the sword of Gidyon the son of Yoash, a man of Yisrael: for into his hand has Ahlohim delivered Midyan and all the army.

15 And it was so, when Gidyon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped and returned to the army of Yisrael and said, Arise; for YHUH has delivered into your hand the army of Midyan.

16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and he put a shofar in every man's hand, with empty jars and torches in the jars.

17 And he said to them, Look at me and do likewise: and, see, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall you do.

18 When I blow with the shofar, I and all that are with me, then blow your shofars also on every side of the camp and say, The sword of YHUH and of Gidyon.

19 So Gidyon and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp at the start of the middle watch; and they had just set their watch: and they blew the shofars and broke the jars that were in their hands.

20 And the three companies blew the shofars and broke the jars and held the torches in their left hands and the shofars in their right hands to blow with: and they cried out, The sword of YHUH and of Gidyon.

21 And they stood every man in his place around the camp: and all the army ran and cried and fled.

22 And the three hundred blew the shofars and YHUH set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the army: and the army fled to Beth-Shittah in Tzererath and to the border of Avel-Meholah, to Tavvath.

23 And the men of Yisrael gathered themselves together out of Naphtali and out of Asher and out of all Menasheh and pursued after the Midyanites.

24 And Gidyon sent messengers throughout all Har Efrayim, saying, Come down against the Midyanites and take from them the watering places to Beth-Barah and of the Yarden River. Then all the men of Efrayim gathered themselves together and took the watering places in Beth-Barah and also of the Yarden River.

25 And they took two princes of the Midyanites, Orev and Zeev; and they killed Orev upon the rock Orev and Zeev they killed at the winepress of Zeev and pursued Midyan and brought the heads of Orev and Zeev to Gidyon on the other side of the Yarden River.

8 And the men of Efrayim said to him, Why have you treated us like this, that you did not call us, when you went to fight with the Midyanites? And they did argue with him sharply.

2 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison to you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Efrayim better than the vintage of Avi-Ezer?

3 Ahlohim has delivered into your hands the princes of Midyan, Orev and Zeev: and what was I able to do in comparison to you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

4 And Gidyon came to the Yarden River and passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, weary, yet pursuing them.

5 And he said to the men of Sukkot, Give, I ask you, loaves of lechem to the people that follow me; for they are weary and I am pursuing after Tzevah and Tzalmunna, melechim of Midyan.

6 And the princes of Sukkot said, Are the hands of Tzevah and Tzalmunna now in your hand, that we should give lechem to your army?

7 And Gidyon said, Therefore when YHUH has delivered Tzevah and Tzalmunna into my hand and then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

8 And he went up to Penu-El and spoke to them likewise: and the men of Penu-El answered him just as the men of Sukkot had answered him.

9 And he spoke also to the men of Penu-El, saying, When I come again in shalom, I will break down this tower.

10 Now Tzevah and Tzalmunna were in Karkor and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the armies of the children of the east: for there fell a hundred twenty thousand men that drew the sword.

11 And Gidyon went up by the derech of those that dwelt in tents on the east of Novach and Yogvehah and smote the army: for the army was secure.

12 And when Tzevah and Tzalmunna fled, he pursued after them and took the two melechim of Midyan, Tzevah and Tzalmunna and destroyed all the army.

13 And Gidyon the son of Yoash returned from battle before the shemesh was up,

14 And caught a young man of the men of Sukkot and inquired of him: and he described to him the princes of Sukkot and their zechanim, even seventy-seven men.

15 And he came to the men of Sukkot and said, See Tzevah and Tzalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Tzevah and Tzalmunna now in your hand, that we should give lechem to your men that are weary?

16 And he took the zechanim of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them he taught the men of Sukkot a lesson.

17 And he beat down the tower of Penu-El and killed the men of the city.

18 Then said he to Tzevah and Tzalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you killed at Tavor? And they answered, As you are, so were they: Each one resembled the children of a Melech.

19 And he said, They were my brothers, even the sons of my eema: as YHUH lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you now.

20 And he said to Yether his bachor, Rise up and kill them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared because he was still a youth.

21 Then Tzevah and Tzalmunna said, Rise and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gidyon arose and killed Tzevah and Tzalmunna and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

22 Then the men of Yisrael said to Gidyon, Rule over us, both you and your son and your son's son also: for you have delivered us from the hand of Midyan.

23 And Gidyon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you:YHUH shall rule over you.

24 And Gidyon said to them, I would desire a request from you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil For they had golden earrings because they were Yishma’elym.

25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment and did cast in it every man the earrings of his spoil.

26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides ornaments and collars and purple raiment that was on the melechim of Midyan and besides the chains that were around their camels' necks.

27 And Gidyon made it into an ephod- shoulder garment and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and kol Yisrael went there whoring after it: it then became a trap to Gidyon and to his bayit.

28 So Midyan was subdued before the children of Yisrael, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in shalom forty years in the yamim of Gidyon.

29 And Yahruba’al the son of Yoash went and dwelt in his own bayit.

30 And Gidyon had seventy sons from his own gooff: for he had many wives.

31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Avimelech.

32 And Gidyon the son of Yoash died in a tov old age and was buried in the tomb of Yoash his abba, in Ophrah of the Avi-Ezrites.

33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gidyon was dead, that the children of Yisrael turned again and went whoring after the Ba’alim and made Ba’al-Berith their ahlohim.

34 And the children of Yisrael remembered not YHUH their Ahlohim, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

35 Neither showed they chesed to the bayit of Yahruba’al, named, Gidyon, according to all the tov that he had showed to Yisrael.

9 And Avimelech the son of Yahruba’al went to Shechem to his eema's brothers and communed with them and with all the mishpacha of the bayit of his eema's abba, saying,

2 Speak, I ask you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, What is better for you, should all the sons of Yahruba’al, which are seventy persons, reign over you, or just one reign over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

3 And his eema's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their levavot inclined to follow Avimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the bayit of Ba’al-Berith, with which Avimelech hired the am-ha-aretz, who followed him.

5 And he went to his abba's bayit at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Yahruba’al, being seventy persons, upon one stone: not counting Yotam the youngest son of Yahruba’al who was left; for he hid himself.

6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together and all the bayit of Millo and went and made Avimelech melech, by the oak of Matzpiyah near the pillar that was in Shechem.

7 And when they told it to Yotam, he went and stood on the top of Har Gerazim and lifted up his voice and cried and said to them, Shema to me, you men of Shechem, that Ahlohim may listen to you.

8 The eytzim went forth once upon a time to anoint a melech over them; and they said to the olive eytz, Reign over us.

9 But the olive eytz said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they esteem Ahlohim and man and go to be promoted over the other eytzim?

10 And the other eytzim said to the fig eytz, Come and reign over us.

11 But the fig eytz said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness and my tov fruit and go to be promoted over the other eytzim?

12 Then said the other eytzim to the vine, Come and reign over us.

13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers Ahlohim and man and go to be promoted over the other eytzim?

14 Then said all the other eytzim to the bramble, Come and reign over us.

15 And the bramble said to the eytzim, If in emet you will anoint me melech over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Levanon.

16 Now therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Avimelech melech and if you have dealt well with Yahruba’al and his bayit and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands-

17 For my abba fought for you and risked his chayim and delivered you out of the hand of Midyan:

18 And you have risen up against my abba's bayit this yom and have slain his sons, seventy persons, upon one stone and have made Avimelech, the son of his female eved, melech over the men of Shechem because he is your brother.

19 If you then have dealt truly and sincerely with Yahruba’al and with his bayit this yom, then gilah in your choice of Avimelech and let him also gilah in you:

20 But if not, let fire come out from Avimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the bayit of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from the bayit of Millo and devour Avimelech.

21 And Yotam ran away and fled and went to Be-er and dwelt there, for fear of Avimelech his brother.

22 And Avimelech had reigned three years over Yisrael,

23 Then Ahlohim sent an evil ruach between Avimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously against Avimelech:

24 That the cruelty done to the seventy sons of Yahruba’al might come and their dahm be laid upon Avimelech their brother, who killed them; and upon the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.

25 And the men of Shechem set an ambush for him in the top of the mountains and they robbed all that came along that derech: and it was told Avimelech.

26 And Gaal the son of an eved came with his brothers and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

27 And they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards and treaded the grapes and made a simcha and went into the bayit of their ahlohim and did eat and drink and cursed Avimelech.

28 And Gaal the son of the eved said, Who is Avimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Yahruba’al? And is not Tzevul his officer? Serve the men of Chamor The Abba of Shechem! But why should we serve him?

29 And would to Ahlohim this people were under my hand! Then would I remove Avimelech. And he said to Avimelech, Increase your army and come out.

30 And when Tzevul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of an eved, his anger was lit.

31 And he sent messengers to Avimelech privately, saying, See, Gaal the son of an eved and his brothers have come to Shechem; and, see, they fortify the city against you.

32 Now therefore go up by lyla, you and the people that are with you and lie in wait in the field:

33 And it shall be, that in the boker, as soon as the shemesh is up, you shall rise early and come upon the city: and, see, when he and the people that are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you are able.

34 And Avimelech rose up and all the people that were with him, by lyla and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.

35 And Gaal the son of an eved went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Avimelech rose up and the people that were with him, from lying in wait.

36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Tzevul, See, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Tzevul said to him, You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

37 And Gaal spoke again and said, See; there comes people down by the middle of the land and another company comes along by the plain of Meonenim.

38 Then said Tzevul to him, Where is now your mouth, with what you said, Who is Avimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people that you have despised? Go out now, I tell you and fight with them.

39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem and fought with Avimelech.

40 And Avimelech chased him and he fled before him and many were overthrown and wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.

41 And Avimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Tzevul thrust out Gaal and his brothers, so that they should not dwell in Shechem.

42 And it came to pass in the boker that the people went out into the field; and they told Avimelech.

43 And he took the people and divided them into three companies and laid wait in the field and looked and the people had come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.

44 And Avimelech and the company that was with him, rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields and killed them.

45 And Avimelech fought against the city all that yom; and he took the city and killed the people that were in it and beat down the city and sowed it with salt.

46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a stronghold of the bayit of the El-Berith.

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

48 And Avimelech went up to Har Tzalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Avimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the eytzim and took it and laid it on his shoulder and said to the people that were with him, What you have seen me do, hurry up and do as I have done.

49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his branch and followed Avimelech and put them to the stronghold and set the stronghold on fire above them, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

50 Then went Avimelech to Thevez and encamped against Thevez and took it.

51 But there was a strong tower within the city and there fled all the men and women and all those of the city and shut themselves in and they got up to the top of the tower.

52 And Avimelech came to the tower and fought against it and approached the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

53 And a certain woman dropped a piece of millstone upon Avimelech's head and crushed his skull.

54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, Draw your sword and kill me, that men say not of me that, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through and he died.

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

56 So Ahlohim repaid the wickedness to Avimelech, which he did to his abba, in killing his seventy brothers:

57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did Ahlohim repay upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Yotam the son of Yahruba’al.

10 And after Avimelech there arose to defend Yisrael Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Yissachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in Har Efrayim.

2 And he gave mishpat to Yisrael twenty-three years and died and was buried in Shamir.

3 And after him arose Yair, a Giladi and gave mishpat to Yisrael twenty-two years.

4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty donkey colts and they had thirty cities, which are called Chavoth-Yair to this yom, which are in the land of Gilad.

5 And Yair died and was buried in Camon.

6 And the children of Yisrael did evil again in the sight of YHUH and served the Ba’alim and Ashtaroth and the ahlohim of Aram and the ahlohim of Tzidon and the ahlohim of Moav and the ahlohim of the children of Ammon and the ahlohim of the Plishtim and forsook YHUH and did not serve Him.

7 And the anger of YHUH was hot against Yisrael and He sold them into the hands of the Plishtim and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

8 And that year they crushed and oppressed the children of Yisrael: eighteen years, all the children of Yisrael that were on the other side of the Yarden River in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilad.

9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over the Yarden River to fight also against Yahudah and against Benyamin and against Beit Efrayim; so that Yisrael was very distressed.

10 And the children of Yisrael cried to YHUH, saying, We have sinned against You, both because we have forsaken our Ahlohim and also served the Ba’alim.

11 And YHUH said to the children of Yisrael, Did not I deliver you from the Mitzrim and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon and from the Plishtim?

12 The Tzidonians also and the Amalekites and the Maonites, did oppress you; and you cried to Me and I delivered you out of their hand.

13 Yet you have forsaken Me and served other Ahlohim: therefore I will deliver you no more.

14 Go and cry to the ahlohim whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

15 And the children of Yisrael said to YHUH, We have sinned: do to us whatever seems tov to You; deliver us only today, we ask You.

16 And they put away the strange ahlohim from among them and served YHUH: and His being was grieved for the misery of Yisrael.

17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and camped in Gilad. And the children of Yisrael assembled themselves together and camped in Mitzpah.

18 And the people and princes of Gilad said one to another, What man is he that will begin the fight against the children of Ammon? Let him be the head over all the inhabitants of Gilad.

11 Now Yiftach the Giladi was a mighty man of valor and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilad begat Yiftach.

2 And Gilad's isha bore him sons; and his isha's sons grew up and they threw out Yiftach and said to him, You shall not inherit in our abba's bayit; for you are the son of a strange woman.

3 Then Yiftach fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tov: and there were gathered the am-ha-aretz to Yiftach, who went out with him.

4 And it came to pass in the process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Yisrael.

5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Yisrael, the zechanim of Gilad went to fetch Yiftach out of the land of Tov:

6 And they said to Yiftach, Come and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

7 And Yiftach said to the zechanim of Gilad, Did you not hate me and expel me out of my abba's bayit? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress?

8 And the zechanim of Gilad said to Yiftach, Therefore we turn again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the children of Ammon and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilad.

9 And Yiftach said to the zechanim of Gilad, If you bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon and YHUH deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the zechanim of Gilad said to Yiftach,YHUH be witness between us, if we do not obey you according to your words.

11 Then Yiftach went with the zechanim of Gilad and the people made him head and captain over them: and Yiftach uttered all his words before YHUH at Mitzpah.

12 And Yiftach sent messengers to the melech of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you have come against me to fight in my land?

13 And the melech of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Yiftach, Because Yisrael took away my land, when they came up out of Mitzrayim, from Arnon even to Yavok and to the Yarden River: now therefore restore those lands again in shalom.

14 And Yiftach sent messengers again to the melech of the children of Ammon:

15 And said to him, This says Yiftach, Yisrael took not away the land of Moav, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

16 But when Yisrael came up from Mitzrayim and walked through the wilderness to the Yam Suf and came to Kadesh;

17 Then Yisrael sent messengers to the melech of Edom, saying, Let me, I ask you, pass through your land: but the melech of Edom would not listen. And in like manner they sent to the melech of Moav: but he would not consent: and Yisrael stayed in Kadesh.

18 Then they went along through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moav and came by the east side of the land of Moav and camped on the other side of Arnon, but did not go within the border of Moav: for Arnon was the border of Moav.

19 And Yisrael sent messengers to Sichon melech of the Amorites, the melech of Cheshbon; and Yisrael said to him, Let us pass, we ask you, through your land into my place.

20 But Sichon did not trust Yisrael to pass through his border: but Sichon gathered all his people together and camped in Yahaz and fought against Yisrael.

21 And YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael delivered Sichon and all his people into the hand of Yisrael and they smote them: so Yisrael possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

22 And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Javvok and from the wilderness even to the Yarden River.

23 So now YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Yisrael and should you possess it?

24 Will not you possess that which Chemosh your ahlohim gives you to possess? So anyone YHUH our Ahlohim shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

25 And now are you any better, or different than Balaq the son of Tzippor, melech of Moav? Did he ever strive against Yisrael, or did he ever fight against them,

26 While Yisrael dwelt in Cheshbon and her towns and in Aroer and her towns and in all the cities that are along the borders of Arnon, three hundred years? Why therefore did you not recover them within that time?

27 So I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me:YHUH the Shophet is Shophet this yom between the children of Yisrael and the children of Ammon.

28 However the melech of the children of Ammon listened not to the words of Yiftach which he sent him.

29 Then The Ruach of YHUH came upon Yiftach and he passed over Gilad and Menasheh and passed over Mitzpah of Gilad and from Mitzpah of Gilad he passed over to the children of Ammon.

30 And Yiftach made a vow to YHUH and said, If You shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my bayit to meet me, when I return in shalom from the children of Ammon, shall surely belong to YHUH and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Yiftach passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and YHUH delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even until Minnith, even twenty cities and also the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Yisrael.

34 And Yiftach came to Mitzpah to his bayit and, see, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes and said, Oy oy, my daughter! You have brought me into depression and you are one of them that cause me trouble: for I have opened my mouth to YHUH and I cannot go back on my word.

36 And she said to him, My abba, if you have opened your mouth to YHUH, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth; because YHUH has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even the children of Ammon.

37 And she said to her abba, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone for two chodashem, that I may wander upon the mountains and bewail my virginity, my chaverim and I.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two chodashem: and she went with her chaverim and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two chodashem, that she returned to her abba, who did with her according to his vow which he had made: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Yisrael,

40 That the daughters of Yisrael went yearly to mourn the daughter of Yiftach the Giladi four yamim every year.

12 And the men of Efrayim gathered themselves together and went northward and said to Yiftach, Why then did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your bayit upon you with fire.

2 And Yiftach said to them, my people and I were all in great strife with the children of Ammon and when I called you, you delivered me not out of their hands.

3 And when I saw that you delivered me not, I put my chayim in my hands and passed over against the children of Ammon and YHUH delivered them into my hand: why then have you come up to me this yom, to fight against me?

4 Then Yiftach gathered together all the men of Gilad and fought with Efrayim: and the men of Gilad smote Efrayim because they said, You Giladites are fugitives of Efrayim, as Efraimites, living among the people of Menasheh.

5 And the Giladites took the passages of the Yarden River before the Efraimites: and it was so, that when those Efraimites who had escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilad said to him, Are you an Efraimite? If he said, No;

6 Then they said to him, Say now the word Shivoleth: and he said Sivoleth: for if he could not pronounce it right; they took him and killed him at the passages of the Yarden River: and there fell at that time of the Efraimites forty two thousand.

7 And Yiftach gave mishpat to Yisrael six years. Then Yiftach the Giladi died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilad.

8 And after him Ivzan of Beth-Lechem gave mishpat to Yisrael.

9 And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he gave mishpat to Yisrael seven years.

10 Then died Ivzan and was buried at Beth-Lechem.

11 And after him Elon, a Zevulonite, gave mishpat to Yisrael; and he gave mishpat to Yisrael ten years.

12 And Elon the Zevulonite died and was buried in Aiyalon in the country of Zevulun.

13 And after him Avdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, gave mishpat to Yisrael.

14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews who rode on seventy donkey colts: and he gave mishpat to Yisrael eight years.

15 And Avdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Efrayim, in the har of the Amalekites.

13 And the children of Yisrael did evil again in the sight of YHUH; and YHUH delivered them into the hand of the Plishtim for forty years.

2 And there was a certain man of Tzorah, of the mishpacha of the Danites, whose name was Manoach; and his isha was barren and bore not.

3 And The Malach-YHUH appeared to the woman and said to her, See now, you are barren and bear not: but you shall conceive and bear a son.

4 Now therefore beware, I tell you and drink no wine, or strong drink and eat not any unkosher-unclean thing:

5 For, look, you shall conceive and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite to Ahlohim from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Yisrael out of the hand of the Plishtim.

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A Man of Ahlohim came to me and His countenance was like the countenance of a Heavenly Malach of Ahlohim, very awesome: but I asked Him not from where He was, neither did He tell me His Name:

7 But He said to me, See, you shall conceive and bear a son; and now drink no wine, or strong drink, neither eat any unkosher-unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to Ahlohim from the womb to the yom of his death.

8 Then Manoach entreated YHUH and said, O my Master, let the Man of Ahlohim that You did send come again to us and teach us what we shall do for the child that shall be born.

9 And Ahlohim listened to the voice of Manoach; and The Malach-Ahlohim came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoach her husband was not with her.

10 And the woman hurried and ran and showed her husband and said to him, See, the Man has appeared to me again, that came to me the other yom.

11 And Manoach arose and went after his isha and came to the Man and said to him, Are You the Man that spoke to the woman? And He said, I AM.

12 And Manoach said, Now let Your Words come to pass. How shall we bring up the child and how shall we prepare him?

13 And The Malach-YHUH said to Manoach, Of all that I said to the woman let her shomer.

14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine, or strong drink, nor eat any unkosher-unclean thing: all that I commanded her, let her shomer.

15 And Manoach said to The Malach-YHUH, I ask You, let us detain You, until we shall have made ready a young goat for You.

16 And The Malach-YHUH said to Manoach, Though you detain Me, I will not eat of your lechem: and if you will offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to YHUH. For Manoach knew not that He was The Malach-YHUH.

17 And Manoach said to The Malach-YHUH, What is Your Name, that when Your sayings come to pass we may do You kavod?

18 And The Malach-YHUH said to him, Why do you ask My Name, seeing it is a sod?

19 So Manoach took a young goat with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock to YHUH: and The Malach-YHUH gave hallel to YHUH; and Manoach and his isha looked on.

20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward the shamayim from off the altar that The Malach-YHUH ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoach and his isha looked on it and fell on their faces to the ground.

21 But The Malach-YHUH did not appear again to Manoach and to his isha. Then Manoach knew that He was The Malach-YHUH.

22 And Manoach said to his isha, We shall surely die because we have seen Ahlohim.

23 But his isha said to him, If YHUH had desired to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would He at this time have told us such things as these.

24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Shimshon: and the child grew and YHUH blessed him.

25 And The Ruach of YHUH began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Tzorah and Eshtaol.

14 And Shimshon went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Plishtim.

2 And he came up and told his abba and his eema and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Plishtim: now therefore get her for me as my isha.

3 Then his abba and his eema said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take an isha of the Plishtim who are not in brit milah? And Shimshon said to his abba, Get her for me; for she pleases me well.

4 But his abba and his eema knew not that it was from YHUH, that He sought an occasion against the Plishtim: for at that time the Plishtim had dominion over Yisrael.

5 Then Shimshon went down and his abba and his eema, to Timnath and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, see, a young lion roared against him.

6 And The Ruach of YHUH came mightily upon him and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his abba, or his eema what he had done.

7 And he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Shimshon well.

8 And after a time he returned to take her and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, see, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.

9 And he took some of it in his hands and went on eating and came to his abba and eema and he gave them and they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

10 So his abba went down to the woman: and Shimshon made there a feast; for this is what the young men used to do.

11 And it came to pass, when they saw him that they brought thirty chaverim to be with him.

12 And Shimshon said to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you: if you can certainly declare it to me within the seven yamim of the feast and find out the answer, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments:

13 But if you cannot declare it me, then shall you give me thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments. And they said to him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it.

14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three yamim expound the riddle.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh yom, that they said to Shimshon's isha, Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your abba's bayit with fire; have you called us to take what we have and impoverish us?

16 And Shimshon's isha wept before him and said, You hate me and love me not: you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people and have not told it me. And he said to her, See, I have not told it my abba nor to my eema and shall I tell it you?

17 And she wept before him the seven yamim, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh yom, that he told her because she pressed him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh yom before the shemesh went down, 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 have not found out my riddle.

19 And The Ruach of YHUH came upon him and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men there and took their spoil and gave changes of garments to those who expounded the riddle. And his anger was lit and he went up to his abba's bayit.

20 But Shimshon's isha was given to his companion, who used to be his chaver.

15 But it came to pass after some time, in the time of Shavuot, that Shimshon visited his isha with a young goat; and he said, I will go into my isha in the bedroom. But her abba would not allow him to go in.

2 And her abba said, I truly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your chaver: is not her younger sister prettier than her? Take her, I ask you, instead of her.

3 And Shimshon said concerning them, Now this time I will be blameless regarding the Plishtim, if I do them evil.

4 And Shimshon went and caught three hundred foxes and took torches and turned tail to tail and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Plishtim and burned up both the grain stacks and also the standing grain, with the vineyards and olives.

6 Then the Plishtim said, Who has done this? And they answered, Shimshon, the son-in-law of the Timnite because he had taken his isha and given her to his chaver. And the Plishtim came up and burned her and her abba with fire.

7 And Shimshon said to them, Though you have done this, yet will I be avenged of you and after that I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock Eytam.

9 Then the Plishtim went up and camped in Yahudah and spread out in Lehi.

10 And the men of Yahudah said, Why have you come up against us? And they answered, To bind Shimshon have we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Yahudah went to the top of the rock Eytam and said to Shimshon, You know not that the Plishtim are rulers over us? What is this that you have done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.

12 And they said to him, We have come down to bind you so that we may deliver you into the hand of the Plishtim. And Shimshon said to them, Swear to me, that you will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you hard and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. And they bound him with two new cords and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came to Lehi, the Plishtim shouted against him: and The Ruach of YHUH came mightily upon him and the cords that were upon his arms became as linen that was burned with fire and his bands were loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of a donkey and put forth his hand and took it and killed a thousand men with it.

16 And Shimshon said, With the jawbone of a donkey, one heap, two heaps; with the jaw of a donkey have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramath-Lehi.

18 And he was very thirsty, he called on YHUH and said, You have given this great deliverance into the hand of Your eved: and now shall I die for thirst and fall into the hands of those not made brit-milah?

19 But Ahlohim split a hollow place that was in Lehi and there came mayim out; and when he had drunk, his ruach came again and he revived: therefore he called the name of it En-Chakkore, which is in Lehi to this yom.

20 And he gave mishpat to Yisrael in the yamim of the Plishtim twenty years.

16 Then went Shimshon to Azah and saw there a harlot and went into her.

2 And it was told to the Gazites, saying, Shimshon is come here. And they surrounded him in and lay in wait for him all lyla in the gate of the city and were quiet all the lyla, saying, In the boker, when it is yom, we shall kill him.

3 And Shimshon lay until midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar and all and put them upon his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Chebron.

4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the rulers of the Plishtim came up to her and said to her, Entice him and see where his great strength lies and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give you every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Shimshon, Tell me, I ask you, where does your great strength lie and with what and how might you be bound in order to afflict you.

7 And Shimshon said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh cords that were never dried, then shall I be weak and be like any another man.

8 Then rulers of the Plishtim brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the bedroom. And she said to him, The Plishtim are upon you, Shimshon. And he broke the cords, as a strand of yarn is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said to Shimshon, See, you have mocked me and told me lies: now tell me, I ask you, with what might you be bound.

11 And he said to her, If they bind me tightly with new ropes that never were used, then shall I be weak and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him and said to him, The Plishtim are upon you, Shimshon. And there were those lying in wait abiding in the bedroom. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said to Shimshon, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies: tell me with what you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she tightened it with the pin and said to him, The Plishtim are upon you, Shimshon. And he awoke out of his sleep and went away with the pin of the loom and with the web.

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

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, so that his being was wearied to death;

17 That he told her all his lev and said to her. There has not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite to Ahlohim from my eema's womb: if I am shaved, then my strength will go from me and I shall become weak and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his lev, she sent and called for the rulers of the Plishtim, saying, Come up at once, for he has showed me all his lev. Then the rulers of the Plishtim came up to her and brought money in their hands.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Plishtim are upon you, Shimshon. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go about things as at other times before and simply shake myself. But he did not know that YHUH had departed from him.

21 But the Plishtim took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Azah and bound him with bronze shackles; and he became a grinder in the prison.

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

23 Then rulers of the Plishtim gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their ahlohim and to make gilah: for they said, Our ahlohim has delivered Shimshon our enemy into our hands.

24 And when the people saw him, they praised their Ahlohim: for they said, Our ahlohim has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who killed many of us.

25 And it came to pass, when their levavot were glad, that they said, Call for Shimshon, that he may entertain us. And they called for Shimshon out of the prison; and he entertained them: and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Shimshon said to the lad that held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars upon which the bayit stands, that I may lean upon them.

27 Now the bayit was full of men and women; and all the rulers of the Plishtim were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, who beheld while Shimshon entertained them.

28 And Shimshon called to YHUH and said, O YHUH Ahlohim, remember me, I ask You and strengthen me, I ask You, only this once, O Ahlohim, that I may be avenged of the Plishtim for my two eyes.

29 And Shimshon took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the bayit stood and on which it was supported, one with his right hand and the other with his left.

30 And Shimshon said, Let me die with the Plishtim. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the bayit fell upon the rulers and upon all the people that were in it. So those who he killed at his death were more than those that he killed in his chayim.

31 Then his brothers and all the bayit of his abba came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Tzorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoach his abba. And he gave mishpat to Yisrael twenty years.

17 And there was a man of Har Efrayim, whose name was Michayah.

2 And he said to his eema, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you cursed and spoke of also in my ears, see, the silver is with me; I took it. And his eema said, Blessed are you of YHUH, my son.

3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his eema, his eema said, I had wholly dedicated the silver to YHUH from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molded image: now therefore I will restore it to you.

4 Yet he restored the money to his eema; and his eema took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made it into a graven image and a molded image: and they were in the bayit of Michayah.

5 And the man Michayah had a bayit of ahlohim and made an ephod and teraphim and consecrated one of his sons, who became his kohen.

6 In those yamim there was no melech in Yisrael, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7 And there was a young man out of Beth-Lechem Yahudah of the mishpacha of Yahudah, who was a Lewite and he sojourned there.

8 And the man departed out of the city from Beth-Lechem Yahudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to Har Efrayim to the bayit of Michayah, as he journeyed.

9 And Michayah said to him, From where do you come? And he said to him, I am a Lewite of Beth-Lechem Yahudah and I went to sojourn where I may find a place.

10 And Michayah said to him, Dwell with me and be to me an abba and a kohen and I will give you ten shekels of silver for the year and a suit of apparel and your food. So the Lewi went in.

11 And the Lewi was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

12 And Michayah consecrated the Lewite; and the young man became his kohen and was in the bayit of Michayah.

13 Then said Michayah, Now I know that YHUH will do me tov, seeing I have a Lewite as my kohen.

18 In those yamim there was no melech in Yisrael: and in those yamim the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for until that yom all their inheritance had not yet fallen to them among the tribes of Yisrael.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their mishpacha five men from their borders, men of valor, from Tzorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land: who when they came to Har Efrayim, to the bayit of Michayah, they lodged there.

3 When they were by the bayit of Michayah, they knew the voice of the young man, the Lewi: and they turned in there and said to him, Who brought you here? And what are you making in this place? And what have you here?

4 And he said to them, Michayah did such and such with me and has hired me and I am his kohen.

5 And they said to him, Ask counsel, we ask you, from Ahlohim, that we may know whether our derech which we go shall be prosperous.

6 And the kohen said to them, Go in shalom: before YHUH, is your journey in which you go.

7 Then the five men departed and came to Layish and saw the people that were in it, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Tzidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no civil authority in the land, that might put them to shame in any wrong thing and they were far from the Tzidonians and had kept to themselves.

8 And they came to their brothers to Tzorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, What say you?

9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land and, see, it is very tov: and are you standing still? Be not lazy to go and enter to possess the land.

10 When you go, you shall come to a people secure and to a large land: for Ahlohim has given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.

11 And there went from there from the mishpacha of the Danites, out of Tzorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

12 And they went up and camped in Kiryath-Yearim, in Yahudah: so they called that place Machaneh-Dan to this yom: see, it is behind Kiryath-Yearim.

13 And they passed there to Har Efrayim and came to the bayit of Michayah.

14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Layish and said to their brothers, Do you know that there is among these houses an ephod and teraphim and a graven image and a molded image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.

15 And they turned aside and came to the bayit of the young man the Lewi, even to the bayit of Michayah and saluted him.

16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up and came in there and took the graven image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molded image: and the kohen stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

18 And these went into Michayah's bayit and fetched the carved image, the ephod and the teraphim and the molded image. Then said the kohen to them, What are you doing?

19 And they said to him, Hold your silence, lay your hand upon your mouth and go with us and be to us an abba and a kohen: is it better for you to be a kohen to the bayit of one man, or that you be a kohen to a whole tribe and a mishpacha in Yisrael?

20 And the kohen's lev was in simcha and he took the ephod and the teraphim and the graven image and went out in the midst of the people.

21 So they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

22 And when they were a certain distance from the bayit of Michayah, the men that were in the houses near to Michayah's bayit were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

23 And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces and said to Michayah, What’s wrong with you, that you come with such a company?

24 And he said, You have taken away my ahlohim that I made and the kohen and you are gone away: and what have I left? And now you say to me, What bothers you?

25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows come upon you and you lose your chayim, with the chayim ofyour household.

26 And the children of Dan went their derech: and when Michayah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his bayit.

27 And they took the things that Michayah had made and the kohen that he had and came to Layish, to a people that were in shalom and secure: and they smote those people with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Tzidon and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lies near Beth-Rechov. And they built a city and dwelt in it.

29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their abba, who was born to Yisrael: but the name of the city was Layish first.

30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Yahonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Menasheh, he and his sons were kohanim to the tribe of Dan until the yom of the captivity of the land.

31 And they set them up Michayah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the Bayit of Ahlohim was in Shiloh.

19 And it came to pass in those yamim, when there was no melech in Yisrael, that there was a certain Lewite sojourning on the side of Har Efrayim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-Lechem Yahudah.

2 And his concubine played the whore against him and went away from him to her abba's bayit to Beth-Lechem Yahudah and was there four whole chodashem.

3 And her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and to bring her again, having his eved with him and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her abba's bayit: and when The Abba of the woman saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4 And his abba-in-law, the woman's abba, retained him; and he stayed with him three yamim: so they did eat and drink and lodged there.

5 And it came to pass on the fourth yom, when they arose early in the boker, that he rose up to depart: and the woman's abba said to his son-in-law, Comfort your lev with a morsel of lechem and afterward go your derech.

6 And they sat down and did eat and drink both of them together: for the woman's abba had said to the man, Be content, I ask you and stay all lyla and let your lev be glad.

7 And when the man rose up to depart, his abba-in-law urged him to stay: therefore he lodged there again.

8 And he arose early in the boker on the fifth yom to depart: and the woman's abba said, Comfort your lev, I ask you. And they tarried until afternoon and they did eat both of them.

9 And when the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine and his eved, his abba-in-law, the woman's abba, said to him, See, now the yom draws toward evening, I ask you stay all lyla: see, the yom grows to an end, lodge here, that your lev may be glad; and in the boker go early on your derech, that you may go home.

10 But the man would not stay that lyla, but he rose up and departed and came over against Yevus, which is Yahrushalayim; and there were with him two donkeys saddled, his concubine also was with him.

11 And when they were by Yevus, the yom was almost over; and the eved said to his master, Come, I ask you and let us turn in into this city of the Yevusites and lodge in it.

12 And his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into the city of a ger that is not of the children of Yisrael; we will pass over to Givah.

13 And he said to his eved, Come and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all lyla, in Givah, or in Ramah.

14 And they passed on and went their derech; and the shemesh went down upon them when they were by Givah, which belongs to Benyamin.

15 And they turned aside there, to go in and to lodge in Givah: and when he went in, he sat down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his bayit for lodging.

16 And, see, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, which was also of Har Efrayim; and he sojourned in Givah: but the men of the place were Benyamites.

17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Where are you going? And from where do you come?

18 And he said to him, We are passing from Beth-Lechem Yahudah toward the side of Har Efrayim; from there am I: and I went to Beth-Lechem Yahudah, but I am now going to the Bayit of YHUH; and there is no man that receives me into his bayit.

19 Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys; and there is lechem and wine also for me and for your female eved and for the young man who is with your avadim: there is no want for any thing.

20 And the old man said, Shalom be with you; however, let all your wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.

21 So he brought him into his bayit and gave fodder to the donkeys: and they washed their feet and did eat and drink.

22 Now as they were making their levavot glad, see, the men of the city, certain sons of Beliyaal, circled the bayit all around and beat on the door and spoke to the master of the bayit, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your bayit, that we may know him sexually.

23 And the man, the master of the bayit, went out to them, No, my brothers, no, I ask you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my bayit, do not this folly.

24 See, here is my daughter a young woman and this man’s concubine; them I will bring out now and humble them and do with them what seems tov to you: but to this man do not so vile a thing.

25 But the men would not listen to him: so the man took his concubine and brought her forth to them; and they knew her and abused her all lyla until the boker: and when the yom began to dawn, they let her go.

26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the yom and fell down at the door of the man's bayit where her master was, until it was ohr.

27 And her master rose up in the boker and opened the doors of the bayit and went out to go his derech: and, see, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the bayit and her hands were upon the threshold.

28 And he said to her, Up and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon a donkey and the man rose up and returned to his place.

29 And when he had come into his bayit, he took a knife and laid hold on his concubine and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces and sent her into all the borders of Yisrael.

30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the yom that the children of Yisrael came up out of the land of Mitzrayim to this yom: consider it, take advice and speak up.

20 Then all the children of Yisrael went out and the kehilla was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Be-er-Sheva, with the land of Gilad, to YHUH in Mitzpah.

2 And the leaders of all the people, even of all the tribes of Yisrael, presented themselves in the kehilla of the people of Ahlohim, four hundred thousand footmen that drew the sword.

3 Now the children of Benyamin heard that the children of Yisrael had gone up to Mitzpah. Then said the children of Yisrael, Tell us, how was this wickedness done?

4 And the Lewi, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Givah that belongs to Benyamin, I and my concubine to lodge.

5 And the men of Givah rose up against me and circled the bayit all around and came upon me by lyla and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they sexually forced, so that she is dead.

6 And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Yisrael: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Yisrael.

7 See, you are all children of Yisrael; give here your advice and counsel.

8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will any of us return to his bayit.

9 But now this shall be the thing that we will do to Givah; we will go up by lot against it;

10 And we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Yisrael and a hundred out of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch food for the people, to prepare them, when they come to Givah of Benyamin, according to all the folly that they have done in Yisrael.

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

12 And the tribes of Yisrael sent men through all the tribe of Benyamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?

13 Now therefore deliver to us these men, the children of Beliyaal, who are in Givah, that we may put them to death and put away the evil from Yisrael. But the children of Benyamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Yisrael:

14 But the children of Benyamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Givah, to go out to battle against the children of Yisrael.

15 And the children of Benyamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty six thousand men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Givah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

16 Among all the people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones at a hair’s width and not miss.

17 And the men of Yisrael, against Benyamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew the sword: all these were men of war.

18 And the children of Yisrael arose and went up to the Bayit of Ahlohim and asked counsel from Ahlohim and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benyamin? And YHUH said, Yahudah shall go up first.

19 And the children of Yisrael rose up in the boker and encamped against Givah.

20 And the men of Yisrael went out to battle against Benyamin; and the men of Yisrael put themselves in array to fight against them at Givah.

21 And the children of Benyamin came forth out of Givah and cut down to the ground of the Yisraelites that yom twenty two thousand men.

22 And the people, the men of Yisrael encouraged themselves and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first yom.

23 And the children of Yisrael went up and wept before YHUH until evening and asked counsel of YHUH, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benyamin my brother? And YHUH said, Go up against them.

24 And the children of Yisrael came near to the children of Benyamin the second yom.

25 And Benyamin went forth against them out of Givah the second yom and cut down to the ground of the children of Yisrael again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

26 Then all the children of Yisrael and all the people, went up and came to the Bayit of Ahlohim and wept and sat there before YHUH and fasted that yom until evening and offered burnt offerings and shalom offerings before YHUH.

27 And the children of Yisrael inquired of YHUH, for the Ark of the Testimony of Ahlohim was there in those yamim,

28 And Pinchus, the son of El-Azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it in those yamim, saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benyamin my brother, or shall I cease? And YHUH said, Go up; for tomorrow boker I will deliver them into your hand.

29 And Yisrael set an ambush in wait around Givah.

30 And the children of Yisrael went up against the children of Benyamin on the third yom and put themselves in array against Givah, as at other times.

31 And the children of Benyamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite the people and kill, as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to the Bayit of Ahlohim and the other to Givah in the field, about thirty men of Yisrael.

32 And the children of Benyamin said, They are smitten before us, as the first time. But the children of Yisrael said, Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.

33 And all the men of Yisrael rose up out of their place and put themselves in array at Ba’al-Tamar: and the ambushers of Yisrael came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Givah.

34 And there came against Givah ten thousand chosen men out of kol Yisrael and the battle was fierce: but they knew not that evil was near them.

35 And YHUH smote Benyamin before Yisrael: and the children of Yisrael destroyed from the Benyamites that yom twenty five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.

36 So the children of Benyamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Yisrael gave ground to the Benyamites because they trusted the ambushers that they had set next to Givah.

37 And the ambushers hurried and rushed upon Givah; and the ambushers in wait drew themselves along and smote the entire city with the edge of the sword.

38 Now there was an appointed an ot between the men of Yisrael and the ambushers in wait that they should make a great flame with smoke rising up out of the city.

39 And when the men of Yisrael turned in the battle, Benyamin began to smite and kill of the men of Yisrael about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.

40 But when the flame began to rise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benyamites looked behind them and, see, the flame of the city ascended up to the shamayim.

41 And when the men of Yisrael turned again, the men of Benyamin were amazed: for they saw that evil had come upon them.

42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Yisrael to the derech of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those Benyamites who came out of the cities were destroyed in the midst of the men of Yisrael.

43 They surrounded the Benyamites all around and chased them and trampled them down with ease over against Givah toward the east.

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

45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to The Rock of Rimmon: and they cut down in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them to Gidom and killed two thousand of them.

46 So that all that fell that yom of Benyamin were twenty five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to The Rock Rimmon and stayed in The Rock Rimmon for four chodashem.

48 And the men of Yisrael turned again upon the children of Benyamin and smote them with the edge of the sword, men and beasts of every city and all that were found: also they set fire to all the cities that they came to.

21 Now the men of Yisrael had sworn in Mitzpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benyamin as an isha.

2 And the people came to the Bayit of Ahlohim and stayed there until evening before Ahlohim and lifted up their voices and wept sore;

3 And said, O YHUH Ahlohim of Yisrael, why is this come to pass in Yisrael, that there should be today one tribe missing in Yisrael?

4 And it came to pass in the boker, that the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and shalom offerings.

5 And the children of Yisrael said, Who is there among all the tribes of Yisrael that came not up with the kehilla to YHUH ? For they had made a great oath concerning him that would not come up to YHUH to Mitzpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

6 And the children of Yisrael repented for what had occurred to Benyamin their brother and said, There is one tribe cut off from Yisrael this yom.

7 What shall we do to give them wives for those that remain, seeing we have sworn by YHUH that we will not give them our daughters as wives?

8 And they said, Which one of the tribes of Yisrael did not come up to Mitzpah to YHUH ? And, see, there came none from Yavesh-Gilad to the kehilla.

9 For the people were numbered and, see, there were none of the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gilad there.

10 And the kehilla sent there twelve thousand of the bravest men and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gilad with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

11 And this is the thing that you shall do, You shall utterly destroy every male and every woman that has lain with a man.

12 And they found among the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gilad four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any man: and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Kanaan.

13 And the whole kehilla sent delegates to speak to the children of Benyamin that were in The Rock Rimmon and to call to them offering shalom.

14 And Benyamin returned at that time; and the kehilla gave them wives that they had saved alive from the women of Yavesh-Gilad: and yet there were more men than women.

15 And the people were sorry for Benyamin because YHUH had made a breach in the tribes of Yisrael.

16 Then the zechanim of the kehilla said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benyamin?

17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped from Benyamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Yisrael.

18 However we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Yisrael have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that gives an isha to Benyamin.

19 Then they said, See, there is a moed of YHUH in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-El, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Beth-El to Shechem and on the south of Levonah.

20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benyamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

21 And see, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come out of the vineyards and catch every man his isha from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benyamin.

22 And it shall be, when their ahvot, or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, Be favorable to them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his isha in the war: for you did not give them wives at this time, that you should be guilty.

23 And the children of Benyamin did so and took wives, according to their number, of those that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned to their inheritance and repaired the cities and dwelt in them.

24 And the children of Yisrael departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his mishpacha and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

25 In those yamim there was no melech in Yisrael: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. X

JUDGES

• 1:28 Disobedience to YAH.

• 2:1 The same Guardian that has YAH’s Name, speaking in the first person is no doubt Messiah.

• 2:11 lords in Hebrew.

• 2:13 lord in Hebrew.

• 2:13 lords in Hebrew.

• 3:6 Intermarriages are the death note for Yisraelites. This would include all those believers in Messiah, who are not committed to a Torah-guarding lifestyle.

• 3:10 The Spirit of YAH was and is His power not a third person. This Spirit would come and go throughout the period of the judges. As can be seen religions did not invent this concept of the Set-Apart Spirit. It was always an exclusive possession of those faithful within Israel.

• 3:13 Jericho.

• 3:15 Most faithful men of YAH have handicaps that YAH uses to show Himself strong.

• 4:5 Women have always had key leadership roles in Israel.

• 4:8 Ministry team. Women function best in these situations.

• 6:14 Note that the Angel, Malach-YAH , is YAH here in this verse.

• 6:23 Because he only saw the sent YAH and not The Father YAH.

• 6:27 A type, or picture of the ten tribes of Efrayim, forsaking the pagan deities of their fathers and returning to YAH.

• 6:30 The lord.

• 7:2 People want to know why more believers don’t understand and receive the two-house message. Here is our answer. YAH always and only deals with a remnant of Israel taken from the large numbers.

• 7:7 If one is not ready to deal with the enemies of Israel’s restoration and victory, it’s better for that individual to go home, lest he bring fear, doubt and unbelief, to those who have heard YAH’s call in this final hour.

• 8:1 Efrayim always has and continues to have, a rejection and inferiority complex, feeling left out of the things that belong to Israel’s inheritance.

• 8:18 Yisraelites are to appear to the heathen as children of the true eternal King.

• 8:24 Note that men wearing earrings, is part of the culture of Ishmael and not of Israel.

• 8:27 In pride he sought to wear that which pertains only to the High Priest and thus drew attention to the object causing idolatry, all the while being puffed up with pride over the military prowess given to him by YAH. As Messiah taught all Israel, it is not how you start, but how you finish in your walk with YAH.

• 8:33 lord of the brit.

• 9:15 A parable, or drash given by Gideon’s son, to show how self-promotion in Israel never works and that just like Messiah taught us, the road to greatness in Israel is in service to others.

• 9:20 The fruit of rebellion is corruption, death and the devouring one of another.

• 10:14 Dual application in both the historic setting and also to both houses, as they enter the Great Tribulation.

• 11:39 This is not about human sacrifice. This is about keeping vows to YAH. The point being that YAH can deliver your enemies without you putting your foot in your mouth. Once the vow was made, eternal binding Torah principles kicked in which were irreversible. Moreover, nowhere does the text state that YAH required the daughter as a human sacrifice. Rather that YAH accepted the vow to receive the daughter in some fashion, not necessarily in the fashion, or manner in which Jephthah offered her to YAH. Jewish tradition teaches that the vow of this offering was carried out figuratively by the daughter living in seclusion as a perpetual virgin devoted to tefillah and to YAH.

• 12:1 This trait as stated earlier, is a battle within Efrayim that manifests against others including Judah when he feels neglected and left out, or when his inferiority complex kicks in. This trait is still found in Efraimites today. It is designed to be removed only by Messiah, as ordained by Father YAH.

• 12:4 Efrayim enters civil strife with other tribes in Israel. We see this unrest in an embryonic stage, even before the actual division of the nation some 400 years later.

• 12:6 Apparently different dialects had set in, even amongst the different tribes.

• 13:16 Messiah directing all worship to His Father, His Elohim, even as He did in the Renewed Covenant.

• 13:18 A temporary secret to be revealed only in the fullness of times.

• 13:19 The Son worshiping His Father.

• 13:22 They knew this was no ordinary messenger.

• 13:23 Women in Israel are often more spiritually discerned and sensitive than the men who trust YAH.

• 14:2 A head-start to trouble. Torah is clear. Nazarene Yisraelites must not marry outside of the faith, or even outside of those who dwell with Renewed Covenant Israel in their daily lifestyle.

• 15:8 A Hebraic idiomatic expression meaning completely, or fully.

• 16:29 A beautiful type of Israel, called to be separate from their birth at Senai, just like Samson the Nazarite, that had gone whoring after other deities in spiritual adultery and becoming fully blind to the things of YAH , forcing YAH to remove His favor and His Set-Apart Spirit, causing both houses symbolized by both pillars to bring the entire house of Israel to ruin.

• 17:5 A nice Efraimite religion, void of YAH’s counsel and mind.

• 17:10 We’ll see this again later. Part of Efrayim's appeal to Judah was to come north and be kohanim for Jeroboam's new calendar and holidays, as Efrayim-Israel wandered further and further away from YAH.

• 18:19 Dan, seeing Efrayim's little “in-house setup,” was impressed and demanded that the false priest relocate, offering him a bigger ministry with a better salary, even though it would be false worship. Today not much has changed, as many of Dan and Efrayim’s sons seek crowds and vain reputation, rather than truth and heavenly treasures.

• 18:25 A sad and yet somewhat humorous fight between Efrayim and Dan, over who gets to control the idolatry and rebellion against YAH. We see this again later after the split of the two houses, when Efrayim demanded to control the false worship and wound up putting one of two golden calves in Dan to please Dan’s desire to lead in the north’s abominations before YAH.

• 18:29 This pattern continued, especially as Dan later worked their way west into Europe, where many peoples and places are named after Dan, like the Dan-ish, or Dan from Layish.

• 20:48 A perfect example of tribal infighting way before the official split.

• 21:6 This ought to be Judah's heartfelt cry for any Efraimites still not present in the congregation of YAH. Rather than rejoice, they ought to be heartbroken, crying and even looking for the tribes that cut themselves off like Benjamin due to Torah violation.

• 21:8 Yabesh Gilead was east of the Jordan River and as such housed the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Menasheh. Apparently these tribes were missing from the congregation.

• 21:15 This should be the cry for all Israel when there is any breech among the tribes.

• 21:22 The elders found a way around this vow to YAH , in order to preserve Israel. Technically through this plan, not only was Benjamin preserved in Israel, the other tribes did not break their vow. This was done by giving the Benjamite men wives from the other tribes who had not made the vow before YAH and who were not in a vow of marriage. The men of Benjamin “took” the wives from Shiloh, so they technically were not given but taken. This great chochmah preserved a tribe on the verge of extinction due to sodomite behavior and lewdness. Therefore Benjamites today are full of the blood from many other tribes, as is all of Judah, since Benjamin settled in Judah after the split of the kingdom in 921 BCE.

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