Judges
1 Now after the death of Joshua it
came to pass that the children of
2And the LORD said, "
3So
4Then
5And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought
against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and
caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their
thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have
done, so God has repaid me." Then they brought him to
8Now the children of
9And afterward the children of
10Then
11From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir.
(The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)
12Then Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher
and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife."
13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger
brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
14Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged
him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and
Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?"
15So she said to him, "Give me a blessing; since
you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." And
Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16Now the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law,
went up from the City of
17And
18Also
19So the LORD was with
20And they gave
21But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the
Jebusites who inhabited
22And the house of Joseph also went up against
23So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out
24And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city,
they said to him, "Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will
show you mercy."
25So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they
struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his
family go.
26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a
city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
27However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants
of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants
of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the
inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to
dwell in that land.
28And it came to pass, when
29Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in
30Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron
or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put
under tribute.
31Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or
the inhabitants of
32So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the
inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
33Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth
Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites,
the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and
Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.
34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
35and the Amorites were determined to dwell in
36Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent
of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.
2Then the Angel of the LORD came up
from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from
2And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants
of this land; you shall tear down their altars.' But you have not obeyed My voice.
Why have you done this?
3Therefore I also said, "I will not drive them
out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be
a snare to you."'
4So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these
words to all the children of
5Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and
they sacrificed there to the LORD.
6And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the
children of
7So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great
works of the LORD which He had done for Israel.
8Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD,
died when he was one hundred and ten years old.
9And they buried him within the border of his
inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of
10When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers,
another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work
which He had done for
11Then the children of
12and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who
had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from
among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to
them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.
13They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the
Ashtoreths.
14And the anger of the LORD was hot against
15Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was
against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to
them. And they were greatly distressed.
16Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered
them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
17Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they
played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly
from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the
LORD; they did not do so.
18And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD
was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the
days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of
those who oppressed them and harassed them.
19And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that
they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other
gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own
doings nor from their stubborn way.
20Then the anger of the LORD was hot against
21I also will no longer drive out before them any of
the nations which Joshua left when he died,
22so that through them I may test
23Therefore the LORD left those nations, without
driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
3Now these are the nations which the
LORD left, that He might test
2(this was only so that the generations of the
children of
3namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the
Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in
4And they were left, that He might test
5Thus the children of
6And they took their daughters to be their wives, and
gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.
7So the children of
8Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against
9When the children of
10The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged
11So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel
the son of Kenaz died.
12And the children of
13Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and
Amalek, went and defeated
14So the children of
15But when the children of
16Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged
and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
17So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of
18And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he
sent away the people who had carried the tribute.
19But he himself turned back from the stone images that
were at Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."
He said, "Keep silence!" And all who attended him went out from him.
20So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in
his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, "I have a message from God for
you." So he arose from his seat.
21Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger
from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
22Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat
closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his
entrails came out.
23Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the
doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24When he had gone out, Eglon's servants came to look,
and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said,
"He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber."
25So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still
he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and
opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.
26But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed
beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.
27And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the
trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with
him from the mountains; and he led them.
28Then he said to them, "Follow me, for the LORD
has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down
after him, seized the fords of the
29And at that time they killed about ten thousand men
of
30So
31After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed
six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered
4When Ehud was dead, the children of
2So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of
3And the children of
4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was
judging
5And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah
between Ramah and
6Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam
from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the LORD God of Israel
commanded, "Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten
thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun;
7and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander
of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I
will deliver him into your hand'?"
8And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me,
then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!"
9So she said, "I will surely go with you;
nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for
the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose
and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he
went up with ten thousand men under his command, and Deborah went up with him.
11Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the
father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his
tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh.
12And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of
Abinoam had gone up to
13So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine
hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth
Hagoyim to the River Kishon.
14Then Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the
day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD
gone out before you?" So Barak went down from
15And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and
all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from
his chariot and fled away on foot.
16But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as
Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword;
not a man was left.
17However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of
Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of
Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him,
"Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear." And when he had
turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.
19Then he said to her, "Please give me a little
water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a
drink, and covered him.
20And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the
tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, "Is there any
man here?' you shall say, "No."'
21Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a
hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple,
and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to
meet him, and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man whom you
seek." And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg
in his temple.
23So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in
the presence of the children of
24And the hand of the children of
5Then Deborah and Barak the son of
Abinoam sang on that day, saying:
2"When leaders lead in
3"Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I,
will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of
4"LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You
marched from the field of
5The mountains gushed before the LORD, This Sinai,
before the LORD God of
6"In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the
days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the
byways.
7Village life ceased, it ceased in
8They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates;
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in
9My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered
themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD!
10"Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit
in judges' attire, And who walk along the road.
11Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering
places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous
acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to
the gates.
12"Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a
song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam!
13"Then the survivors came down, the people
against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.
14From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek.
After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from
Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff.
15And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As
Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command; Among the
divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.
16Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the
pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.
17Gilead stayed beyond the
18Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to
the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19"The kings came and fought, Then the kings of
Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of
20They fought from the heavens; The stars from their
courses fought against Sisera.
21The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient
torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength!
22Then the horses' hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping
of his steeds.
23"Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD,
"Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of
the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.'
24"Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of
Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents.
25He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out
cream in a lordly bowl.
26She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right
hand to the workmen's hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split
and struck through his temple.
27At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her
feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell dead.
28"The mother of Sisera looked through the window,
And cried out through the lattice, "Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?'
29Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered
herself,
30"Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To
every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of
garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of
the looter?'
31"Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But
let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full
strength." So the land had rest for forty years.
6Then the children of
2and the hand of Midian prevailed against
3So it was, whenever
4Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce
of the earth as far as
5For they would come up with their livestock and their
tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were
without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.
6So
7And it came to pass, when the children of
8that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of
9and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians
and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and
gave you their land.
10Also I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; do
not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have
not obeyed My voice."'
11Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the
terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite,
while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from
the Midianites.
12And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said
to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
13Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is
with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles
which our fathers told us about, saying, "Did not the LORD bring us up
from
14Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in
this might of yours, and you shall save
15So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save
16And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with
you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."
17Then he said to Him, "If now I have found favor
in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.
18Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You
and bring out my offering and set it before You." And He said, "I
will wait until you come back."
19So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and
unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he
put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree
and presented them.
20The Angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and
the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth."
And he did so.
21Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the
staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and
fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And
the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the
LORD. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the
LORD face to face."
23Then the LORD said to him, "Peace be with you;
do not fear, you shall not die."
24So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and
called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the
Abiezrites.
25Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said
to him, "Take your father's young bull, the second bull of seven years
old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the
wooden image that is beside it;
26and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of
this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt
sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down."
27So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and
did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father's household
and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
28And when the men of the city arose early in the
morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside
it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had
been built.
29So they said to one another, "Who has done this
thing?" And when they had inquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the
son of Joash has done this thing."
30Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring
out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and
because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it."
31But Joash said to all who stood against him,
"Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead
for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself,
because his altar has been torn down!"
32Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal,
saying, "Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his
altar."
33Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of
the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the
34But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he
blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.
35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who
also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and
Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36So Gideon said to God, "If You will save
37look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing
floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground,
then I shall know that You will save
38And it was so. When he rose early the next morning
and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful
of water.
39Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with
me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with
the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let
there be dew."
40And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece
only, but there was dew on all the ground.
7Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and
all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of
Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the
hill of Moreh in the valley.
2And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are
with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest
3Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people,
saying, "Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once
from Mount Gilead."' And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and
ten thousand remained.
4But the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are
still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you
there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, "This one shall go with
you,' the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, "This one
shall not go with you,' the same shall not go."
5So he brought the people down to the water. And the
LORD said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as
a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on
his knees to drink."
6And the number of those who lapped, putting their
hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down
on their knees to drink water.
7Then the LORD said to Gideon, "By the three
hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your
hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place."
8So the people took provisions and their trumpets in
their hands. And he sent away all the rest of
9It happened on the same night that the LORD said to
him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your
hand.
10But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp
with Purah your servant,
11and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your
hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp." Then he went
down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the
camp.
12Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of
the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels
were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.
13And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a
dream to his companion. He said, "I have had a dream: To my surprise, a
loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and
struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed."
14Then his companion answered and said, "This is
nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of
15And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the
dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of
16Then he divided the three hundred men into three
companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and
torches inside the pitchers.
17And he said to them, "Look at me and do
likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do:
18When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me,
then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say,
"The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!"'
19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came
to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they
had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that
were in their hands.
20Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke
the pitchers--they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in
their right hands for blowing--and they cried, "The sword of the LORD and
of Gideon!"
21And every man stood in his place all around the camp;
and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.
22When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD
set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the
army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah,
by Tabbath.
23And the men of
24Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the
mountains of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and seize
from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan." Then
all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far
as Beth Barah and the Jordan.
25And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb
and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the
winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb
to Gideon on the other side of the
8Now the men of Ephraim said to him,
"Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight
with the Midianites?" And they reprimanded him sharply.
2So he said to them, "What have I done now in
comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than
the vintage of Abiezer?
3God has delivered into your hands the princes of
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?"
Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.
4When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three
hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit.
5Then he said to the men of Succoth, "Please give
loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am
pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian."
6And the leaders of Succoth said, "Are the hands
of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your
army?"
7So Gideon said, "For this cause, when the LORD
has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with
the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!"
8Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to
them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth
had answered.
9So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying,
"When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!"
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies
with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the
people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword
had fallen.
11Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in
tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the
camp felt secure.
12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he
took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.
13Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle,
from the Ascent of Heres.
14And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and
interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its
elders, seventy-seven men.
15Then he came to the men of Succoth and said,
"Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ridiculed me, saying,
"Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give
bread to your weary men?"'
16And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the
men of the city.
18And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of
men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" So they answered, "As you are,
so were they; each one resembled the son of a king."
19Then he said, "They were my brothers, the sons
of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill
you."
20And he said to Jether his firstborn, "Rise, kill
them!" But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because
he was still a youth.
21So Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself, and
kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength." So Gideon arose and killed
Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels'
necks.
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule
over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered
us from the hand of Midian."
23But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over
you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you."
24Then Gideon said to them, "I would like to make
a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his
plunder." For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
25So they answered, "We will gladly give
them." And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the
earrings from his plunder.
26Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested
was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments,
pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the
chains that were around their camels' necks.
27Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in
his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a
snare to Gideon and to his house.
28Thus Midian was subdued before the children of
Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for
forty years in the days of Gideon.
29Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his
own house.
30Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring,
for he had many wives.
31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a
son, whose name he called Abimelech.
32Now Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age,
and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the
children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith
their god.
34Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD
their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every
side;
35nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal
(Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.
9Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal
went to Shechem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them and with all the
family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
2"Please speak in the hearing of all the men of
Shechem: "Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of
Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?' Remember that I am your
own flesh and bone."
3And his mother's brothers spoke all these words
concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was
inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother."
4So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the
temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men;
and they followed him.
5Then he went to his father's house at Ophrah and killed
his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the
youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself.
6And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of
Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at
the pillar that was in Shechem.
7Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top
of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them:
"Listen to me, you men of Shechem, That God may listen to you!
8"The trees once went forth to anoint a king over
them. And they said to the olive tree, "Reign over us!'
9But the olive tree said to them, "Should I cease
giving my oil, With which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?'
10"Then the trees said to the fig tree, "You
come and reign over us!'
11But the fig tree said to them, "Should I cease
my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway over trees?'
12"Then the trees said to the vine, "You come
and reign over us!'
13But the vine said to them, "Should I cease my
new wine, Which cheers both God and men, And go to sway over trees?'
14"Then all the trees said to the bramble,
"You come and reign over us!'
15And the bramble said to the trees, "If in truth
you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if
not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of Lebanon!'
16"Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and
sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and
his house, and have done to him as he deserves--
17for my father fought for you, risked his life, and
delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
18but you have risen up against my father's house this
day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of
his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother--
19if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with
Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him
also rejoice in you.
20But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour
the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem
and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!"
21And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and
dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years,
23God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and
the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal
might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed
them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.
25And the men of Shechem set men in ambush against him
on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that
way; and it was told Abimelech.
26Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and
went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
27So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes
from their vineyards and trod them, and made merry. And they went into the
house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
28Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is
Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of
Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of
Shechem; but why should we serve him?
29If only this people were under my authority! Then I
would remove Abimelech." So he said to Abimelech, "Increase your army
and come out!"
30When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of
Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused.
31And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying,
"Take note! Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem;
and here they are, fortifying the city against you.
32Now therefore, get up by night, you and the people
who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.
33And it shall be, as soon as the sun is up in the morning,
that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people
who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them as you find
opportunity."
34So Abimelech and all the people who were with him
rose by night, and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
35When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the
entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from
lying in wait.
36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul,
"Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" But
Zebul said to him, "You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were
men."
37So Gaal spoke again and said, "See, people are
coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the
Diviners' Terebinth Tree."
38Then Zebul said to him, "Where indeed is your
mouth now, with which you said, "Who is Abimelech, that we should serve
him?' Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and
fight with them now."
39So Gaal went out, leading the men of Shechem, and
fought with Abimelech.
40And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and
many fell wounded, to the very entrance of the gate.
41Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out
Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.
42And it came about on the next day that the people
went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the