Judges 1-10
Josh 21-24 New Testament Old Testament Judges 11-20
Judges 1
1 ¶Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel
asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to
fight against them?
2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into
his hand.
3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we
may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot.
So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites
into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew
the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off
his thumbs and his great toes.
7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their
great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God
hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and
smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
9 ¶And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the
Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of
Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of
Debir before was Kirjathsepher:
12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I
give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave
him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her
father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What
wilt thou?
15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south
land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and
the nether springs.
16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city
of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which
lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that
inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called
Hormah.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast
thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the
mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they
had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the
three sons of Anak.
21 ¶And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited
Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem
unto this day.
22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was
with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city
before was Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him,
Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with
the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called
the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns,
nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the
inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her
towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to
tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the
Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants
of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of
Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land:
for they did not drive them out.
33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the
inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of
the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became
tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would
not suffer them to come down to the valley:
35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet
the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.
36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the
rock, and upward.
Judges 2
1 ¶And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you
to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto
your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw
down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they
shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the
children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto
the LORD.
6 ¶And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man
unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that
he did for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and
ten years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the
mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there
arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works
which he had done for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served
Baalim:
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the
land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were
round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to
anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into
the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of
their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their
enemies.
15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil,
as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly
distressed.
16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand
of those that spoiled them.
17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring
after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the
way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but
they did not so.
18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge,
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge:
for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that
oppressed them and vexed them.
19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and
corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve
them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from
their stubborn way.
20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that
this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and
have not hearkened unto my voice;
21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations
which Joshua left when he died:
22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the
LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily;
neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
Judges 3
1 ¶Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even
as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them
war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;
3 Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the
Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon
unto the entering in of Hamath.
4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto
the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of
Moses.
5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites,
and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to
their sons, and served their gods.
7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the
LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
8 ¶Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into
the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel
served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a
deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of
Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out
to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his
hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 ¶And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the
LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done
evil in the sight of the LORD.
13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote
Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up
a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the
children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did
gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat
man.
18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people
that bare the present.
19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said,
I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that
stood by him went out from him.
20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had
for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. 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 haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade,
so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour
upon him, and locked them.
24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the
doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his
summer chamber.
25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors
of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their
lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and
escaped unto Seirath.
27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain
of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he
before them.
28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your
enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the
fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all
men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest
fourscore years.
31 ¶And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines
six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.
Judges 4
1 ¶And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud
was dead.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in
Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the
Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred
chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 ¶And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that
time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount
Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and
said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw
toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of
Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's
army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine
hand.
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou
wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that
thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into
the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 ¶And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten
thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of
Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain
of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount
Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of
iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto
the river of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath
delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak
went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with
the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot,
and fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of
the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and
there was not a man left.
17 ¶Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber
the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of
Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn
in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she
covered him with a mantle.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am
thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when
any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou
shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her
hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and
fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said
unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came
into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of
Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin
the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Judges 5
1 ¶Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly
offered themselves.
3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of
Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped
water.
5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the
LORD God of Israel.
6 ¶In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways
were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I
Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear
seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly
among the people. Bless ye the LORD.
10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the
way.
11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing
water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the
righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the
people of the LORD go down to the gates.
12 ¶Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead
thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the
people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.
14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin,
among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they
that handle the pen of the writer.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak:
he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were
great thoughts of heart.
16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks?
For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued
on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.
18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death
in the high places of the field.
19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the
waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O
my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings
of their mighty ones.
23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants
thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD
against the mighty.
24 ¶Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed
shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly
dish.
26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and
with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced
and stricken through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell:
where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice,
Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or
two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework,
of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that
take the spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the
sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
Judges 6
1 ¶And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD
delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites
the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves,
and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the
Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till
thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox,
nor ass.
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 Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the
children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 ¶And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because
of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto
them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and
brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of
all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their
land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11 ¶And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in
Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed
wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is
with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all
this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of,
saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken
us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt
save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my
family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite
the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a
sign that thou talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my
present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come
again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of
flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought
it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto 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 angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his
hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out
of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of
the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said,
Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom:
unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 ¶And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy
father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw
down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by
it:
26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the
ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the
wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto
him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the
city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of
Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second
bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they
enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die:
because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the
grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will
ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is
yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast
down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against
him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
33 ¶Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were
gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and
Abiezer was gathered after him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after
him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and
they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast
said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the
fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that
thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece
together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will
speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece;
let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be
dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was
dew on all the ground.
Judges 7
1 ¶Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up
early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites
were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for
me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against
me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is
fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there
returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down
unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of
whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and
of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not
go.
5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon,
Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt
thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to
drink.
6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were
three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to
drink water.
7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I
save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other
people go every man unto his place.
8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all
the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred
men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
9 ¶And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get
thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the
host:
11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be
strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant
unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
12 And the Midianites 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 sea side for multitude.
13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his
fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread
tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it
fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of
Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered
Midian, and all the host.
15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of
Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of
Midian.
16 ¶And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a
trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come
to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the
trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and
of Gideon.
19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of
the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the
watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their
hands.
20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held
the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow
withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host
ran, and cried, and fled.
22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword
against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to
Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
23 ¶And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out
of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down
against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and
Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the
waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew
Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and
pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other
side Jordan.
Judges 8
1 ¶And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou
calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did
chide with him sharply.
2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the
gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and
what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward
him, when he had said that.
4 ¶And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men
that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto
the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and
Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in
thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna
into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness
and with briers.
8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of
Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace,
I will break down this tower.
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about
fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the
east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of
Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.
12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two
kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he
described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even
threescore and seventeen men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna,
with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in
thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers,
and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 ¶Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye
slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled
the children of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD
liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew
not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is,
so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away
the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
22 ¶Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and
thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of
Midian.
23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son
rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would
give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings,
because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment,
and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and
seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment
that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their
camels' necks.
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and
all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto
Gideon, and to his house.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up
their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of
Gideon.
29 ¶And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many
wives.
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he
called Abimelech.
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the
sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel
turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had
delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon,
according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
Judges 9
1 ¶And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's
brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his
mother's father, saying,
2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better
for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten
persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am
your bone and your flesh.
3 And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem
all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said,
He is our brother.
4 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of
Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed
him.
5 And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons
of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding
yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and
went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
7 ¶And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount
Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto
me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto
the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me
they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good
fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and
man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king 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 Lebanon.
16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made
Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have
done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you
out of the hand of Midian:
18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his
sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the
son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your
brother;)
19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house
this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem,
and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from
the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of
Abimelech his brother.
22 ¶When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and
the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
24 That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come,
and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon
the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
25 And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains,
and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, 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 trode
the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat
and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we
should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve
the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove
Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed,
his anger was kindled.
31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son
of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city
against thee.
32 Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in
wait in the field:
33 And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt
rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is
with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find
occasion.
34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and
they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of
the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying
in wait.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people
down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the
shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
37 And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of
the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.
38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who
is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast
despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.
39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown
and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren,
that they should not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field;
and they told Abimelech.
43 And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait
in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the
city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.
44 And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood
in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon
all the people that were in the fields, and slew them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and
slew the people that was therein, 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 an
hold of the house of the god Berith.
47 And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were
gathered together.
48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were
with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the
trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that
were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.
49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed
Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that
all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
50 ¶Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men
and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the
top of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto
the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and
all to brake his skull.
54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto
him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And
his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every
man unto his place.
56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father,
in slaying his seventy brethren:
57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and
upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Judges 10
1 ¶And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the
son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in
Shamir.
3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty
cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of
Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
6 ¶And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and
served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and
the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the
Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the
hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years,
all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the
Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah,
and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore
distressed.
10 ¶And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned
against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the
Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the
Philistines?
12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you;
and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you
no more.
14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the
time of your tribulation.
15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto
us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and
his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead.
And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in
Mizpeh.
18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that
will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the
inhabitants of Gilead.