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13
Judges 13:1-25
1 And the children of Israel did evil
again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the
Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the
Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3 And
the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren,
and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray
thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For,
lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the
child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out
of the hand of the Philistines. 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man
of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of
God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine
nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite
to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and
said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us
what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9 And God hearkened to the voice of
Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah
her husband was not with her. 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her
husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other
day. 11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto
him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. 12 And
Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall
we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the
woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I
commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the
LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy
bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For
Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel
of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee
honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name,
seeing it is secret? 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it
upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his
wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the
altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his
wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the
LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an
angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have
seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not
have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have
shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as
these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called
his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the
LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. (KJV)
14
Judges 14:1-20
1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw
a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 And he came up, and told his
father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3 Then his father and his mother said
unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all
my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson
said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 4 But his father and his
mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the
Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 5 Then went Samson
down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath:
and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily
upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his
hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7 And he went down, and
talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 And after a time he returned to take
her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a
swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 9 And he took thereof in his hands,
and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat:
but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
10 So his father went down unto the woman:
and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. 11 And it came to pass,
when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said
unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me
within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty
sheets and thirty change of garments: 13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall
ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth
thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound
the riddle. 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife,
Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy
father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?
16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not:
thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me.
And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall
I tell it thee? 17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast
lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore
upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 18 And the men of the
city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter
than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not
plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. 19 And the Spirit of the LORD came
upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil,
and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was
kindled, and he went up to his father's house. 20 But Samson's wife was given to
his companion, whom he had used as his friend. (KJV)
15
Judges 15:1-20
1 But it came to pass within a while
after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said,
I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave
her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray
thee, instead of her. 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless
than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4 And Samson went and caught three
hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the
midst between two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go
into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the
standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. 6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath
done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken
his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and
her father with fire. 7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye 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 top of the rock Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and
pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye
come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he
hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and
said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is
this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me,
so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that
we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear
unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No;
but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill
thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. 14 And when
he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came
mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was
burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jawbone of
an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16 And
Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass 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 Ramathlehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on
the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant:
and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God
clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when
he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof
Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of
the Philistines twenty years. (KJV)
16
Judges 16:1-31
1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there
an harlot, and went in unto her. 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is
come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate
of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we
shall kill him. 3 And Samson lay till 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 an hill that is before
Hebron.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he
loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of
the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great
strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may
bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of
silver. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth,
and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they
bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as
another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which
had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now there were men lying in
wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon
thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the
fire. So his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast
mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied,
then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and
bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there
were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a
thread. 13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies:
tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven
locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto
him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went
away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou
say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three
times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16 And it came to
pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul
was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not
come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's
womb: if I be shaven, 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 heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up
this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up
unto her, and brought money in their hand. 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 Philistines be
upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other
times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 21
But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and
bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to
grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them
together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they
said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw
him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our
enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. 25 And it came to pass,
when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set
him between the pillars. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer
me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there;
and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me,
I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once
avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle
pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his
right hand, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the
Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the
lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his
death were more than they which he slew in his life. 31 Then his brethren and all
the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him
between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel
twenty years. (KJV)
17
Judges 17:1-13
1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim,
whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of
silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine
ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be
thou of the LORD, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of
silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD
from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will
restore it unto thee. 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two
hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven
image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had an
house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who
became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every
man did that which was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man out of
Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8
And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a
place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And
Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of
Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 10 And Micah said
unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels
of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one
of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and
was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good,
seeing I have a Levite to my priest. (KJV)
18
Judges 18:1-31
1 In those days there was no king
in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell
in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the
tribes of Israel. 2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their
coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search
it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to
the house of Micah, they lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they
knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him,
Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou
here? 4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and
I am his priest. 5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may
know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 6 And the priest said unto them, Go
in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.
7 Then the five men departed, and came to
Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the
manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land,
that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the
Zidonians, and had no business with any man. 8 And they came unto their brethren to
Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 9 And they said,
Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very
good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the
land. 10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath
given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in
the earth. 11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and
out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. 12 And they went up, and
pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this
day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim. 13 And they passed thence unto mount
Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
14 Then answered the five men that went to
spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in
these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore
consider what ye have to do. 15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the
young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, 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 entering of the gate. 17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went
up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the
teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the
six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. 18 And these went into
Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten
image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? 19 And they said unto him, Hold thy
peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is
it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest
unto a tribe and a family in Israel? 20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the
ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went 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 good way from the house of Micah, the men that were
in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children
of Dan. 23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said
unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24 And he said, Ye
have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have
I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? 25 And the
children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run
upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. 26 And the children of
Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned
and went back unto his house.
27 And they took the things which
Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that
were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt
the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from
Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth
by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. 29 And they called the name of
the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the
name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the children of Dan set up the
graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were
priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set
them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in
Shiloh. (KJV)
19
Judges 19:1-30
1 And it came to pass in those days, when there
was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount
Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah. 2 And his concubine played the
whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and
was there four whole months. 3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak
friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a
couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the
damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. 4 And his father in law, the damsel's father,
retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged
there. 5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that
he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine
heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way. 6 And they sat down, and did eat
and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be
content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry. 7 And when the
man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again. 8 And
he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's father said,
Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. 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 servant, his
father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward
evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that
thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go
home. 10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came
over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses
saddled, his concubine also was with him. 11 And when they were by
Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and
let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. 12 And his master said
unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of
the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah. 13 And he said unto his servant,
Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in
Ramah. 14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when
they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin. 15 And they turned aside
thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a
street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.
16 And, behold, there came an old man from
his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he
sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites. 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, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? 18 And he said unto him, We are passing
from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went
to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no
man that receiveth me to house. 19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses;
and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which
is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing. 20 And the old man said,
Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only
lodge not in the street. 21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the
asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
22 Now as they were making their
hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round
about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man,
saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. 23 And the
man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay,
I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do
not this folly. 24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I
will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but
unto this man do not so vile a thing. 25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man
took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all
the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 26 Then
came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house
where her lord was, till it was light. 27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and
opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his
concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon
the threshold. 28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then
the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
29 And when he was come into his house, 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 coasts of Israel. 30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed
done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt
unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. (KJV)
20
Judges 20:1-48
1 Then all the children of Israel went
out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba,
with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. 2 And the chief of all the people, even
of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of
God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard
that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel,
Tell us, how was this wickedness? 4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that
was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and
my concubine, to lodge. 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round
about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they
forced, 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 Israel: for they have committed lewdness
and folly in Israel. 7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; 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 we any of us turn into his house. 9 But now this shall
be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; 10
And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred
of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that
they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they
have wrought in Israel. 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit
together as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men
through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done
among you? 13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are
in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the
children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of
Israel: 14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities
unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And the children of
Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that
drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen
men. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every
one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. 17 And the men of Israel,
beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were
men of war.
18 And the children of Israel arose, and
went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up
first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go
up first. 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against
Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of
Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 And the children of
Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that
day twenty and two thousand men. 22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged
themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in
array the first day. 23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until
even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the
children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.) 24 And the
children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. 25 And
Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the
ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and
all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before
the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings
before the LORD. 27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the
covenant of God was there in those days, 28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the
son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle
against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up;
for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand. 29 And Israel set liers in wait round
about Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on
the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. 31 And the
children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the
city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the
highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field,
about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten
down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw
them from the city unto the highways. 33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their
place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came
forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. 34 And there came
against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but
they knew not that evil was near them. 35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before
Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five
thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword. 36 So the children of Benjamin saw
that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they
trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah. 37 And the liers in wait
hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and
smote all the city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now there was an appointed sign between
the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke
rise up out of the city. 39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin
began to smite and kill of the men of Israel 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 arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked
behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. 41 And when the men
of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come
upon them. 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the
way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the
cities they destroyed in the midst of them. 43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites
round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against
Gibeah toward the sunrising. 44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all
these were men of valour. 45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto
the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and
pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. 46 So that all
which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all
these were men of valour. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness
unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. 48 And the men of Israel
turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as
well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set
on fire all the cities that they came to. (KJV)
21
Judges 21:1-25
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in
Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. 2 And
the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up
their voices, and wept sore; 3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in
Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? 4 And it came to pass on
the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings. 5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among
all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they
had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He
shall surely be put to death. 6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin
their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7 How shall we
do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give
them of our daughters to wives? 8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of
Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp
from Jabeshgilead to the assembly. 9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there
were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there. 10 And the congregation sent
thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite
the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the
children. 11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every
male, and every woman that hath lain by man. 12 And they found among the inhabitants of
Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and
they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13 And
the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in
the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. 14 And Benjamin came again at that time;
and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet
so they sufficed them not. 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the
LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation
said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out
of Benjamin? 17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be
escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. 18 Howbeit we may not
give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be
he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. 19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast
of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the
south of Lebonah. 20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie
in wait in the vineyards; 21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to
dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of
the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And it shall be, when their
fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be
favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the
war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. 23 And
the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of
them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and
repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. 24 And the children of Israel departed thence at
that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every
man to his inheritance. 25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did
that which was right in his own eyes.
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