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 iswith thee, and lie in wait in the field:
33 And it shall be, thatin the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set
upon the city: and, behold, whenhe and the people that iswith 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 werewith 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 werewith 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 weremen.
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 isnow thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is
Abimelech, that we should serve him? isnot 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 andwounded,
evenunto 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 werecome forth out of the city; and he rose up against them,
and smote them.
44 And Abimelech, and the company that waswith him, rushed forward, and stood in the
entering of the gate of the city: and the two othercompanies ran upon all the peoplethat 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 wastherein, 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 werewith 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 werewith him, What ye have seen me do, make
haste, anddo as I have done.
49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put
themto 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 itto 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.
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 arein 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 wereon the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which isin 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, Didnot I deliver youfrom 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 andprinces of Gilead said one to another, What man is hethat will begin to
fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he wasthe son of an harlot: and
Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah,
the son of a strange
woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered
vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead
went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of
Ammon.
7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my
father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou
mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the
inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the
children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not
so according to thy words.
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain
over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast
thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because
Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and
unto Jordan: now therefore restore those landsagain peaceably.
14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land
of the children of Ammon:
16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea,
and came to Kadesh;
17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through
thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the
king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land
of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon,
but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon wasthe border of Moab.
19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel
said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people
together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and
they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that
country.
22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from
the wilderness even unto Jordan.
23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people
Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever
the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
