A.C. 1232.

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 ax in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the peo*Heb. I have ple that were with him, What ye have seen *me do, make haste, and do as I have done.

done.

a 2 Sam. xi. 21.

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 scull.

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 A.C. 1232. 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.

SECTION VII.

Tola, Judge.

JUDGES X. VER. 1, 2.

1 And after Abimelech there arose to

defend Israel Or, deliver.

+ Heb. save.

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.

SECTION VIII.

Jair, Judge.

JUDGES X. VER. 3-6.

3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

1210.

Havoth-jair Or, the vil

4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

SECTION IX.

The Philistines and Ammonites oppress Israel.
Jephthah, Judge.

JUDGES X. VER. 6, TO THE END.

с

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.

lages of Jair.

crushed.

8 And that year they vexed and § oppressed the children Heb. 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.

A.C. 1206.

d Deut.

xxxii. 15. Jer. ii. 13.

1188.

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, *Heb. is good We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever * seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.

in thine eyes.

+ Heb. gods of
strangers.
+ Heb. was
shortened.

Heb. cried together.

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 e Ch. xi. 8, 11. children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

1187.

JUDGES XI.

1 The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should be their head. 12 The treaty of peace between him and the Ammonites is in vain. 29 Jeph32 His conquest of the Ammonites. 34 He performeth his vow on

thah's vow.
his daughter.

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of He valour, and he was the son of *an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

called Jeph

thae.

*Heb. a wo

man an harlot.

2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art 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 cap- A.C. 1187. tain, 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 Heb. be the 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

*

hearer between us.

unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took g Num. xxi. away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from 24, 25, 26. Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king

of the children of Ammon:

h

19.

15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took h Deut. ii. 9, 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;

14.

17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, i Num. xx. 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 * Num. xxi. on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab for Arnon was the border of Moab.

13. & xxii. 36.

19 And 'Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the 1 Deut, ii. 26. Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto

A.C. 1187. him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

m Deut. ii. 36.

n Num. xxii.

2.

See Josh. xxiv. 9.

* Jephthah seems to have been judge

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.

m

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.

25 And now art thou any thing better than "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon * Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over east Israel. Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

only of north

+ Heb. that which cometh forth, which shall come

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that + whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I Or, or I will will offer it up for a burnt offering.

forth.

offer it, &c.

Or, Abel.

32¶ So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto § the plain of the vine