The Book of Judges, Chapter 1
1 After the death of Josue the children of Israel consulted
the Lord, saying: Who shall go up before us against the
Chanaanite, and shall be the leader of the war?
2 And the Lord said: Juda shall go up: behold I have
delivered the land into his hands.
3 And Juda said to Simeon his brother: Come up with me into
my lot, and fight against the Chanaanite, that I also may
go along with thee into thy lot. And Simeon went with him.
4 And Juda went up, and the Lord delivered the Chanaanite,
and the Pherezite into their hands: and they slew of them
in Bezec ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adonibezec in Bezec, and fought against
him, and they defeated the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite.
6 And Adonibezec fled: and they pursued after him and took
him, and cut off his fingers and toes.
7 And Adonibezec said: Seventy kings having their fingers
and toes cut off, gathered up the leavings of the meat
under my table: as I have done, so hath God requited me.
And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 And the children of Juda besieging Jerusalem, took it, and
put it to the sword, and set the whole city on fire.
9 And afterwards they went down and fought against the
Chanaanite, who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south,
and in the plains.
10 And Juda going forward against the Chanaanite, that dwelt
in Hebron (the name whereof was in former times
Cariath-Arbe) slew Sesai, and Ahiman, and Tholmai:
11 And departing from thence he went to the inhabitants of
Dabir, the ancient name of which was Cariath-Sepher, that
is, the city of letters.
12 And Caleb said: He that shall take Cariath-Sepher, and lay
it waste, to him will I give my daughter Axa to wife.
13 And Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother of
Caleb, having taken it, he gave him Axa his daughter to
wife.
14 And as she was going on her way her husband admonished her
to ask a field of her father. And as she sighed sitting on
her ass, Caleb said to her: What aileth thee?
15 But she answered: Give me a blessing, for thou hast given
me a dry land: give me also a watery land. So Caleb gave
her the upper and the nether watery ground.
16 And the children of the Cinite, the kinsman of Moses, went
up from the city of palms, with the children of Juda into
the wilderness of his lot, which is at the south side of
Arad, and they dwelt with him.
17 And Juda went with Simeon his brother, and they together
defeated the Chanaanites that dwelt in Sephaath, and slew
them. And the name of the city was called Horma, that is,
Anathema.
18 And Juda took Gaza with its confines, and Ascalon and
Accaron with their confines.
19 And the Lord was with Juda, and he possessed the hill
country: but was not able to destroy the inhabitants of
the valley, because they had many chariots armed with
scythes.
20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, who
destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac.
21 But the sons of Benjamin did not destroy the Jebusites
that inhabited Jerusalem: and the Jebusite hath dwelt with
the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this present day.
22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the
Lord was with them.
23 For when they were besieging the city, which before was
called Luza,
24 They saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to
him: Shew us the entrance into the city, and we will shew
thee mercy.
25 And when he had shewn them, they smote the city with the
edge of the sword: but that man and all his kindred they
let go:
26 Who being sent away, went into the land of Hethim, and
built there a city, and called it Luza: which is so called
until this day.
27 Manasses also did not destroy Bethsan, and Thanac with
their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor, and Jeblaam,
and Mageddo with their villages. And the Chanaanite began
to dwell with them.
28 But after Israel was grown strong he made them
tributaries, and would not destroy them.
29 Ephraim also did not slay the Chanaanite that dwelt in
Gazer, but dwelt with him.
30 Zabulon destroyed not the inhabitants of Cetron, and
Naalol: but the Chanaanite dwelt among them, and became
their tributaries.
31 Aser also destroyed not the inhabitants of Accho, and of
Sidon, of Ahalab, and of Achazib, and of Helba, and of
Aphec, and of Rohob:
32 And he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites the
inhabitants of that land, and did not slay them.
33 Nephtali also destroyed not the inhabitants of Bethsames,
and of Bethanath: and he dwelt in the midst of the
Chanaanites the inhabitants of the land, and the
Bethsamites and Bethanites were tributaries to him.
34 And the Amorrhite straitened the children of Dan in the
mountain, and gave them not place to go down to the plain:
35 And he dwelt in the mountain Hares, that is, of potsherds,
in Aialon and Salebim. And the hand of the house of Joseph
was heavy upon him, and he became tributary to him.
36 And the border of the Amorrhite was from the ascent of the
scorpion, the rock, and the higher places.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 2
1 And an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the place
of weepers, and said: I made you go out of Egypt, and have
brought you into the land for which I swore to your
fathers: and I promised that I would not make void my
covenant with you for ever:
2 On condition that you should not make a league with the
inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their
altars: and you would not hear my voice: why have you done
this?
3 Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face:
that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your
ruin.
4 And when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all
the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice, and
wept.
5 And the name of that place was called, The place of
weepers, or of tears: and there they offered sacrifices to
the Lord.
6 And Josue sent away the people, and the children of Israel
went every one to his own possession to hold it:
7 And they served the Lord all his days, and the days of the
ancients, that lived a long time after him, and who knew
all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel.
8 And Josue the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died,
being a hundred and ten years old,
9 And they buried him in the borders of his possession in
Thamnathsare in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount
Gaas.
10 And all that generation was gathered to their fathers: and
there arose others that knew not the Lord, and the works
which he had done for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
Lord, and they served Baalim.
12 And they left the Lord the God of their fathers, who had
brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed
strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelt round
about them, and they adored them: and they provoked the
Lord to anger.
13 Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth.
14 And the Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them
into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them
to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could
they stand against their enemies:
15 But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord
was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to
them: and they were greatly distressed.
16 And the Lord raised up judges, to deliver them from the
hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not
hearken to them,
17 Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring
them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers
had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they
did all things contrary.
18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, in their days he
was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the
afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the
oppressors.
19 But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much
worse things than their fathers had done, following
strange gods, serving them and adoring them. They left not
their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they
were accustomed to walk.
20 And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and
he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant,
which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to
hearken to my voice:
21 I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left, when
he died:
22 That through them I may try Israel, whether they will keep
the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept
it, or not.
29 The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not
quickly destroy them, neither did he deliver them into the
hands of Josue.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 3
1 These are the nations which the Lord left, that by them he
might instruct Israel, and all that had not known the wars
of the Chanaanites:
2 That afterwards their children might learn to fight with
their enemies, and to be trained up to war:
3 The five princes of the Philistines, and all the
Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hevites that dwelt
in mount Libanus, from mount Baal Hermon to the entering
into Emath.
4 And he left them, that he might try Israel by them,
whether they would hear the commandments of the Lord,
which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses,
or not.
5 So the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the
Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the
Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite:
6 And they took their daughters to wives, and they gave
their own daughters to their sons, and they served their
gods.
7 And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they
forgot their God, and served Baalim and Astaroth.
8 And the Lord being angry with Israel, delivered them into
the hands of Chusan Rasathaim king of Mesopotamia, and
they served him eight years.
9 And they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour,
and delivered them, to wit, Othoniel the son of Cenez, the
younger brother of Caleb:
10 And the spirit of the Lord was in him, and he judged
Israel. And he went out to fight, and the Lord delivered
into his hands Chusan Rasathaim king of Syria, and he
overthrew him.
11 And the land rested forty years, and Othoniel the son of
Cenez died.
12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of
the Lord: who strengthened against them Eglon king of
Moab: because they did evil in his sight.
13 And he joined to him the children of Ammon, and Amalec:
and he went and overthrew Israel, and possessed the city
of palm trees.
14 And the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab
eighteen years:
15 And afterwards they cried to the Lord, who raised them up
a saviour called Aod, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini,
who used the left hand as well as the right. And the
children of Israel sent presents to Eglon king of Moab by
him.
16 And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haft in the
midst of the length of the palm of the hand, and was
girded therewith under his garment on the right thigh.
17 And he presented the gifts to Eglon king of Moab. Now
Eglon was exceeding fat.
18 And when he had presented the gifts unto him, he followed
his companions that came along with him.
19 Then returning from Galgal, where the idols were, be said
to the king: I have a secret message to thee, O king. And
he commanded silence: and all being gone out that were
about him,
20 Aod went in to him: now he was sitting in a summer parlour
alone, and he said: I have a word from God to thee. And he
forthwith rose up from his throne,
21 And Aod put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from
his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly,
22 With such force that the haft went in after the blade into
the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat. So
that he did not draw out the dagger, but left it in his
body as he had struck it in. And forthwith by the secret
parts of nature the excrements of the belly came out.
23 But Aod carefully shutting the doors of the parlour and
locking them,
24 Went out by a postern door. And the king's servants going
in, saw the doors of the parlour shut, and they said:
Perhaps he is easing nature in his summer parlour.
25 And waiting a long time till they were ashamed, and seeing
that no man opened the door, they took a key: and opening,
they found their lord lying dead on the ground.
26 But Aod, while they were in confusion, escaped, and passed
by the place of the idols, from whence he had returned.
And he came to Seirath:
27 And forthwith he sounded the trumpet in mount Ephraim: and
the children of Israel went down with him, he himself
going in the front.
28 And he said to them: Follow me: for the Lord hath
delivered our enemies the Moabites into our hands. And
they went down after him, and seized upon the fords of the
Jordan, which are in the way to Moab: and they suffered no
man to pass over.
29 But they slew of the Moabites at that time, about ten
thousand, all strong and Valiant men: none of them could
escape.
30 And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel:
and the land rested eighty years.
31 After him was Samgar the son of Anath, who slew of the
Philistines six hundred men with a ploughshare: and he
also defended Israel.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 4
1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
the Lord after the death of Aod,
2 And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jaban
king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general
of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the
Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had
nine hundred chariots set with scythes, and for twenty
years had grievously oppressed them.
4 And there was at that time Debbora a prophetess the wife
of Lapidoth, who judged the people,
5 And she sat under a palm tree, which was called by her
name, between Rama and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the
children of Israel came up to her for all judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barac the son of Abinoem out of
Cedes in Nephtali: and she said to him: The Lord God of
Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army to mount
Thabor, and thou shalt take with thee ten thousand
fighting men of the children of Nephtali, and of the
children of Zabulon:
7 And I will bring unto thee in the place of the torrent
Cison, Sisara the general of Jabin's army, and his
chariots, and all his multitude, and will deliver them
into thy hand.
8 And Barac said to her: If thou wilt come with me, I will
go: if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go.
9 She said to him: I will go indeed with thee, but at this
time the victory shall not be attributed to thee, because
Sisara shall be delivered into the hand of a woman.
Debbora therefore arose, and went with Barac to Cedes.
10 And he called unto him Zabulon and Nepbtali, and went up
with ten thousand fighting men, having Debbora in his
company.
11 Now Haber the Cinite had some time before departed from
the rest of the Cinites his brethren the sons of Hobab,
the kinsman of Moses: and had pitched his tents unto the
valley which is called Sellnim, and was near Cedes.
12 And it was told Sisara, that Barac the son of Ablinoem was
gone up to mount Thabor:
13 And he gathered together his nine hundred chariots armed
with scythes, and all his army from Haroseth of the
Gentiles to the torrent Cison.
14 And Debbora said to Barac: Arise, for this is the day
wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisara into thy hands:
behold he is thy leader. And Barac went down from mount
Thabor, and ten thousand fighting men with him.
15 And the Lord struck a terror into Sisara, and all his
chariots, and all his multitude, with the edge of the
sword, at the sight of Barac, insomuch that Sisara leaping
down from off his chariot, fled away on foot.
16 And Barac pursued after the fleeing chariots and the army
unto Haroseth of the Gentiles, and all the multitude of
the enemies was utterly destroyed.
17 But Sisara fleeing came to the tent of Jahel the wife of
Haber the Cinite, for there was peace between Jabin the
king of Asor, and the house of Haber the Cinite.
18 And Jahel went forth to meet Sisara, and said to him: Come
in to me, my lord, come in, fear not. He went in to her
tent, and being covered by her with a cloak,
19 Said to her: Give me, I beseech thee, a little water, for
I am very thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave
him to drink, and covered him.
20 And Sisara said to her: Stand before the door of the tent,
and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is
there any man here? thou shalt say: There is none.
21 So Jahel Haber's wife took a nail of the tent, and taking
also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she
put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it
With the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the
ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he
fainted away and died.
22 And behold Barac came pursuing after Sisara: and Jahel
went out to meet him, and said to him: Come, and I will
shew thee, the man whom thou seekest. And when he came
into her tent, be saw Sisara lying dead, and the nail
fastened in his temples.
23 So God that day humbled Jabin the king of Chanaan before
the children of Israel:
24 Who grew daily stronger, and with a mighty hand
overpowered Jabin king of Chanaan, till they quite
destroyed him.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 5
1 In that day Debbora and Barac son of Abinoem sung, and
said:
2 O you of Israel, that have willingly offered your lives to
danger, bless the Lord.
3 Hear, O ye kings, give ear, ye princes: It is I, it is I,
that will sing to the Lord, I will sing to the Lord the
God of Israel.
4 O Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, and passedst by the
regions of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens
dropped water.
5 The mountains melted before the face of the Lord, and
Sinai before the face of the Lord the God of Israel.
6 In the days of Samgar the son of Anath, in the days of
Jahel the paths rested: and they that went by them, walked
through by-ways.
7 The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel: until
Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel.
8 The Lord chose new wars, and he himself overthrew the
gates of the enemies: a shield and spear was not seen
among forty thousand of Israel.
9 My heart loveth the princes of Israel: O you that of your
own good will offered yourselves to danger, bless the
Lord.
10 Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in
judgment, and walk in the way.
11 Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of
the enemies was choked, there let the justices of the Lord
be rehearsed, and his clemency towards the brave men of
Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the
gates, and obtained the sovereignty.
12 Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise, arise, and utter a
canticle. Arise, Barac, and take hold of thy captives, O
son of Abinoem.
13 The remnants of the people are saved, the Lord hath fought
among the valiant ones.
14 Out of Ephraim he destroyed them into Amalec, and after
him out of Benjamin into thy people, O Amalec: Out of
Machir there came down princes, and out of Zabulon they
that led the army to fight.
15 The captains of Issachar were with Debbora, and followed
the steps of Barac, who exposed himself to danger, as one
going headlong, and into a pit. Ruben being divided
against himself, there was found a strife of courageous
men.
16 Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou mayest
hear the bleatings of the flocks? Ruben being divided
against himself, there was found a strife of courageous
men.
17 Galaad rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan applied himself
to ships: Aser dwelt on the sea shore, and abode in the
havens.
18 But Zabulon and Nephtali offered their lives to death in
the region of Merome.
19 The kings came and fought, the kings of Chanaan fought in
Thanach by the waters of Mageddo, and yet they took no
spoils.
20 War from heaven was made against them, the stars remaining
in their order and courses fought against Sisara.
21 The torrent of Cison dragged their carcasses, the torrent
of Cadumim, the torrent of Cisoii: tread thou, my soul,
upon the strong ones.
22 The hoofs of the horses were broken whilst the stoutest of
the enemies fled amain, and fell headlong down.
23 Curse ye the land of Meroz, said the angel of the Lord:
curse the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to
the help of the Lord, to help his most valiant men.
24 Blessed among women be Jahel the wife of Haber the Cinite,
and blessed be she in her tent.
25 He asked her water and she gave him milk, and offered him
butter in a dish fit for princes.
26 She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to
the workman's hammer, and she struck Sisara, seeking in
his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing
through his temples.
27 At her feet he fell: he fainted, and he died: he rolled
before her feet, and he lay lifeless and wretched.
28 His mother looked out at a window, and howled: and she
spoke from the dining room: Why is his chariot so long in
coming back? Why are the feet of his horses so slow?
29 One that was wiser than the rest of his wives, returned
this answer to her mother in law:
30 Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the fairest of
the women is chosen out for him: garments of divers
colours are given to Sisara for his prey, and furniture of
different kinds is heaped together to adorn the necks.
31 So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that
love thee shine, as the sun shineth in his rising.
32 And the land rested for forty years.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 6
1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian
seven years.
2 And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made
themselves dens and eaves in the mountains, and strong
holds to resist.
3 And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest
of the eastern nations came up:
4 And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as
they were in the blade even to the entrance of Gaza: and
they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life,
nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.
5 For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and
like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude
of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.
6 And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.
7 And he cried to the Lord desiring help against the
Madianites.
8 And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith
the Lord the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of
Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,
9 And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and
of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out
at your coming in, and gave you their land.
10 And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of
the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not
hear my voice.
11 And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that
was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas the father of the
family of Ezri. And when Gedeon his son was threshing and
cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,
12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord
is with thee, O most valiant of men.
13 And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the
Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us?
Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of,
saying: The Lord brought us Out of Egypt? but now the Lord
hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the bands of
Madian.
14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go in this thy
strength, and then shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of
Madian: know that I have sent thee.
15 He answered and said: I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith
shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in
Manasses, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou
shalt cut off Madian as one man.
17 And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a
sign that it is thou that speakest to me,
18 And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a
sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will
wait thy coming.
19 So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened
loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a
basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried
all under the oak, and presented to him.
20 And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and
the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and
pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,
21 The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which
he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock,
and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the
angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.
22 And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said:
Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord
face to face.
23 And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not,
thou shalt not die.
24 And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it
the Lord's peace, until this present day. And when he was
yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,
25 That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy
father's, and another bullock of seven years, and thou
shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father's:
and cut down the grove that is about the altar:
26 And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God in the
top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice
before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt
offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou
shalt cut down out of the grove.
27 Then Gedeon taking ten men of his servants, did as the
Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father's house,
and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but
did all by night.
28 And when the men of that town were risen in the morning,
they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut
down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which
then was built.
29 And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when
they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said:
Gedeon the son of Joas did all this.
30 And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he
may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and
hath cut down his grove.
31 He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you
fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die
before to morrow light appear: if he be a god, let him
revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.
32 From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joss had
said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down
his altar.
33 Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people were
gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in
the valley of Jezrael.
34 But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and be
sounded the trumpet and called together the house of
Abiezer, to follow him.
35 And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also
followed him: and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon
and Nephtali, and they came to meet him.
36 And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my
hand, as thou hast said,
37 I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be
dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground
beside, I, shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said,
thou wilt deliver Israel.
38 And it was so. And rising before day wringing the fleece,
he filled a vessel with the dew.
39 And he said again to God: let not thy wrath be kindled
against me if I try once more, seeking a sign in the
fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all
the ground wet with dew.
40 And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry
on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 7
1 Then Jerobaal, who is the same as Gedeon, rising up early
and all the people with him, came to the fountain that is
called Harad. Now the camp of Madian was in the valley on
the north side of the high hill.
2 And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee
are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their
hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: I was
delivered by my own strength.
3 Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all,
I Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. So
two and twenty thousand men went away from mount Galaad
and returned home, and only ten thousand remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too
many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them:
and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee,
let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return.
5 And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord
said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their
tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by
themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their
knees, shall be on the other side.
6 And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it
with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and
all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling.
7 And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men,
that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian
into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return
to their place.
8 So taking victuals and trumpets according to their number,
he ordered all the rest of the multitude to depart to
their tents: and he with the three hundred gave himself to
the battle. Now the camp of Madian was beneath him in the
valley.
9 The same night the Lord said to him: Arise, and go down
into the camp: because I have delivered them into thy
hand.
10 But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Phara thy servant
go down with thee.
11 And when thou shalt hear what they are saying, then shall
thy hands be strengthened, and thou shalt go down more
secure to the enemies' camp. And he went down with Phara
his servant into part of the camp, where was the watch of
men in arms.
12 But Madian and Amalec, and all the eastern people lay
scattered in the valley, as a multitude of locusts: their
camels also were innumerable as the sand that lieth on the
sea shore.
13 And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream:
and in this manner related what he had seen: I dreamt a
dream, and it seemed to me as if a hearth cake of barley
bread rolled and came down into the camp of Madian: and
when it was come to a tent it struck it, and beat it down
flat to the ground.
14 He to whom he spoke, answered: This is nothing else but
the sword of Gedeon the son of Joas a man of Israel. For
the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into
his hand.
15 And when Gedeon had heard the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, he adored: and returned to the
camp of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord hath
delivered the camp of Madian into our hands.
16 And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and
gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and
lamps within the pitchers.
17 And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the
same: I will go into one part of the camp, and do you as
I shall do.
18 When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow
the trumpets on every side of the camp.
19 And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him,
went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the
midnight watch, and the watchmen being alarmed, they began
to sound their trumpets, and to clap the pitchers one
against another.
20 And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round
about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held
their lamps in their left hands, and with their right
hands the trumpets which they blew, and they cried out:
The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon;
21 Standing every man in his place round about the enemies'
camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and
howling they fled away.
22 And the three hundred men nevertheless persisted sounding
the trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the
camp, and they killed one another,
23 Fleeing as far as Bethsetta, and the border of Abelmahula
in Tebbath. But the men of Israel shouting from Nephtali
and Aser, and from all Manasses pursued after Madian.
24 And Gedeon sent messengers into all mount Ephraim, saying:
Come down to meet Madian, and take the waters before them
to Bethbera and the Jordan. And all Ephraim shouted, and
took the waters before them and the Jordan as far as
Bethbera.
25 And having taken two men of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: Oreb
they slew in the rock of Oreb, and Zeb in the winepress of
Zeb. And they pursued Madian, carrying the heads of Oreb
and Zeb to Gedeon beyond the waters of the Jordan.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 8
1 And the men of Ephraim said to him: What is this that thou
meanest to do, that thou wouldst not call us when thou
wentest to fight against Madian? and they chid him sharply
and almost offered violence.
2 And he answered them: What could I have done like to that
which you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim
better than the vintages of Abiezer?
3 The Lord hath delivered into your bands the princes of
Madian, Oreb and Zeb: what could I have done like to what
you have done? And when he had said this, their spirit was
appeased, with which they swelled against him.
4 And when Gedeon was come to the Jordan, he passed over it
with the three hundred men, that were with him: who were
so weary that they could not pursue after them that fled.
5 And he said to the men of Soccoth: Give, I beseech you,
bread to the people that is with me, for they are faint:
that we may pursue Zebee, and Salmana the kings of Madian.
6 The princes of Soccoth answered: Peradventure the palms of
the hands of Zebee and Salmana are in thy hand, and
therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to thy
army.
7 And he said to them: When the Lord therefore shall have
delivered Zebee and Salmana into my hands, I will thresh
your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.
8 And going up from thence, he came to Phanuel: and he spoke
the like things to the men of that place. And they also
answered him, as the men of Soccoth had answered.
9 He said therefore to them also: When I shall return a
conqueror in peace, I will destroy this tower.
10 But Zebee and Salmana were resting with all their army.
For fifteen thousand men were left of all the troops of
the eastern people, and one hundred and twenty thousand
warriors that drew the sword, were slain.
11 And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents,
on the east of Nobe and Jegbaa, and smote the camp of the
enemies, who were secure, and suspected no hurt.
12 And Zebee and Salmana fled, and Gedeon pursued and took
them, all their host being put in confusion.
13 And returning from the battle before the sun rising,
14 He took a boy of the men of Soccoth: and he asked him the
names of the princes and ancients of Soccoth, and he
described unto him seventy-seven men.
15 And he came to Soccoth and said to them: Behold Zebee and
Salmana, concerning whom you upbraided me, saying:
Peradventure the hands of Zebee and Salmana, are in thy
hands, and therefore thou demandest that we should give
bread to the men that are weary and faint.
16 So he took the ancients of the city and thorns and briers
of the desert, and tore them with the same, and cut in
pieces the men of Soccoth.
17 And he demolished the tower of Phanuel, and slew the men
of the city.
18 And he said to Zebee and Salmana: What manner of men were
they whom you slew in Thabor? They answered: They were
like thee, and one of them as the son of a king.
19 He answered them: They were my brethren, the sons of my
mother. As the Lord liveth, if you had saved them, I would
not kill you.
20 And he said to Jether his eldest son: Arise, and slay
them. But he drew not his sword: for he was afraid, being
but yet a boy.
21 And Zebee and Salmana said: Do thou rise, and run upon us:
because the strength of a man is according to his age:
Gedeon rose up and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the
ornaments and bosses, with which the necks of the camels
of kings are wont to be adorned.
22 And all the men of Israel said to Gedeon: Rule thou over
us and thy son, and thy son's son: because thou hast
delivered us from the hand of Madian.
23 And he said to them: I will not rule over you, neither
shall my son rule over you, but the Lord shall rule over
you.
24 And he said to them: I desire one request of you: Give me
the earlets of your spoils. For the Ismaelites were
accustomed to wear golden earlets.
25 They answered: We will give them most willingly. And
spreading a mantle on the ground, they cast upon it the
earlets of the spoils.
26 And the weight of the earlets that he requested, was a
thousand seven hundred sicles of gold, besides the
ornaments, and jewels, and purple raiment which the kings
of Madian were went to use, and besides the golden chains
that were about the camels' necks.
27 And Gedeon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city
Ephra. And all Israel committed fornication with it, and
it became a ruin to Gedeon and to all his house.
28 But Madian was humbled before the children of Israel,
neither could they any more lift up their beads: but the
land rested for forty years, while Gedeon presided.
29 So Jerobaal the son of Joas went, and dwelt in his own
house.
30 And he had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh, for he
had many wives.
31 And his concubine, that he had in Sichem, bore him a son,
whose name was Abimelech.
32 And Gedeon the son of Joas died in a good old age, and was
buried in the sepulchre of his father in Ephra of the
family of Ezri.
33 But after Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned
again, and committed fornication with Baalim. And they
made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god:
34 And they remembered not the Lord their God, who delivered
them out of the hands of all their enemies round about:
35 Neither did they shew mercy to the house of Jerobaal
Gedeon, according to all the good things he had done to
Israel.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 9
1 And Abimelech the son of Jerobaal went to Sichem to his
mother's brethren and spoke to them, and to all the
kindred of his mother's father, saying:
2 Speak to all the men of Sichem: whether is better for you
that seventy men all the sons of Jerobaal should rule over
you, or that one man should rule over you? And withal
consider that I am your bone, and your flesh.
3 And his mother's brethren spoke of him to all the men of
Sichem, all these words, and they inclined their hearts
after Abimelech, saying: He is our brother:
4 And they gave him seventy weight of silver out of the
temple of Baalberith: wherewith he hired to himself men
that were needy, and vagabonds, and they followed him.
5 And he came to his father's house in Ephra, and slew his
brethren the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men, upon one
stone: and there remained only Joatham the youngest son of
Jerobaal, who was hidden.
6 And all the men of Sichem were gathered together, and all
the families of the city of Mello: and they went and made
Abimelech king, by the oak that stood in Sichem.
7 This being told to Joatham, he went and stood on the top
of mount Garizim: and lifting up his voice, he cried, and
said: Hear me, ye men of Sichem, so may God hear you.
8 The trees went to anoint a king over them: and they said
to the olive tree: Reign thou over us.
9 And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, which both gods
and men make use of, to come to be promoted among the
trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig tree: Come thou and reign
over us.
11 And it answered them: Can I leave my sweetness, and my
delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the other
trees?
12 And the trees said to the vine: Come thou and reign over
us.
13 And it answered them: Can I forsake my wine, that cheereth
God and men, and be promoted among the other trees?
14 And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou and reign
over us.
15 And it answered them: If indeed you mean to make me king,
come ye and rest under my shadow: but if you mean it not,
let fire come out from the bramble, and devour the cedars
of Libanus.
16 Now therefore if you have done well, and without sin in
appointing Abimelech king over you, and have dealt well
with Jerobaal, and with his house, and have made a
suitable return for the benefits of him, who fought for
you,
17 And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from the
hands of Madian,
18 And you are now risen up against my father's house, and
have killed his sons seventy men upon one stone, and have
made Abimelech the son of his handmaid king over the
inhabitants of Sichem, because he is your brother:
19 If therefore you have dealt well, and without fault with
Jerobaal, and his house, rejoice ye this day in Abimelech,
and may he rejoice in you.
20 But if unjustly: let fire come out from him, and consume
the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello: and let
fire come out from the men of Sichem, and from the town of
Mello, and devour Abimelech.
21 And when he had said thus he fled, and went into Bera: and
dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22 So Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years.
23 And the Lord sent a very evil spirit between Abimelech and
the inhabitants of Sichem: who began to detest him,
24 And to leave the crime of the murder of the seventy sons
of Jerobaal, and the shedding of their blood upon
Abimelech their brother, and upon the rest of the princes
of the Sichemites, who aided him.
25 And they set an ambush against him on the top of the
mountains: and while they waited for his coming, they
committed robberies, taking spoils of all that passed by:
and it was told Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Obed came with his brethren, and went
over to Sichem. And the inhabitants of Sichem taking
courage at his coming,
27 Went out into the fields, wasting the vineyards, and
treading down the grapes: and singing and dancing they
went into the temple of their god, and in their banquets
and cups they cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Obed cried: Who is Abimelech, and what
is Sichem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of
Jerobaal, and hath made Zebul his servant ruler over the
men of Emor the father of Sichem? Why then shall we serve
him?
29 Would to God that some man would put this people under my
hand, that I might remove Abimelech out of the way. And it
was said to Abimelech: Gather together the multitude of an
army, and come.
30 For Zebul the ruler of the city, hearing the words of
Gaal, the son of Obed, was very angry,
31 And sent messengers privately to Abimelech, saying: Behold
Gaal the son of Obed is come into Sichem with his
brethren, and endeavoureth to set the city against thee.
32 Arise therefore in the night with the people that is with
thee and he hid in the field:
33 And betimes in the morning at sun rising set upon the
city. And when he shall come out against thee with his
people, do to him what thou shalt be able.
34 Abimelech therefore arose with all his army by night, and
laid ambushes near Sichem in four places.
35 And Gaal the son of Obed went out, and stood in the
entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech rose up,
and all his army with him from the places of the ambushes.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul: Behold a
multitude cometh down from the mountains. And he answered
him: Thou seest the shadows of the mountains as if they
were the heads of men, and this is thy mistake.
37 Again Gaal said: Behold there cometh people down from the
middle of the land, and one troop cometh by the way that
looketh towards the oak.
38 And Zebul said to him: Where is now thy mouth wherewith
thou saidst? Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is
not this the people which thou didst despise? Go out, and
fight against him.
39 So Gaal went out in the sight of the people of Sichem, and
fought against Abimelech,
40 Who chased and put him to flight, and drove him to the
city: and many were slain of his people, even to the gate
of the city:
41 And Abimelech sat down in Ruma: but Zebul drove Gaal, and
his companions out of the city, and would not suffer them
to abide in it.
42 So the day following the people went out into the field.
And it was told Abimelech.
43 And he took his army, and divided it into three companies,
and laid ambushes in the fields. And seeing that the
people came out of the city, he arose and set upon them,
44 With his own company, assaulting and besieging the city:
whilst the two other companies chased the enemies that
were scattered about the field.
45 And Abimelech assaulted the city all that day: and took
it, and killed the inhabitants thereof, and demolished it,
so that he sowed salt in it.
46 And when they who dwelt in the tower of Sichem had heard
this, they went into the temple of their god Berith where
they had made a covenant with him, and from thence the
place had taken its name, and it was exceeding strong.
47 Abimelech also hearing that the men of the tower of Sichem
were gathered together,
48 Went up into mount Selmon he and all his people with him:
and taking an axe, he cut down the bough of a tree, and
laying it on his shoulder and carrying it, he said to his
companions: What you see me do, do you out of hand.
49 So they cut down boughs from the trees, every man as fast
as he could, and followed their leader. And surrounding
the fort they set it on fire: and so it came to pass that
with the smoke and with the fire a thousand persons were
killed, men and women together, of the inhabitants of the
tower of Sichem.
50 Then Abimelech departing from thence came to the town of
Thebes, which he surrounded and besieged with his army.
51 And there was in the midst of the city a high tower, to
which both the men and the women were fled together, and
all the princes of the city, and having shut and strongly
barred the gate, they stood upon the battlements of the
tower to defend themselves.
52 And Abimelech coming near the tower, fought stoutly: and
approaching to the gate, endeavoured to set fire to it:
53 And behold a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone
from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and
broke his skull.
54 And he called hastily to his armourbearer, and said to
him: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest it should be said
that I was slain by a woman. He did as he was commanded,
and slew him.
55 And when he was dead, all the men of Israel that were with
him, returned to their homes.
56 And God repaid the evil, that Abimelech had done against
his father, killing his seventy brethren.
57 The Sichemites also were rewarded for what they had done,
and the curse of Joatham the son of Jerobaal came upon
them.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 10
1 After Abimelech there arose a ruler in Israel, Thola son
of Phua the uncle of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, who
dwelt in Samir of mount Ephraim:
2 And he judged Israel three and twenty years, and he died
and was buried in Samir.
3 To him succeeded Jair the Galaadite, who judged Israel for
two and twenty years.
4 Having thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and were
princes of thirty cities, which from his name were called
Havoth Jair, that is, the towns of Jair, until this
present day in the land of Galaad.
5 And Jair died: and was buried in the place which was
called Camon.
6 But the children of Israel, adding new sins to their old
ones, did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served idols,
Baalim and Astaroth, and the gods of Syria and of Sidon
and of Moab and of the children of Ammon and of the
Philistines: and they left the Lord, and did not serve
him.
7 And the Lord being angry with them, delivered them into
the hands of the Philistines and of the children of Ammon.
8 And they were afflicted, and grievously oppressed for
eighteen years, all they that dwelt beyond the Jordan in
the land of the Amorrhite, who is in Galaad:
9 Insomuch that the children of Ammon passing over the
Jordan, wasted Juda and Benjamin and Ephraim: and Israel
was distressed exceedingly.
10 And they cried to the Lord, and said: We have sinned
against thee, because we have forsaken the Lord our God,
and have served Baalim.
11 And the Lord said to them: Did not the Egyptians and the
Amorrhites, and the children of Ammon and the Philistines,
12 The Sidonians also and Amalec and Chanaan oppress you, and
you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand?
13 And yet you have forsaken me, and have worshipped strange
gods: therefore I will deliver you no more:
14 Go and call upon the gods which you have chosen: let them
deliver you in the time of distress.
15 And the children of Israel said to the Lord: We have
sinned, do thou unto us whatsoever pleaseth thee: only
deliver us this time.
16 And saying these things, they cast away out of their
coasts all the idols of strange gods and served the Lord
their God: and he was touched with their miseries.
17 And the children of Ammon shouting together, pitched their
tents in Galaad: against whom the children of Israel
assembled themselves together and camped in Maspha.
18 And the princes of Galaad said one to another: Whosoever
of us shall first begin to fight against the children of
Ammon, he shall be the leader of the people of Galaad.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 11
1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most
valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a
harlot, and his father was Galaad.
2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they
were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not
inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born
of another mother.
3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of
Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and
robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against
Israel.
5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad
went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and
fight against the children of Ammon.
7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me,
and cast me out of my father's house, and now you are come
to me constrained by necessity?
8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause
we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and
fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all
the inhabitants of Galaad.
9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely,
that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon,
and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be
your prince?
10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he
himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have
promised.
11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all
the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his
words before the Lord in Maspha.
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of
Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me,
that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land
when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the
Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore
the same peaceably to me.
14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to
say to the king of Ammon:
15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of
Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the
desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer
me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend
to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who
likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore
in Cades,
18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land
of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land
of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he
would not enter the bounds of Moab.
19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites,
who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to
pass through thy land to the river.
20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him
not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite
multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong
opposition.
21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the
hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the
land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc,
and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his
people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now
possess this land?
24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due
to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained
by conquest, shall be our possession:
25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of
Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against
Israel and fought against him,
26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages
thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the
cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have
you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou
wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The
Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the
children of Ammon.
28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to
the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and
going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad,
and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver
the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my
house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the
children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to
the Lord.
32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight
against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith,
twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with
vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children
of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his
only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for
he had no other children.
35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas!
my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art
deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I
can do no other thing.
36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy
mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast
promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and
revenge of thy enemies.
37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I
desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for
two months, and may bewail my virginity with my
companions.
38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two
months. And when she was gone with her comrades and
companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her
father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no
man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom
has been kept:
40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble
together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite
for four days.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 12
1 But behold there arose a sedition in Ephraim. And passing
towards the north, they said to Jephte: When thou wentest
to fight against the children of Ammon, why wouldst thou
not call us, that we might go with thee? Therefore we will
burn thy house.
2 And he answered them: I and my people were at great strife
with the children of Ammon: and I called you to assist me,
and you would not do it.
3 And when I saw this, I put my life in my own hands, and
passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord
delivered them into my hands. What have I deserved, that
you should rise up to fight against me?
4 Then calling to him all the men of Galaad, he fought
against Ephraim: and the men of Galaad defeated Ephraim,
because he had said: Galaad is a fugitive of Ephraim, and
dwelleth in the midst of Ephraim and Manasses.
5 And the Galaadites secured the fords of the Jordan, by
which Ephraim was to return. And when any one of the
number of Ephraim came thither in the flight, and said: I
beseech you let me pass: the Galaadites said to him: Art
thou not an Ephraimite? If he said: I am not:
6 They asked him: Say then, Scibboleth, which is
interpreted, An ear of corn. But he answered, Sibboleth,
not being able to express an ear of corn by the same
letter. Then presently they took him and killed him in the
very passage of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of
Ephraim two and forty thousand.
7 And Jephte the Galaadite judged Israel six years: and he
died, and was buried in his city of Galaad.
8 After him Abesan of Bethlehem judged Israel:
9 He had thirty sons, and as many daughters, whom he sent
abroad, and gave to husbands, and took wives for his sons
of the same number, bringing them into his house. And he
judged Israel seven years:
10 And he died, and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 To him succeeded Ahialon a Zahnlonite: and he judged
Israel ten years:
12 And he died, and was buried in ZahnIon.
13 After him Abdon, the son of Illel, a Pharathonite, judged
Israel:
14 And he had forty sons, and of them thirty grandsons,
mounted upon seventy ass colts, and he judged Israel eight
years:
15 And he died, and was buried in Pharathon in the land of
Ephraim, in the mount of Amalech.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 13
1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of
the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the
Philistines forty years.
2 Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of
Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.
3 And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou
art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive
and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware and drink no wine nor strong drink,
and eat not any unclean thing.
5 Because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor
shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God,
from his infancy, and from his mother's womb, and he shall
begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.
6 And when she was come to her husband she said to him: A
man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel,
very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he
came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell
me.
7 But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear
a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor
eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite
of God from his infancy, from his mother's womb until the
day of his death.
8 Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee,
O Lord, that the mail of God, whom thou didst send, may
come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning
the child that shall be born.
9 And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the angel of
the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in
the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And
when she saw the angel,
10 She made haste and ran to her husband: and told him
saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me whom I saw
before.
11 He rose up and followed his wife: and coming to the man,
said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he
answered: I am.
12 And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass,
what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what
shall he keep himself?
13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the
things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain
herself:
14 And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither
let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfil
and observe.
15 And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to
consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.
16 And the angel answered him: If thou press me, I will not
eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust,
offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the angel
of the Lord.
17 And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word
shall come to pass, we may honour thee?
18 And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is
wonderful?
19 Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations,
and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth
wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on.
20 And when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven,
the angel of the lord ascended also in the flame. And when
Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground.
21 And the angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And
forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the
Lord,
22 And he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because
we have seen God.
23 And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill
us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations
at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these
things, nor have told us the things that are to come.
24 And she bore 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 be with him in the
camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 14
1 Then Samson went down to Thamnatlia, and seeing there a
woman of the daughters of the Philistines,
2 He came up, and told his father and his mother, saying: I
saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the
Philistines: I beseech you, take her for me to wife.
3 And his father and mother said to him: Is there no woman
among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my
people, that thou wilt take a wife of the Philistines, who
are uncircumcised? And Samson said to his father: Take
this woman for me, for she hath pleased my eyes.
4 Now his parents knew not that the thing was done by the
Lord, and that he sought an occasion against the
Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion
over Israel.
5 Then Samson went down with his father and mother to
Thamnatha. And when they were come to the vineyards of the
town, behold a young lion met him raging and roaring.
6 And the spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and he tore
the lion as he would have torn a kid in pieces, having
nothing at all in his hand: and he would not tell this to
his father and mother.
7 And he went down and spoke to the woman that had pleased
his eyes.
8 And after some days returning to take her, he went aside
to see the carcass of the lion, and behold there was a
swarm of bees in the mouth of the lion and a honeycomb.
9 And when be had taken it in his hands, he went on eating:
and coming to his father and mother, he gave them of it,
and they ate: but he would not tell them, that he had
taken the honey from the body of the lion.
10 So his father went down to the woman, and made a feast for
his son Samson: for so the young men used to do.
11 And when the citizens of that place saw him, they brought
him thirty companions to be with him.
12 And Samson said to them: I will propose to you a riddle,
which if you declare unto me within the seven days of the
feast, I will give you thirty shirts, and as many coats:
13 But if you shall not be able to declare it, you shall give
me thirty shirts and the same number of coats. They
answered him: Put forth the riddle that we may hear it.
14 And he said to 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 when the seventh day came, they said to the wife of
Samson: Soothe thy husband, and persuade him to tell thee
what the riddle meaneth. But if thou wilt not do it, we
will burn thee, and thy father's house. Have you called us
to the wedding on purpose to strip us?
16 So she wept before Samson and complained, saying: Thou
hatest me, and dost not love me: therefore thou wilt not
expound to me the riddle which thou hast proposed to the
sons of my people. But he answered: I would not tell it to
my father and mother, and how can I tell it to thee?
17 So she wept before him the seven days of the feast: and at
length on the seventh day as she was troublesome to him,
he expounded it. And she immediately told her countrymen.
18 And they on the seventh day before the sun went down said
to him: What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger
than a lion? And he said to them: If you had not ploughed
with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle.
19 And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down
to Ascalon, and slew there thirty men, whose garments he
took away and gave to them that had declared the riddle.
And being exceeding angry he went up to his father's
house:
20 But his wife took one of his friends and bridal companions
for her husband.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 15
1 And a while after, when the days of the wheat harvest were
at hand, Samson came, meaning to visit his wife, and he
brought her a kid of the flock. And when he would have
gone into her chamber as usual, her father would not
suffer him, saying:
2 I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her
to thy friend: but she hath a sister, who is younger and
fairer than she, take her to wife instead of her.
3 And Samson answered him: From this day I shall be
blameless in what I do against the Philistines: for I will
do you evils.
4 And he went and caught three hundred foxes, and coupled
them tail to tail, and fastened torches between the tails.
5 And setting them on fire he let the foxes go, that they
might run about hither and thither. And they presently
went into the standing corn of the Philistines. Which
being set on fire, both the corn that was already carried
together, and that which was yet standing, was all burnt,
insomuch, that the flame consumed also the vineyards and
the oliveyards.
6 Then the Philistines said: Who hath done this thing? And
it was answered: Samson the son in law of the Thamnathite,
because he took away his wife, and gave her to another,
hath done these things. And the Philistines went up and
burnt both the woman and her father.
7 But Samson said to them: Although you have done this, yet
will I be revenged of you, and then I will be quiet.
8 And he made a great slaughter of them, so that in
astonishment they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh.
And going down he dwelt in a cavern of the rock Etam.
9 Then the Philistines going up into the land of Juda,
camped in the place which afterwards was called Lechi,
that is, the Jawbone, where their army was spread.
10 And the men of the tribe of Juda said to them: Why are you
come up against us? They answered: We are come to bind
Samson, and to pay him for what he hath done against us.
11 Wherefore three thousand men of Juda, went down to the
cave of the rock Etam, and said to Samson: Knowest thou
not that the Philistines rule over us? Why wouldst thou do
thus? And he said to them: As they did to me, so have I
done to them.
12 And they said to him, We are come to bind thee and to
deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson
said to them: Swear to me, and promise me, that you will
not kill me.
13 They said: We will not kill thee: but we will deliver thee
up bound. And they bound him with two new cords, and
brought him from the rock Etam.
14 Now when he was come to the place of the Jawbone, and the
Philistines shouting went to meet him, the spirit of the
Lord came strongly upon him: and as the flax is wont to be
consumed at the approach of fire, so the bands with which
he was bound were broken and loosed.
15 And finding a jawbone, even the jawbone of an ass which
lay there, catching it up, be slew therewith a thousand
men.
16 And he said: With the jawbone of an ass, with the jaw of
the colt of asses I have destroyed them, and have slain a
thousand men.
17 And when he had ended these words singing, he threw the
jawbone out of his hand, and called the name of that place
Ramathlechi, which is interpreted the lifting up of the
jawbone.
18 Arid being very thirsty, he cried to the Lord, and said:
Thou hast given this very great deliverance and victory
into the hand of thy servant: and behold I die for thirst,
and shall fall into the hands of the uncircumcised.
19 Then the Lord opened a great tooth in the jaw of the ass,
and waters issued out of it. And when he had drank them he
refreshed his spirit, and recovered his strength.
Therefore the name of that place was called, The Spring of
him that invoked from the jawbone, until this present day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty
years.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 16
1 He went also into Gaza, and saw there a woman a harlot,
and went in unto her.
2 And when the Philistines had beard this, and it was noised
about among them, that Samson was come into the city, they
surrounded him, setting guards at the gate of the city,
and watching there all the night in silence, that in the
morning they might kill him as he went out.
3 But Samson slept till midnight, and then rising he took
both the doors of the gate, with the posts thereof, and
the bolt, and laying them on his shoulders, carried them
up to the top of the hill, which looketh towards Hebron.
4 After this he loved a woman, who dwelt in the valley of
Sorec, and she was called Dalila.
5 And the princes of the Philistines came to her, and said:
Deceive him, and learn of him wherein his great strength
lieth, and how we may be able to overcome him, to bind and
afflict him: which if thou shalt do, we will give thee
every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Dalila said to Samson: Tell me, I beseech thee,
wherein thy greatest strength lieth, and what it is
wherewith if thou wert bound thou couldst not break loose.
7 And Samson answered her: If I shall be bound with seven
cords made of sinews not yet dry, but still moist, I shall
be weak like other men.
8 And the princes of the Philistines brought unto her seven
cords, such is he spoke of, with which she bound him;
9 Men lying privately in wait with her, and in the chamber
expecting the event of the thing, and she cried out to
him: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke
the bands, as a man would break a thread of tow twined
with spittle, when it smelleth the fire: so it was not
known wherein his strength Jay.
10 And Dalila said to him: Behold thou hast mocked me, and
hast told me a false thing: but now at least tell me
wherewith thou mayest be bound.
11 And he answered her: If I shall be bound with new ropes,
that were never in work, I shall be weak and like other
men.
12 Dalila bound him again with these, and cried out: The
Philistines are upon thee, Samson, there being an ambush
prepared for him in the chamber. But he broke the bands
like threads of webs.
13 And Dalila said to him again: How long dost thou deceive
me, and tell me lies? Shew me wherewith thou mayest be
bound. And Samson answered her: If thou plattest the seven
locks of my head with a lace, and tying them round about
a nail fastenest it in the ground, I shall be weak.
14 And when Dalila had done this, she said to him: The
Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And awaking out of his
sleep he drew out the nail with the hairs and the lace.
15 And Dalila said to him: How dost thou say thou lovest me,
when thy mind is not with me? Thou hast told me lies these
three times, and wouldst not tell me wherein thy great
strength lieth.
16 And when she pressed him much, and continually hung upon
him for many days, giving him no time to rest, his soul
fainted away, and was wearied even until death.
17 Then opening the truth of the thing, he said to her: The
razor hath never come upon my head, for I am a Nazarite,
that is to say, consecrated to God from my mother's womb:
if my head be shaven, my strength shall depart from me,
and I shall become weak, and shall be like other men.
18 Then seeing that be had discovered to her all his mind,
she sent to the princes of the Philistines, saying: Come
up this once more, for now he hath opened his heart to me.
And they went up taking with them the money which they had
promised.
19 But she made him sleep upon her knees, and lay his head in
her bosom. And she called a barber, and shaved his seven
locks, and began to drive him away, and thrust him from
her: for immediately his strength departed from him.
20 And she said: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And
awaking from sleep, he said in his mind: I will go out as
I did before, and shake myself, not knowing that the Lord
was departed from him.
21 Then the Philistines seized upon him, and forthwith pulled
out his eyes, and led him bound in chains to Gaza, and
shutting him up in prison made him grind.
22 And now his hair began to grow again.
23 And the princes of the Philistines assembled together, to
offer great sacrifices to Dagon their god, and to make
merry, saying: Our god hath delivered our enemy Samson
into our hands.
24 And the people also seeing this, praised their god, and
said the same: Our god hath delivered our adversary into
our bands, him that destroyed our country and killed very
many.
25 And rejoicing in their feasts, when they had now taken
their good cheer, they commanded that Samson should be
called, and should play before them. And being brought out
of prison he played before them, and they made him stand
between two pillars.
26 And he said to the lad that guided his steps: Suffer me to
touch the pillars which support the whole house, and let
me lean upon them, and rest a little.
27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the
princes of the Philistines were there. Moreover about
three thousand persons of both sexes from the roof and the
higher part of the house, were beholding Samson's play.
28 But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God, remember
me, and restore to me now my former strength, O my God,
that I may revenge myself on my enemies, and for the loss
of my two eyes I may take one revenge.
29 And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house
rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the
other with his left,
30 He said: Let me die with the Philistines. And when he had
strongly shook the pillars, the house fell upon all the
princes, and the rest of the multitude that was there: and
he killed many more at his death, than he had killed
before in his life.
31 And his brethren and all his kindred, going down took his
body, and buried it between Saraa and Esthaol in the
buryingplace of his father Manue: and he judged Israel
twenty years.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 17
1 There was at that time a man of mount Ephraim whose name
was Michas,
2 Who said to his mother: The eleven hundred pieces of
silver, which thou hadst put aside for thyself, and
concerning which thou didst swear in my hearing, behold I
have, and they are with me. And she said to him: Blessed
be my son by the Lord.
3 So he restored them to his mother, who said to him: I have
consecrated and vowed this silver to the Lord, that my son
may receive it at my hand, and make a graven and a molten
god, so now I deliver it to thee.
4 And he restored them to his mother: and she took two
hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith,
to make of them a graven and a molten god, which was in
the house of Michas.
5 And he separated also therein a little temple for the god,
and made an ephod, and theraphim, that is to say, a
priestly garment, and idols: and he filled the hand of one
of his sons, and he became his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every one
did that which seemed right to himself.
7 There was also another young man of Bethlehem Juda, of the
kindred thereof: and he was a Levite, and dwelt there.
8 Now he went out from the city of Bethlehem, and desired to
sojourn wheresoever he should find it convenient for him.
And when he was come to mount Ephraim, as he was on his
journey, and had turned aside a little into the house of
Michas,
9 He was asked by him whence he came. And he answered: I am
a Levite of Bethlehem Juda, and I am going to dwell where
I can, and where I shall find a place to my advantage.
10 And Michas said: Stay with me, and be unto me a father and
a priest, and I will give thee every year ten pieces of
silver, and a double suit of apparel, and thy victuals.
11 He was content, and abode with the man, and was unto him
as one of his sons.
12 And Michas filled his hand, and had the young man with
him, for his priest, saying:
13 Now I know God will do me good, since I have a priest of
the race of the Levites.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 18
1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe
of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in: for unto
that day they had not received their lot among the other
tribes.
2 So the children of Dan sent five most valiant men of their
stock and family from Saraa and Esthaol, to spy out the
land, and to view it diligently: and they said to them:
Go, and view the land. They went on their way, and when
they came to mount Ephraim, they went into the house of
Michas, and rested there:
3 And knowing the voice of the young man the Levite, and
lodging with him, they said to him: Who brought thee
hither? what dost thou here? why wouldst thou come hither?
4 He answered them: Michas hath done such and such things
for me, and hath hired me to be his priest.
5 Then they desired him to consult the Lord, that they might
know whether their journey should be prosperous, and the
thing should have effect.
6 He answered them: Go in peace, the Lord looketh on your
way, and the journey that you go.
7 So the five men going on came to Lais: and they saw how
the people dwelt therein without any fear, according to
the custom of the Sidonians, secure and easy, having no
man at all to oppose them, being very rich, and living
separated, at a distance from Sidon and from all men.
8 And they returned to their brethren in Saraa and Esthaol,
who asked them what they had done? to whom they answered:
9 Arise, and let us go up to them: for we have seen the land
which is exceeding rich and fruitful: neglect not, lose no
time: let us go and possess it, there will be no
difficulty.
10 We shall come to a people that is secure, into a spacious
country, and the Lord will deliver the place to us, in
which there is no want of any thing that groweth on the
earth.
11 There went therefore of the kindred of Dan, to wit, from
Saraa and Esthaol, six hundred men, furnished with arms
for war,
12 And going up they lodged in Cariathiarim of Juda: which
place from that time is called the camp of Dan, and is
behind Cariathiarim.
13 From thence they passed into mount Ephraim. And when they
were come to the house of Michas,
14 The five men, that before had been sent to view the land
of Lais, said to the rest of their brethren: You know that
in these houses there is an ephod, and theraphim, and a
graven, and a molten god: see what you are pleased to do.
15 And when they had turned a little aside, they went into
the house of the young man the Levite, who was in the
house of Michas: and they saluted him with words of peace.
16 And the six hundred men stood before the door, appointed
with their arms.
17 But they that were gone into the house of the young man,
went about to take away the graven god, and the ephod, and
the theraphim, and the molten god, and the priest stood
before the door, the six hundred valiant men waiting not
far off.
18 So they that were gone in took away the graven thing, the
ephod, and the idols, and the molten god. And the priest
said to them: What are you doing?
19 And they said to him: Hold thy peace and put thy finger on
thy mouth and come with us, that we may have thee for a
father, and a priest. Whether is better for thee, to be a
priest in the house of one man, or in a tribe and family
in Israel?
20 When he had heard this, he agreed to their words, and took
the ephod, and the idols, and the graven god, and departed
with them.
21 And when they were going forward, and had put before them
the children and the cattle and all that was valuable,
22 And were now at a distance from the house of Michas, the
men that dwelt in the houses of Michas gathering together
followed them,
23 And began to shout out after them. They looked back, and
said to Michas: What aileth thee? Why dost thou cry?
24 And he answered: You have taken away my gods which I have
made me and the priest, and all that I have, and do you
say: What aileth thee?
25 And the children of Dan said to him: See thou say no more
to us, lest men enraged come upon thee, and thou perish
with all thy house.
26 And so they went on the journey they had begun. But Michas
seeing that they were stronger than he, returned to his
house.
27 And the six hundred men took the priest, and the things we
spoke of before, and came to Lais to a people that was
quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the
sword: and the city was burnt with fire,
28 There being no man at all who brought them any succour,
because they dwelt far from Sidon, and had no society or
business with any man. And the city was in the land of
Rohob: and they rebuilt it and dwelt therein.
29 Calling the name of the city Dan after the name of their
father, who was the son of Israel, which before was called
Lais.
30 And they set up to themselves the graven idol, and
Jonathan the son of Gersam the son of Moses, he and his
sons were priests in the tribe of Dan, until the day of
their captivity.
31 And the idol of Michas remained with them all the time
that the house of God was in Silo. In those days there was
no king in Israel.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 19
1 There was a certain Levite, who dwelt on the side of mount
Ephraim, who took a wife of Bethlehem Juda:
2 And she left him and returned to her father's house in
Bethlehem, and abode with him four months.
3 And her husband followed her, willing to be reconciled
with her, and to speak kindly to her, and to bring her
back with him, having with him a servant and two asses:
and she received him, and brought him into her father's
house. And when his father in law had heard this, and had
seen him, he met him with joy,
4 And embraced the man. And the son in law tarried in the
house of his father in law three days, eating with him and
drinking familiarly.
5 But on the fourth day arising early in the morning he
desired to depart. But his father in law kept him, and
said to him: Taste first a little bread, and strengthen
thy stomach, and so thou shalt depart.
6 And they sat down together, and ate and drank. And the
father of the young woman said to his son in law: I
beseech thee to stay here to day, and let us make merry
together.
7 But he rising up began to be for departing. And
nevertheless his father in law earnestly pressed him, and
made him stay with him.
8 But when morning was come, the Levite prepared to go on
his journey. And his father in law said to him again: I
beseech thee to take a little meat, and strengthening
thyself, till the day be farther advanced, afterwards thou
mayest depart. And they ate together.
9 And the young man arose to set forward with his wife and
servant. And his father in law spoke to him again:
Consider that the day is declining, and draweth toward
evening: tarry with me to day also, and spend the day in
mirth, and to morrow thou shalt depart, that thou mayest
go into thy house.
10 His son in law would not consent to his words: but
forthwith went forward and came over against Jebus, which
by another name is called Jerusalem, leading with him two
asses laden, and his concubine.
11 And now they were come near Jebus, and the day was far
spent: and the servant said to his master: Come, I beseech
thee, let us turn into the city of the Jebusites, and
lodge there.
12 His master answered him: I will not go into the town of
another nation, who are not of the children of Israel, but
I will pass over to Gabaa:
13 And when I shall come thither, we will lodge there, or at
least in the city of Rama.
14 So they passed by Jebus, and went on their journey, and
the sun went down upon them when they were by Gabaa, which
is in the tribe of Benjamin:
15 And they turned into it, to lodge there. And when they
were come in, they sat in the street of the city, for no
man would receive them to lodge.
16 And behold they saw an old man, returning out of the field
and from his work in the evening, and he also was of mount
Ephraim, and dwelt as a stranger in Gabaa; but the men of
that country were the children of Jemini.
17 And the old man lifting up his eyes, saw the man sitting
with his bundles in the street of the city, and said to
him: Whence comest thou? and whither goest thou?
18 He answered him: We came out from Bethlehem Juda, and we
are going to our home, which is on the side of mount
Ephraim, from whence we went to Bethlehem: and now we go
to the house of God, and none will receive us under his
roof:
19 We have straw and hay for provender of the asses, and
bread and wine for the use of myself and of thy handmaid,
and of the servant that is with me: we want nothing but
lodging.
20 And the old man answered him: Peace be with thee: I will
furnish all things that are necessary: only I beseech
thee, stay not in the street.
21 And he brought him into his house, and gave provender to
his asses: and after they had washed their feet, he
entertained them with a feast.
22 While they were making merry, and refreshing their bodies
with meat and drink, after the labour of the journey, the
men of that city, sons of Belial, (that is, without yoke,)
came and beset the old man's house, and began to knock at
the door, calling to the master of the house, and saying:
Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may
abuse him.
23 And the old man went out to them, and said: Do not so, my
brethren, do not so wickedly: because this man is come
into my lodging, and cease I pray you from this folly.
24 I have a maiden daughter, and this man hath a concubine,
I will bring them out to you, and you may humble them, and
satisfy your lust: only, I beseech you, commit not this
crime against nature on the man.
25 They would not be satisfied with his words; which the man
seeing, brought out his concubine to them, and abandoned
her to their wickedness: and when they had abused her all
the night, they let her go in the morning.
26 But the woman, at the dawning of the day, came to the door
of the house where her lord lodged, and there fell down.
27 And in the morning the man arose, and opened the door that
he might end the journey he had begun: and behold his
concubine lay before the door with her hands spread on the
threshold.
28 He thinking she was taking her rest, said to her: Arise,
and let us be going. But as she made no answer, perceiving
she was dead, he took her up, and laid her upon his ass,
and returned to his house.
29 And when he was come home he took a sword, and divided the
dead body of his wife with her bones into twelve parts,
and sent the pieces into all the borders of Israel.
30 And when every one had seen this, they all cried out:
There was never such a thing done in Israel from the day
that our fathers came up out of Egypt, until this day:
give sentence, and decree in common what ought to be done.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 20
1 Then all the children of Israel went out and gathered
together as one man from Dan to Bersabee, with the land of
Galaad, to the Lord in Maspha:
2 And all the chiefs of the people, and all the tribes of
Israel met together in the assembly of the people of God,
four hundred thousand footmen fit for war.
3 (Nor were the children of Benjamin ignorant that the
children of Israel were come up to Maspha.) And the Levite
the husband of the woman that was killed, being asked, how
so great a wickedness had been committed,
4 Answered: I came into Gabaa of Benjamin with my wife, and
there I lodged:
5 And behold the men of that city in the night beset the
house wherein I was, intending to kill me, and abused my
wife with an incredible fury of lust, so that at last she
died.
6 And I took her and cut her in pieces, and sent the, parts
into all the borders of your possession: because there
never was so heinous a crime, and so great an abomination
committed in Israel.
7 You are all here, O children of Israel, determine what you
ought to do.
8 And all the people standing, answered as by the voice of
one man: We will not return to our tents, neither shall
any one of us go into his own house:
9 But this we will do in common against Gabaa:
10 We will take ten men of a hundred out of all the tribes of
Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand
out of ten thousand, to bring victuals for the army, that
we might fight against Gabaa of Benjamin, and render to it
for its wickedness, what it deserveth.
11 And all Israel were gathered together against the city, as
one man, with one mind, and one counsel:
12 And they sent messengers to all the tribe of Benjamin to
say to them: Why hath so great an abomination been found
among you?
13 Deliver up the men of Gabaa, that have committed this
heinous crime, that they may die, and the evil may be
taken away out of Israel. But they would not hearken to
the proposition of their brethren the children of Israel:
14 But out of all the cities which were of their lot, they
gathered themselves together into Gabaa, to aid them, and
to fight against the whole people of Israel.
15 And there were found of Benjamin five and twenty thousand
men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa,
16 Who were seven hundred most valiant men, fighting with the
left hand as well as with the right: and slinging stones
so sure that they could hit even a hair, and not miss by
the stone's going on either side.
17 Of the men of Israel also, beside the children of
Benjamin, were found four hundred thousand that drew
swords, and were prepared to fight.
18 And they arose and came to the house of God, that is, to
Silo: and they consulted God, and said: Who shall be in
our army the first to go to the battle against the
children of Benjamin? And the Lord answered them: Let Juda
be your leader.
19 And forthwith the children of Israel rising in the
morning, camped by Gabaa:
20 And going out from thence to fight against Benjamin, began
to assault the city.
21 And the children of Benjamin coming out of Gabaa, slew of
the children of Israel that day two and twenty thousand
men.
22 Again Israel trusting in their strength and their number,
set their army in array in the same place, where they had
fought before:
23 Yet so that they first went up and wept before the Lord
until night: and consulted him, and said: Shall I go out
any more to fight against the children of Benjamin my
brethren, or not? And he answered them: Go up against
them, and join battle.
24 And when the children of Israel went out the next day to
fight against the children of Benjamin,
25 The children of Benjamin sallied forth out of the gates of
Gabaa: and meeting them made so great a slaughter of them,
as to kill eighteen thousand men that drew the sword.
26 Wherefore all the children of Israel came to the house of
God, and sat and wept before the Lord: and they fasted
that day till the evening, and offered to him holocausts,
and victims of peace offerings,
27 And inquired of him concerning their state. At that time
the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there,
28 And Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron was over
the house. So they consulted the Lord and said: Shall we
go out any more to fight against the children of Benjamin
our brethren, or shall we cease? And the Lord said to
them: Go up, for to morrow I will deliver them into your
hands.
29 And the children of Israel set ambushes round about the
city of Gabaa:
30 And they drew up their army against Benjamin the third
time, as they had done the first and second.
31 And the children of Benjamin boldly issued out of the
city, and seeing their enemies flee, pursued them a long
way, so as to wound and kill some of them, as they had
done the first and second day, whilst they fled by two
highways, whereof one goeth up to Bethel, and the other to
Gabaa, and they slew about thirty men:
32 For they thought to cut them off, as they did before. But
they artfully feigning a flight, designed to draw them
away from the city, and by their seeming to flee to bring
them to the highways aforesaid.
33 Then all the children of Israel rising up out of the
places where they were, set their army in battle array, in
the place which is called Baalthamar. The ambushes also
which were about the city, began by little and little to
come forth,
34 And to march from the west side of the city. And other ten
thousand men chosen out of all Israel attacked the
inhabitants of the city. And the battle grew hot against
the children of Benjamin: and they understood not that
present death threatened them on every side.
35 And the Lord defeated them before the children of Israel,
and they slew of them in that day five and twenty
thousand, and one hundred, all fighting men and that drew
the sword.
36 But the children of Benjamin when they saw themselves to
be too weak, began to flee. Which the children of Israel
seeing, gave them place to flee, that they might come to
the ambushes that were prepared, which they had set near
the city.
37 And they that were in ambush arose on a sudden out of
their coverts, and whilst Benjamin turned their backs to
the slayers, went into the city, and smote it with the
edge of the sword.
38 Now the children of Israel had given a sign to them, whom
they had laid in ambushes, that after they had taken the
city, they should make a fire: that by the smoke rising on
high, they might shew that the city was taken.
39 And when the children of Israel saw this in the battle
(for the children of Benjamin thought they fled and
pursued them vigorously, killing thirty men of their army)
40 And perceived as it were a pillar of smoke rise up from
the city; and Benjamin looking back, saw that the city was
taken, and that the flames ascended on high:
41 They that before had made as if they fled, turning their
faces stood bravely against them; which the children of
Benjamin seeing, turned their backs,
42 And began to go towards the way of the desert, the enemy
pursuing them thither also. And they that fired the city
came also out to meet them.
43 And so it was, that they were slain on both sides by the
enemies, and there was no rest of their men dying. They
fell and were beaten down on the east side of the city
Gabaa.
44 And they that were slain in the same place were eighteen
thousand men, all most valiant soldiers.
45 And when they that remained of Benjamin saw this, they
fled into the wilderness and made towards the rock that is
called Remmon. In that flight, also as they were
straggling and going different ways, they slew of them
five thousand men. And as they went farther, they still
pursued them, and slew also other two thousand.
46 And so it came to pass, that all that were slain of
Benjamin in divers places, were five and twenty thousand
fighting men, most valiant for war.
47 And there remained of all the number of Benjamin only six
hundred men that were able to escape, and flee to the
wilderness: and they abode in the rock Remmon four months.
48 But the children of Israel returning, put all the remains
of the city to the sword, both men and beasts, and all the
cities and villages of Benjamin were consumed with
devouring flames.
The Book of Judges, Chapter 21
1 Now the children of Israel had also sworn in Maspha,
saying: None of us shall give of his daughters to the
children of Benjamin to wife.
2 And they all came to the house of God in Silo, and abiding
before him till the evening, lifted up their voices, and
began to lament and weep, saying:
3 O Lord God of Israel, why is so great an evil come to pass
in thy people, that this day one tribe should be taken
away from among us?
4 And rising early the next day, they built an altar: and
offered there holocausts, and victims of peace, and they
said:
5 Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not
up with the army of the Lord? for they had bound
themselves with a great oath, when they were in Maspha,
that whosoever were wanting should be slain.
6 And the children of Israel being moved with repentance for
their brother Benjamin, began to say: One tribe is taken
away from Israel.
7 Whence shall they take wives? For we have all in general
sworn, not to give our daughters to them.
8 Therefore they said: Who is thereof all the tribes of
Israel, that came not up to the Lord to Maspha. And behold
the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad were found not to have
been in that army.
9 (At that time also when they were in Silo, no one of them
was found there.)
10 So they sent ten thousand of the most valiant men, and
commanded them, saying: Go and put the inhabitants of
Jabes Galaad to the sword, with their wives and their
children.
11 And this is what you shall observe: Every male, and all
women that have known men, you shall kill, but the virgins
you shall save.
12 And there were found of Jabes Galaad four hundred virgins,
that had not known the bed of a man, and they brought them
to the camp Silo, into the land of Chanaan.
13 And they sent messengers to the children of Benjamin, that
were in the rock Remmon, and commanded them to receive
them in peace.
14 And the children of Benjamin came at that time, and wives
were given them of the daughters of Jabes Galaad: but they
found no others, whom they might give in like manner.
15 And all Israel was very sorry, and repented for the
destroying of one tribe out of Israel.
16 And the ancients said: What shall we do with the rest,
that have not received wives? for all the women in
Benjamin are dead.
17 And we must use all care, and provide with great
diligence, that one tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18 For as to our own daughters we cannot give them, being
bound with an oath and a curse, whereby we said: Cursed be
he that shall give Benjamin any of his daughters to wife.
19 So they took counsel, and said: Behold there is a yearly
solemnity of the Lord in Silo, which is situate on the
north of the city of Bethel, and on the east side of the
way, that goeth from Bethel to Sichem, and on the south of
the town of Lebona.
20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, and said: Go,
and lie hid in the vineyards,
21 And when you shall see the daughters of Silo come out, as
the custom is, to dance, come ye on a sudden out of the
vineyards, and catch you every man his wife among them,
and go into the land of Benjamin.
22 And when their fathers and their brethren shall come, and
shall begin to complain against you, and to chide, we will
say to them: Have pity on them for they took them not away
as by the right of war or conquest, but when they asked to
have them, you gave them not, and the fault was committed
on your part.
23 And the children of Benjamin did, as they had been
commanded: and according to their number, they carried off
for themselves every man his wife of them that were
dancing: and they went into their possession and built up
their cities, and dwelt in them.
24 The children of Israel also returned by their tribes, and
families, to their dwellings. In those days there was no
king in Israel: but every one did that which seemed right
to himself.
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