14:19The Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and struck thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changesof clothingto those who declared the riddle. His anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.14:20But Samson's wife wasgivento his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
15:1But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.15:2Her father said, I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.15:3Samson said to them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.15:4Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails.15:5When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.15:6Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? They said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.15:7Samson said to them, If you do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.15:8He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.15:9Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.15:10The men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.15:11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.15:12They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.15:13They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.15:14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.15:15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.15:16Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.15:17It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.15:18He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.15:19But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.15:20He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
16:1Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.16:2It was toldthe Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying,Let beuntil morning light, then we will kill him.16:3Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.16:4It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.16:5The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will each give you of us eleven hundredpiecesof silver.16:6Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.16:7Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.16:8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.16:9Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner chamber. She said to him, "The Philistines are on you, Samson!" He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.16:10Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, Please, with which you might be bound.16:11He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.16:12So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. The ambush was waiting in the inner chamber. He broke them off his arms like a thread.16:13Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto you have mocked me, and told me lies: tell me with which you might be bound. He said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.16:14She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.16:15She said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me in which your great strength lies.16:16It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death.16:17He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man."16:18When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.16:19She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.16:20She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn't know that Yahweh had departed from him.16:21The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground at the mill in the prison.16:22However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.16:23The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.16:24When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us.16:25It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. They called for Samson out of the prison; and he made sport before them. They set him between the pillars:16:26and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them.16:27Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.16:28Samson called to Yahweh, and said, Lord Yahweh, remember me, Please, and strengthen me, Please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.16:29Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.16:30Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.16:31Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.
17:1There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.17:2He said to his mother, The eleven hundredpiecesof silver that were taken from you, about which you did utter a curse, and did also speak it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. His mother said, Blessed be my son of Yahweh.17:3He restored the eleven hundredpiecesof silver to his mother; and his mother said, I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it to you.17:4When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundredpiecesof silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.17:5The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.17:6In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.17:7There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.17:8The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to sojourn where he could finda place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.17:9Micah said to him, Whence come you? He said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may finda place.17:10Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you tenpiecesof silver by the year, and a suit of clothing, and your food. So the Levite went in.17:11The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.17:12Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.17:13Then said Micah, Now know I that Yahweh will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
18:1In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for to that daytheirinheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.18:2The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land. They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.18:3When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, Who brought you here? and what do you in this place? and what have you here?18:4He said to them, Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest.18:5They said to him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.18:6The priest said to them, Go in peace: before Yahweh is your way wherein you go.18:7Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might putthemto shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.18:8They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, Whatsayyou?18:9They said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good: and are you still? don't be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.18:10When you go, you shall come to a people secure, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.18:11There set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.18:12They went up, and encamped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan, to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.18:13They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.18:14Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what you have to do.18:15They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.18:16The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.18:17The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.18:18When these went into Micah's house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What do you?18:19They said to him, Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?18:20The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.18:21So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.18:22When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.18:23They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company?18:24He said, you have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say you to me, What ails you?18:25The children of Dan said to him, "Don't let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household."18:26The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.18:27They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.18:28There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein.18:29They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.18:30The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.18:31So they set them up Micah's engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
19:1It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.19:2His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there the space of four months.19:3Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.19:4His father-in-law, the young lady's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there.19:5It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.19:6So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together: and the young lady's father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.19:7The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.19:8He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them.19:9When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady's father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.19:10But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.19:11When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.19:12His master said to him, We won't turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.19:13He said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.19:14So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.19:15They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to lodge.19:16Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.19:17He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? and whence come you?19:18He said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim; from there am I, and I went to Bethlehem Judah: and I amnowgoing to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into his house.19:19Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything.19:20The old man said, Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don't lodge in the street.19:21So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet, and ate and drink.19:22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into your house, that we may know him.19:23The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, please don't act so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, don't do this folly.19:24Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man don't do any such folly.19:25But the men wouldn't listen to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.19:26Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until it was light.19:27Her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.19:28He said to her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and got him to his place.19:29When he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.19:30It was so, that all who saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
20:1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah.20:2The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword.20:3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?20:4The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.20:5The men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house by night. They thought to have slain me, and they forced my concubine, and she is dead.20:6I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.20:7Behold, you children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.20:8All the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house.20:9But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah:we will go upagainst it by lot;20:10and we will take ten men of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to get food for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have worked in Israel.20:11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.20:12The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is happen among you?20:13Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Israel.20:14The children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.20:15The children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.20:16Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.20:17The men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all these were men of war.20:18The children of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? Yahweh said, Judahshall go upfirst.20:19The children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.20:20The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.20:21The children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day Twenty-two thousand men.20:22The people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.20:23The children of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until even; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? Yahweh said, Go up against him.20:24The children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.20:25Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.20:26Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.20:27The children of Israel asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,20:28and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? Yahweh said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.20:29Israel set ambushes all around Gibeah.20:30The children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.20:31The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.20:32The children of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.20:33All the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal Tamar: and the ambushers of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba.20:34There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they didn't know that evil was close on them.20:35Yahweh struck Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.20:36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah.20:37The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.20:38Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.20:39The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.20:40But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the sky.20:41The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them.20:42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in its midst.20:43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them,andtrod them down attheirresting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrise.20:44There fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all theseweremen of valor.20:45They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.20:46So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all theseweremen of valor.20:47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.20:48The men of Israel turned again on the children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the livestock, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife.21:2The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.21:3They said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?21:4It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.21:5The children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn't come up in the assembly to Yahweh? For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn't come up to Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.21:6The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.21:7How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?21:8They said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn't come up to Yahweh to Mizpah? Behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.21:9For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.21:10The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.21:11This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain by man.21:12They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.21:13The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.21:14Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead: and yet so they weren't enough for them.21:15The people grieved for Benjamin, because that Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.21:16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?21:17They said, There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.21:18However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.21:19They said, Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.21:20They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,21:21and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come you out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.21:22It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, Grant them graciously to us, because we didn't take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else would you now be guilty.21:23The children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and lived in them.21:24The children of Israel departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.21:25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Notes:
[1]back to 6:24or, Yahweh Shalom
[2]back to 11:16or, Sea of Reeds
1:1It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.1:2The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab, and continued there.1:3Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.1:4They took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they lived there about ten years.1:5Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her two children and of her husband.1:6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that Yahweh had visited his people in giving them bread.1:7She went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.1:8Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me.1:9Yahweh grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept.1:10They said to her, No, but we will return with you to your people.1:11Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will you go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?1:12Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons;1:13would you therefore wait until they were grown? would you therefore stay from having husbands? nay, my daughters, for it grieves me much for your sakes, for the hand of Yahweh is gone forth against me.1:14They lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth joined with her.1:15She said, Behold, your sister-in-law is gone back to her people, and to her god: return you after your sister-in-law.1:16Ruth said, "Don't entreat me to leave you, and to return from following after you, for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God;1:17where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried: Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death part you and me."1:18When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her.1:19So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. It happened, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, andthe womensaid, Is this Naomi?1:20She said to them, "Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.1:21I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty; why do you call me Naomi, seeing Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?"1:22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
2:1Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.2:2Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. She said to her, Go, my daughter.2:3She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.2:4Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, Yahweh be with you. They answered him, Yahweh bless you.2:5Then said Boaz to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose young lady is this?2:6The servant who was set over the reapers answered, It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:2:7She said, Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she stayed a little in the house.2:8Then said Boaz to Ruth, Don't you hear, my daughter? Don't go to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.2:9Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them: haven't I commanded the young men not to touch you? and when you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.2:10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?2:11Boaz answered her, It has fully been shown me, all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband; and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn't know before.2:12Yahweh recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you are come to take refuge.2:13Then she said, Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your handmaid, though I am not as one of your handmaidens.2:14At meal time Boaz said to her, Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar. She sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she ate, and was sufficed, and left of it.2:15When she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don't reproach her.2:16Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and don't rebuke her.2:17So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.2:18She took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.2:19Her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? and where have you worked? blessed be he who did take knowledge of you. She showed her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.2:20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Yahweh, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. Naomi said to her, The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.2:21Ruth the Moabitess said, Yes, he said to me, You shall keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.2:22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.2:23So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
3:1Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?3:2Now isn't Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing floor.3:3Wash yourself therefore, and anoint you, and put your clothing on you, and get you down to the threshing floor, but don't make yourself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.3:4It shall be, when he lies down, that you shall mark the place where he shall lie, and you shall go in, and uncover his feet, and lay you down; and he will tell you what you shall do.3:5She said to her, All that you say I will do.3:6She went down to the threshing floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law told her.3:7When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.3:8It happened at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet.3:9He said, Who are you? She answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman.3:10He said, Blessed are you by Yahweh, my daughter: you have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as you didn't follow young men, whether poor or rich.3:11Now, my daughter, don't be afraid; I will do to you all that you say; for all the city of my people does know that you are a worthy woman.3:12Now it is true that I am a near kinsman; however there is a kinsman nearer than I.3:13Stay this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform to you the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to you, then will I do the part of a kinsman to you, as Yahweh lives: lie down until the morning.3:14She lay at his feet until the morning. She rose up before one could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.3:15He said, Bring the mantle that is on you, and hold it; and she held it; and he measured sixmeasuresof barley, and laid it on her: and he went into the city.3:16When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who are you, my daughter? She told her all that the man had done to her.3:17She said, These sixmeasuresof barley gave he me; for he said, "Don't go empty to your mother-in-law."3:18Then said she, "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest, until he has finished the thing this day."
4:1Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; to whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. He turned aside, and sat down.4:2He took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit you down here. They sat down.4:3He said to the near kinsman, Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:4:4I thought to disclose it to you, saying, Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it: but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it besides you; and I am after you. He said, I will redeem it.4:5Then said Boaz, What day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.4:6The near kinsman said, I can't redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance: take my right of redemption on you; for I can't redeem it.4:7Now this wasthe customin former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was themanner ofattestation in Israel.4:8So the near kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself. He drew off his shoe.4:9Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.4:10Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place: you are witnesses this day.4:11All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two built the house of Israel: and do you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem:4:12and let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Yahweh shall give you of this young woman.4:13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and Yahweh gave her conception, and she bore a son.4:14The women said to Naomi, Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel.4:15He shall be to you a restorer of life, and sustain you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.4:16Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.4:17The women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they named him Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.4:18Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,4:19and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab,4:20and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon,4:21and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed,4:22and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.