Bible (Bishops')/Judges

Chapter 1

¹After the death of Iosuah, it came to passe, that the childre of Israel asked the Lord, saying: who shall go vp for vs against the Chanaanites, to fight fyrste against them?

²And the Lorde sayde, Iuda shall go vp: beholde, I haue deliuered the land into his handes.

³And Iuda sayde vnto Simeon his brother: Come vp with me in my lot, that we may fight against the Chanaanites, and I likewyse will go with thee into thy lot. And so Simeon went with him.

⁴And Iuda went vp, and the Lord deliuered the Chanaanites and Pherezites into their handes: And they slue of them in Bezek ten thousande men.

⁵And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: And they fought against him, and slue the Chanaanites and Pherezites.

⁶But Adonibezek fled, and they folowed after hym, caught hym, and cut of his thombes and his great toes.

⁷And Adonibezek sayde, Three score and ten kinges hauing their thombes & great toes cut of, gathered their meate vnder my table: As I haue done, so God hath done to me agayne. And they brought him to Hierusalem, and there he died.

⁸(The childre of Iuda had fought against Hierusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, & set the citie on fire.)

⁹Afterward the children of Iuda went downe to fight against the Chanaanites that dwelt in the mountayne & towarde the south, & in the lowe countrey.

¹⁰And Iuda went against the Chanaanites that dwelt in Hebron, whiche before time was called Kiriath Arba, & slue Sesai, Ahiman, and Thalmai.

¹¹And from thence they went to the inhabitauntes of Dabir, whose name in olde time was called Kiriachsepher.

¹²And Caleb sayd: He that smiteth Kiriathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I geue Achsah my daughter to wyfe.

¹³And Othoniel the sonne of Kenez Calebs younger brother toke it: to whom he gaue Achsah his daughter to wyfe.

¹⁴When she came to him, she counsayled him to aske of her father a fielde: And then she lighted of her asse, and Caleb sayde vnto her, What wilt thou?

¹⁵She aunswered vnto him, Geue me a blessing: for thou hast geuen me a southward land, geue me also springes of water. And Caleb gaue her springes, both aboue and beneath.

¹⁶And the childre of the Kenite Moyses father in lawe, went vp out of the citie of paulme trees with the children of Iuda, into the wildernesse of Iuda, that lieth in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt among the people.

¹⁷And Iuda went with Simeon his brother, and they slue the Chanaanites that inhabited Zephath, and vtterly destroyed it, and called the name of the citie Horma.

¹⁸And also Iuda toke Azzah with the coastes therof, & Askalon with ye coastes therof, and Akaron with the coastes therof.

¹⁹And the Lorde was with Iuda, and he conquered the mountaines: but could not dryue out the inhabitauntes of the valleyes, because they had charettes of iron.

²⁰And they gaue Hebron vnto Caleb, as Moyses sayde: And he expelled thence the three sonnes of Anak.

²¹And the children of Beniamin did not cast out the Iebusites that inhabited Hierusalem: but the Iebusites dwell with the children of Beniamin in Hierusalem vnto this day.

²²And in like maner they that were of the house of Ioseph went vp to Bethel, and the Lorde was with them.

²³And the house of Ioseph searched out Bethel, whiche before time was called Luz.

²⁴And the spyes sawe a man come out of the citie, & they sayd vnto him: Shewe vs we pray thee the way into the citie, and we will shewe thee mercy.

²⁵And when he had shewed them the way into the citie, they smote it with the edge of the sworde: but let the man and all his housholde go free.

²⁶And the man went into the land of the Hethites, and buylt a citie, and called the name therof Luz: whiche is the name therof vnto this day.

²⁷Neither did Manasses expell Bethsean with her townes, Thanach with her townes, the inhabitours of Dor with her townes, the inhabitours of Ieblaam with her townes, neither the inhabitours of Magiddo with her townes: but the Chanaanites were bolde to dwell in the lande.

²⁸But it came to passe, that assoone as Israel was waxed mightie, they put the Chanaanites to tribute, and expelled them not wholly.

²⁹In lyke maner Ephraim expelled not the Chanaanites that dwelt in Gazer: but the Chanaanites dwelt still in Gazer among them.

³⁰Neither dyd Zabulon expell the inhabitours of Ketron, neither the inhabitours of Nahalol: but the Chanaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

³¹Neither did Aser cast out the inhabitours of Acho, neither the inhabitours of Zidon, and of Ahalab, Aczib, & Helbah, Aphek, nor of Rohob:

³²But the Aserites dwelt among the Chanaanites the inhabitours of the lande: for they dyd not dryue them out.

³³Neither dyd Nephthalim dryue out the inhabitours of Bethsames, nor the inhabitours of Bethanath: but dwelt amongest the Chanaanites the inhabitours of the lande. Neuerthelesse, the inhabitours of Bethsames and of Bethanath became tributaries vnto them.

³⁴And the Amorites droue the children of Dan into the mountayne, and suffered them not to come downe to the valley.

³⁵And the Amorites were content to dwell in mount Heres in Aialon, and in Salabim: And the hande of Ioseph preuayled, so that they became tributaries.

³⁶And the coast of the Amorites was from the goyng vp to Acrabim, & from the rocke vpwarde.

Chapter 2

¹And the angel of the Lorde came vp from Gilgal to Bochim, and sayde: I made you to go out of Egipt, & haue brought you vnto the lande whiche I sware vnto your fathers: And I sayde, I will neuer breake myne appoyntment that I made with you.

²And ye also shall make no couenaunt with the inhabitours of this lande, but shall breake downe their aulters: Neuerthelesse, ye haue not hearkened vnto my voyce: why haue ye this done?

³Wherfore I haue lykewyse determined, that I will not cast them out before you: but they shalbe as thornes vnto you, and their goddes shalbe a snare vnto you.

⁴And when the angel of the Lord spake these wordes vnto all the children of Israel, the people cryed out and wept:

⁵And called the name of the sayd place Bochim, & offered sacrifices vnto the Lorde.

⁶And whe Iosuah had sent the people away, the children of Israel went euery man into his inheritaunce to possesse the lande.

⁷And the people serued the Lorde all the dayes of Iosuah, & all the dayes of the elders that outlyued Iosuah, & had seene al the great workes of the Lorde that he dyd for Israel.

⁸And Iosuah the sonne of Nun, the seruaunt of the Lorde died, when he was an hundreth and ten yeres olde:

⁹Whom they buried in the coastes of his inheritaunce [euen] in Thimnath Heres in mount Ephraim, on the northside of the hil Gaas.

¹⁰And euen so all that generation were put vnto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which neither knewe the Lorde, nor yet the workes whiche he had done for Israel.

¹¹And then the children of Israel dyd wickedly in the sight of the Lorde, and serued Baalim,

¹²And forsoke the Lord God of their fathers, whiche brought them out of the lande of Egypt, and folowed straunge goddes, euen of the goddes of the nations that were rounde about them, and bowed them selues vnto them, and angred the Lorde:

¹³They forsoke the Lorde, and serued Baal and Astharoth.

¹⁴And the wrath of the Lord waxed hot agaynst Israel, and he deliuered them into the handes of raueners, that spoyled them, & solde them into the handes of their enemies rounde about them, so that they had no power any longer to stande before their enemies.

¹⁵But whythersoeuer they went out, the hand of the Lord was sore against them, euen as the Lord promised them, and as he sware vnto them: And he punished them sore.

¹⁶Neuerthelesse the Lorde raysed vp iudges, which deliuered them out of the handes of their oppressers.

¹⁷And yet for all that they woulde not hearken vnto their iudges: but rather went a whoring after straunge goddes, and bowed them selues vnto them, and turned quickly out of the way, whiche their fathers walked in, obeying the comaundementes of the Lorde: But they dyd not so.

¹⁸And when the Lorde raysed them vp iudges, he was with the iudge, and deliuered them out of the handes of their enemies all the dayes of the iudge: ( for the Lord had compassion ouer their sorowinges, whiche they had by the reason of them that oppressed them & vexed them:)

¹⁹Yet for all that, assoone as the iudge was dead, they returned, and dyd worse then their fathers, in folowing straunge goddes, to serue them & worship them: and ceassed not from their owne inuentions, nor from their malitious way.

²⁰And the wrath of the Lorde was moued against Israel, and he sayde: Because this people hath trasgressed myne appoyntment whiche I commaunded their fathers, and haue not hearkened vnto my voyce:

²¹I will hencefoorth not cast out before them one man of the nations whiche Iosuah left when he dyed:

²²That through them I may proue Israel, whether they wil kepe the way of the Lorde, and walke therin as their fathers dyd, or not.

²³And so the Lorde left those nations, and droue them not out immediatly, neither deliuered them into the hande of Iosuah.

Chapter 3

¹These are the nations whiche the Lorde left, that he might proue Israel by them: (euen as many of Israel as had not knowen al the warres of Chanaan:

²Onely for the learning of the generations of the childre of Israel that he also might teach them warre, onely such as before knewe nothing therof.)

³Of those whom he left, there were fiue lordes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonites, & the Heuites that dwelt in mount Libanon, euen from mount Baal Hermon, vnto one come to Hamath.

⁴Those remayned to proue Israel by, and to wyt whether they would hearken vnto the commaundementes of the Lorde, which he commaunded their fathers by the hande of Moyses.

⁵And the children of Israel dwelt among the Chanaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Pherezites, Heuites, and Iebusites,

⁶And toke the daughters of them to be their wiues, & gaue their own daughters to their sonnes, and serued their goddes.

⁷And the children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the Lorde, and forgat the Lorde their God, and serued Baalim and Astheroth.

⁸Therfore the Lorde was angry with Israel, and he solde them into the handes of Chusan Risathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel serued Chusan Risathaim eyght yeres.

⁹And when the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lorde, the Lorde stirred vp a sauer to the children of Israel, & saued them, euen Othoniel the sonne of Kenes, Calebs younger brother.

¹⁰And the spirite of the Lorde came vpon him, and he iudged Israel, & went out to warre: And the Lorde deliuered Chusan Risathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hande, and his hande preuayled against Chusan Risathaim.

¹¹And the land had rest fourtie yeres: and Othoniel the sonne of Kenes died.

¹²And the children of Israel agayne committed wickednes in the sight of the Lorde: And the Lorde strengthed Eglon the king of the Moabites, against the children of Israel, because they had committed wickednes before the Lorde

¹³And this [Eglon] gathered vnto him the children of Ammon, and the Amalekites, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the citie of Panlme trees.

¹⁴And so the children of Israel serued Eglon the king of Moab 18 yeres.

¹⁵But when they cryed vnto the Lord, the Lord stirred them vp a sauer, Ahud the sonne of Gera the sonne of Gemini, a man lame of his right hande: and by him the children of Israel sent a present vnto Eglon the king of Moab.

¹⁶But Ahud made him a dagger with two edges, of a cubite length, and he did gyrde it vnto his raymet vpon his right thygh,

¹⁷And caried the present vnto Eglon the king of Moab: (And Eglon was a very fatte man.)

¹⁸And when he had presented the present, he sent the people that bare it away:

¹⁹But he him selfe turned agayne (from the place of grauen images, that was by Gilgal) and sayde: I haue a secret errande vnto thee, O king. Which sayde: Kepe scilence. And all that stoode before hym, went out from him.

²⁰And Ahud came vnto him, and in a sommer parler whiche he had, sate he him selfe alone: and Ahud sayd, I haue a message vnto thee from God. And he arose out of his seate.

²¹And Ahud put foorth his left hande, & toke the dagger from his right thygh, and thrust it into his belly.

²²And the hafte went in after the blade: and the fatte closed the haft, so that he might not drawe the dagger out of his belly, but the dyrt came out.

²³Then Ahud gat him out into the porche, and shut the doores of the parler vpon him, and locked them.

²⁴When he was gone out, his seruauntes came: And when they sawe that the doores of the parler were locked, they sayde, Suerly he couereth his feete in his sommer chamber.

²⁵And they taried till they were ashamed, and seyng he opened not the doores of the parler, they toke a key and opened them: And beholde, their Lorde was fallen downe dead on the earth.

²⁶And Ahud escaped whyle they taried and was gone beyonde, to the place of the grauen images, and escaped into Seirath.

²⁷And when he was come, he blewe a trumpet in mount Ephraim: And the childre of Israel went downe with him from the hill, and he went before them.

²⁸And he sayde vnto them, folowe me: for the Lorde hath deliuered your enemies the Moabites into your hande. And they descended after him, and toke the passages of Iordane toward Moab, and suffered not a man to passe ouer.

²⁹And they slue of the Moabites the same time vpon a ten thousande men, which were all fatte, & men of warre, and there scaped not a man.

³⁰So Moab was subdued that day vnder the hande of Israel: And the lande had rest fourescore yeres.

³¹After him was Samgar the sonne of Anath, whiche slue of the Philistines sixe hundred men with an oxe goade, and deliuered Israel also.

Chapter 4

¹And the children of Israel began agayne to do wickedly in ye sight of the Lord, when Ahud was dead.

²And the Lorde sold them into the hand of Iabin king of Chanaan, that raigned in Hazor, whose captayne of warre was called Sisara, which dwelt in Haroseth of the gentiles.

³And the children of Israel cried vnto the Lord (for he had nine hundreth charettes of yron: & twentie yeres he troubled the children of Israel very sore.)

⁴And Debora a prophetisse, the wife of Lapidoth, iudged Israel the same time.

⁵And the same Debora dwelt vnder a paulme tree, betweene Ramath & Bethel, in mount Ephraim: And the children of Israel came vp to her for iudgment.

⁶And she sent, and called Barak the sonne of Abinoam, out of Kedes Nephthalim, and sayd vnto him: Hath not the Lorde God of Israel commaunded, saying: Go, and drawe toward mount Thabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Nephthalim, and of the children of Zabulon?

⁷And I will bring vnto thee to the riuer Kison, Sisara ye captayne of warre, vnto Iabin, with his charettes and his people, and will deliuer him into thyne handes.

⁸And Barak said vnto her, If thou wilt go with me, I will go: But and if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go.

⁹She sayd: I will surely go with thee, but this iourney that thou takest, shall not be for thyne honour: for the Lorde shall sell Sisara into the hande of a woman. And Debora arose and went with Barak to Kedes.

¹⁰And Barak called Zabulon & Nephthalim to Kedes, and led after him ten thousande men: and Debora went vp with him.

¹¹(But Haber the Kenite which was of the childre of Hobab, the father in lawe of Moyses, remoued from the Kenites, and pitched his tent vntill the playne of Zaanaim, whiche is by Kedes.)

¹²And they shewed Sisara, that Barak the sonne of Abinoam was gone vp to mount Thabor.

¹³And Sisara gathered together al his charettes, euen nine hundreth charettes of iron, & all the people that were with him from of Haroseth of the gentiles, vnto the ryuer of Kison.

¹⁴And Debora sayd vnto Barak: Up, for this is the day in which the Lorde hath deliuered Sisara into thyne hand: Is not the Lorde gone out before the? And so Barak went downe fro mount Thabor, and ten thousande men after him.

¹⁵But the Lorde destroyed Sisara and all his charettes, and all his hoaste with the edge of the sworde, before Barak: so that Sisara lyghted downe of his charet, and fled away on his feete.

¹⁶But Barak folowed after the charettes and after the hoast, euen vnto Haroseth of the gentiles: And all the hoast of Sisara fell vpon the edge of the sworde, and there was not a man left.

¹⁷Howebeit Sisara fled away on his feete to the tent of Iael the wife of Haber the Kenite (for there was peace betweene Iabin the king of Hazor, and the houshoulde of Haber the Kenite.)

¹⁸And Iael went out to meete Sisara, and sayd vnto him: Turne in my lorde, turne in to me, feare not. And whan he had turned in vnto her into her tent, she couered him with a mantell.

¹⁹And he sayd vnto her: Geue me I pray thee a litle water to drincke, for I am thirstie. And she opened a bottle of milke, and gaue him drincke, & couered him.

²⁰And agayne he sayd vnto her: Stande in the doore of the tent, and whan any man doth come and enquere of thee, whether ther be any man here, thou shalt say, naye.

²¹Then Iael Habers wyfe, toke a nayle of the tent, & an hammer in her hande, and went softly vnto him, and smote ye nayle into the temples of his head, and fastened it into the ground (for he slumbred sore, and was wery) and so he died.

²²And beholde, as Barak folowed after Sisara, Iael came out to meete him, & said vnto him: Come, and I will shewe thee the man whom thou sekest. And when he came in to her tent, behold Sisara lay dead, and the nayle was in his temples.

²³And so God brought Iabin the kyng of Chanaan into subiection that day before the children of Israel.

²⁴And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and preuayled against Iabin the kyng of Chanaan, vntil they had destroyed Iabin king of Chanaan.

Chapter 5

¹Then Debora and Barak the sonne of Abinoam sange the same day, saying:

²Prayse ye the Lord, for the auengyng of Israel, and for the people that became so willing.

³Heare O ye kinges, hearken O ye princes: I, euen I will syng vnto the Lord, I will prayse the Lord God of Israel.

⁴Lorde, whan thou wentest out of Seir, whan thou departedst out of the fielde of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heauens rayned, the cloudes also dropped water:

⁵The mountaynes melted before the Lord, euen as dyd Sinai before ye Lord God of Israel.

⁶In the dayes of Samgar the sonne of Anath, in the dayes of Iael, the hye wayes were vnoccupied, and the trauelers walked thorowe bye wayes.

⁷The inhabitants of the townes were gone, they were gone in Israel, vntyll I Debora came vp, which came vp a mother in Israel.

⁸They chose new goddes, and then had they the enemie in the gates: was there a shielde or speare seene among fourtie thousande of Israel?

⁹My heart loueth the gouerners of Israel, and them that are willyng among the people: O prayse ye the Lord.

¹⁰Speake ye that ryde on fayre asses, ye that dwell by Middin, and that walke by the wayes.

¹¹For the noyse of the archers among the drawers of water ceassed, there shall they speake of the righteousnes of the Lorde, his righteousnesse in his vnfensed townes in Israel: Then shal the people of the Lorde go downe to the gates.

¹²Up Debora vp, get thee vp, and sing a song: Arise Barac, and leade thy captiuitie captiue, thou sonne of Abinoam.

¹³Then shall they that remayne, haue dominion of the proudest of the people: The Lord hath geuen me dominion ouer the mightie.

¹⁴Out of Ephraim was there a roote of them agaynst Amelek, and after thee Beniamin among thy people: Out of Machir came rulers, and out of Zabulon they that handell the penne of the writer.

¹⁵And of Isachar there were princes with Debora, and Isachar, and also Barak, he was sent on foote into the valley: for the diuisions of Ruben [were] great thoughtes of heart.

¹⁶Why abodest thou among the sheepe foldes, to heare the bleatinges of the flockes? for the diuisions of Ruben, were great thoughtes of heart.

¹⁷Gilead also abode beyonde Iordane: and why doth Dan remayne in shyppes? Aser cotinued on the sea shore, and taried in his decayed places.

¹⁸[But] the people of Zabulon haue ieoparde their lyues euen vnto the death, lyke as dyd Nephthalim in the hye places of the fielde.

¹⁹The kynges came and fought, then fought ye kynges of Chanaan in Thanach by the waters of Megiddo, and wan no money.

²⁰They fought from heauen, euen the starres in their courses fought agaynst Sisara.

²¹The ryuer of Kison swept them away, that auncient ryuer the ryuer Kison: O my soule, thou hast marched valiauntly.

²²Then were the horse hoofes smitten asunder by the meanes of the praunsings that their mightie men made.

²³Curse ye the citie of Meros (sayd the angel of the Lord) curse the inhabitants therof: because they came not to helpe the Lord, to helpe the Lord against the mightie.

²⁴Iael the wyfe of Haber the Kenite, shalbe blessed aboue other women, blessed shall she be aboue other women in the tent.

²⁵He asked water, and she gaue him mylke, she brought foorth butter in a lordly dysshe.

²⁶She put her hande to the nayle, & her ryght hande to the smythes hammer: with the hammer smote she Sisara, & smote his head, wounded him, and pearsed his temples.

²⁷He bowed him downe at her feete, he fell downe, and lay styll: At her feete he bowed him selfe, & fell. And whe he had sunke downe, he lay there destroyed.

²⁸The mother of Sisara loked out at a wyndowe, and cryed thorowe the lattesse: Why is his charret so long a commyng? Why tary the wheeles of his charettes?

²⁹Al the wyse ladyes aunswered her, yea and her owne wordes aunswered her selfe.

³⁰Surely they haue found, they deuide the spoyles, euery man hath a damsell or two: Sisara hath a pray of diuers couloured garmentes, euen a pray of rayment dyed with sundry colours, and that are made of nedle worke: rayment of diuers colours and of nedle worke on both sydes, which is meete for him that is chiefe in distributing of ye spoyles.

³¹So perishe all thine enemies, O Lord: But they that loue him, let them be as ye sunne whan he ryseth in his myght. And the lande had rest fourtie yeres.

Chapter 6

¹And the children of Israel committed wickednesse in the syght of the Lorde: And the Lorde deliuered them into the handes of Madian seuen yeres.

²And the hand of Madian preuayled against Israel: & because of the Madianites, ye children of Israel made them dennes in the mountaynes and caues, and strong holdes.

³And when Israel had sowen, then came vp the Madianites, the Amalechites, and they of the east, and came vp agaynst them,

⁴And pitched their tentes against them, and destroyed the encrease of the earth, euen tyll thou come vnto Azah, & left no sustenaunce for Israel, neither sheepe, oxe, nor asse:

⁵For they went vp, they and their cattel, and came with their tentes as a multitude of grasshopers, so that both they and also their camels were without number: And they entred into the land to destroy it.

⁶And so was Israel exceedingly impoueryshed in the sight of the Madianites, and cried vnto the Lorde.

⁷And when the children of Israel cried vnto the Lord, because of the Madianites,

⁸The Lorde sent vnto them a prophet, which sayd vnto them, Thus sayth the Lorde God of Israel: I fet you from Egypt, & brought you out of the house of bondage.

⁹And I ryd you out of the hande of the Egyptians, & out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and cast them out before you, and gaue you their land:

¹⁰And I sayd vnto you: I am the Lord your God, feare not the goddes of the Amorites in whose lande you dwell: But you haue not obeyed my voyce.

¹¹And the angel of the Lorde came and sate vnder an Oke which was in Ephrah, that parteyned vnto Ioas the father of the Esrites: And his sonne Gedeon threshed wheat by the wyne presse, to hyde it from the Madianites.

¹²And the angel of the Lorde appeared vnto him, and said vnto him: The Lord is with thee, thou mightie man.

¹³And Gedeon aunswered him: Oh my Lord, if the Lorde be with vs, why is all this come vpon vs? Yea, & where be all his miracles which our fathers tolde vs of, and sayd: Dyd not the Lord bryng vs out of Egypt? But nowe the Lord hath forsaken vs, and deliuered vs into the handes of the Madianites.

¹⁴And the Lord loked vpon him, and sayde: Go hence in this thy might, and thou shalt deliuer Israel out of the handes of the Madianites: Haue not I sent thee?

¹⁵And he aunswered him: Oh Lorde, wherwith shall I saue Israel? Behold my kinred is poore in Manasses, and I am litle in my fathers house.

¹⁶The Lord sayd vnto him: I will be with thee, & thou shalt smyte the Madianites, as they were but one man.

¹⁷And he aunswered him: Oh, yf I haue founde grace in thy syght, than shew me a a signe, that it is thou that talkest with me:

¹⁸Departe not hence I pray thee vntyll I come vnto thee, & tyll I bryng myne offring, and haue set it before thee. And he sayd: I will tary vntyll thou come againe.

¹⁹And Gedeon went in, and made redy a kyd, and sweete cakes of an Epha of floure, and put it with the fleshe in a basket, and put the broth in a pot, and brought it out vnto him vnder the Oke, and presented it.

²⁰And the angel of God sayd vnto him: Take the flesh and the sweete cakes, & lay them vpon this rocke, and powre out the broth. And he dyd so.

²¹Then the angel of the Lord put foorth the end of the staffe that he helde in his hande, and touched the fleshe and the sweete cakes, and there arose vp fire out of the rocke, and consumed the flesh and the sweete cakes: But the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

²²And when Gedeon perceaued that it was an angel of the Lorde, he sayde: Alas, O Lorde God, haue I therfore seene an angel of the Lorde face to face, [that I should dye?]

²³And the Lorde sayd vnto him: Peace be vnto thee, feare not, thou shalt not dye.

²⁴Then Gedeon made an aulter there vnto the Lord, and called it, The Lord of peace. And vnto this day it is yet in Ephrath, that parteyneth vnto the father of the Esrites.

²⁵And the same nyght the Lorde sayde vnto him: Take thy fathers young bullocke, & an other bullocke of 7 yeres olde, and destroy the aulter of Baal that thy father hath, and cut downe the groue that is by it:

²⁶And make an aulter vnto the Lord thy God vpon the top of this rocke in a conuenient place, and take the second bullocke, and offer burnt sacrifice vpo the wood of the groue which thou shalt cut downe.

²⁷Then Gedeon toke ten men of his seruauntes, & did as the Lord bad him: But because he feared to do it by daye for his fathers housholde and the men of the citie, he dyd it by nyght.

²⁸And when the men of the citie arose early in the mornyng, beholde the aulter of Baal was broken, & the groue cut downe that was by it, and the seconde bullocke offered vpon the aulter that was made.

²⁹And they sayde one to another: who hath done this thing? And whan they enquered and asked, they sayd: Gedeon ye sonne of Ioas hath done this thing.

³⁰Then the men of the citie sayde vnto Ioas, Bring out thy sonne, that he may dye: because he hath destroyed the aulter of Baal, and cut downe the groue that was by it.

³¹And Ioas sayd vnto al that stoode by him: Will ye pleade Baals cause? or will ye saue him? He that will contende for him, let him dye or the morning. If he be a God, let him pleade for himselfe agaynst him that hath caste downe his aulter.

³²And from that day, was Gedeon called Ierobaal: because his father had sayd, Let Baal pleade for himselfe, because he hath broken downe his aulter.

³³All the Madianites therfore, and the Amalekites, and they of the east, were gathered together, & went and pytched in the valley of Iesrael:

³⁴But the spirite of the Lorde came vppon Gedeon, and he blewe a trumpet, and Abiezer was ioyned with him.

³⁵And he sent messengers throughout all Manasses, which also was ioyned with him, and he sent messengers vnto Azar, Zabulon, and Nephthalim, and they came to meete them.

³⁶And Gedeon sayd vnto God: Yf thou wilt saue Israel by myne hand, as thou hast sayd:

³⁷Beholde, I wil put a fleece of wool in the treashing place: And if the dewe come on the fleece onely, and it be drye vpon all the earth besyde, then shall I be sure that thou wilt saue Israel by my hand, as thou saydest.

³⁸And it came so to passe: For he rose vp early on the morowe, & thrust the fleece together, and wrong the dewe therout, and fylled a bowle of water.

³⁹And Gedeon sayde agayne vnto God: Be not angry with me, that I speake once more, for I wil proue once agayne by the fleece. Let it be drye onely vpon the fleece, and dewe vpon al the ground.

⁴⁰And God dyd so that same nyght: For it was drye vpon the fleece only, & there was dewe on all the grounde.

Chapter 7

¹Then Ierobaal (who is Gedeon) and all ye people yt were with him, rose vp early, & pytched besyde the wel of Harad: so that the hoaste of the Madianites were on the northsyde of them by the hyll of Moreh in the valley.

²And the Lord sayd vnto Gedeon: The people that are with thee, are to many for me to geue ye Madianites into their handes, lest Israel make their vaunt against me, and saye: Myne owne hand hath saued me.

³Nowe therfore make a proclamation in the eares of people, and saye: If any man dread or be afeard, let him returne and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people 22 thousande, & there abode ten thousande.

⁴And the Lord sayd vnto Gedeon: The people are yet to many, bryng them downe vnto the water, and I will trye them vnto thee there. And of whom I say vnto thee, this shal go with thee: the same shal go with thee. And of whom soeuer I say vnto thee, this shal not go with thee: the same shal not go.

⁵So he brought downe the people vnto the water: And the Lord said vnto Gedeon, As many as lappe ye water with their tongues as a dogge lappeth, them put by them selues, and [so do] them that kneele downe vpon their knees to drincke.

⁶And the number of them that put their handes to their mouthes and lapped, were three hundred men: But all ye remnaunt of ye people kneeled downe vpon their knees to dryncke water.

⁷And the Lorde sayd vnto Gedeon: By these three hundred men that lapped will I saue you, and deliuer the Madianites into thyne hande: And let all the other people go euery man vnto his place.

⁸They therfore of the people toke vittailes with them, and their trumpettes: And he sent all the rest of Israel, euery man vnto his tent, and retayned those three hundreth men: And the hoast of Madian was beneath him in a valley.

⁹And the same nyght the Lorde sayde vnto him: Aryse, get thee downe vnto the hoast, for I haue delyuered it into thyne hand.

¹⁰But and if thou feare to go downe, then go thou and Phara thy ladde downe to the hoast.

¹¹And thou shalt hearken what they say, and so shall thine handes be strong to go downe vnto ye hoast. Then went he downe & Phara his ladde vnto the outsyde of the men of armes that were in the hoast.

¹²And the Madianites, the Amalekites, and all they of the east, lay along in the valley lyke a multitude of grashoppers, and their camelles were without numbre, euen as the sande by the sea syde in multitude.

¹³And when Gedeon was come, behold, there was a man that tolde a dreame vnto his neyghbour, and sayd: Behold, I dreamed a dreame, and me thought that a cake of barley bread tumbled into the hoast of Madian, and came vnto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and ouerturned it that the tent lay along.

¹⁴And his felowe aunswered and sayd: This is nothing els saue the sworde of Gedeon ye sonne of Ioas, a man of Israel: for into his hande hath God deliuered Madian, and all the hoast.

¹⁵When Gedeon heard the telling of the dreame, & the interpretation of the same, he worshypped, and returned vnto the hoast of Israel, and sayde: Up, for the Lorde hath deliuered into your hande the hoast of Madian.

¹⁶And he deuided the three hundred men into three companies, and gaue euery man a trumpet in his hande, with emptie pytchers, and lampes therin.

¹⁷And sayde vnto them, Loke on me, and do lykewyse: that when I come to the syde of the hoast, euen as I do, so do you.

¹⁸When I blowe with a trumpet and all that are with me, blowe ye with trumpettes also on euery syde of the hoast, and say: For the Lord, and for Gedeon.

¹⁹So Gedeon and the hundred men that were with him, came vnto the outsyde of the hoast in the begynnyng of the myddle watche, & raysed vp the watch men: And they blewe with their trumpettes, & brake the pytchers that were in their handes.

²⁰And the three companies blewe with trumpettes, & brake the pytchers, and helde the lampes in their left handes, and the trumpettes in their right, to blowe withal: And they cryed, The sworde of the Lorde, and of Gedeon.

²¹And they stoode styll, euery man in his place rounde about the hoast: And all the hoast ranne, and cryed, and fled.

²²And the three hundreth blewe with trumpettes, and the Lorde set euery mans sworde vppon his neyghbour throughout all the hoast: and the hoast fled to Bethhasitah, to Zererath, and to the edge of the playne of Meholah vnto Tabbath.

²³And the men of Israel being gathered together out of Nephthalim, of Aser, and of all Manasses, folowed after the Madianites.

²⁴And Gedeon sent messengers vnto al mount Ephraim, saying: Come downe against the Madianites, and take before them the waters vnto Bethbarath, and to Iordane. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together, & toke the waters vnto Bethbarath, & to Iordane.

²⁵And they toke two princes of the Madianites, Oreb and Zeb: and slue Oreb vpon the rocke Oreb, and Zeb at the winepresse of Zeb, and folowed after Madian: and brought the heades of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon on the other syde Iordane.

Chapter 8

¹And the men of Ephraim said vnto him: Why hast thou serued vs thus, that thou calledst vs not, when thou wentest to fyght with the Madianites? And they chode with him sharpely.

²And he sayde vnto them: What deede haue I done lyke vnto yours? Is not the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim, better then the vinetage of Abiezer?

³God hath delyuered into your handes the lordes of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: And what was I able to do lyke as you haue done? And then their spirites abated from of him, when he had sayde that.

⁴And Gedeon came to Iordane to passe ouer, he & the three hundred men that were with him weery, and yet folowed the chase.

⁵And he sayd vnto ye men of Sucoth: Geue I pray you, takes of bread vnto ye people that folow me, for they be fayntie, that I may folowe after Zebah, and Zalmana, kynges of Madian.

⁶And the lordes of Sucoth sayde: Are the handes of Zebah and Zalmana now in thyne handes, that we should geue bread vnto thyne armie?

⁷Gedeon sayde: Therfore when the Lord hath deliuered Zebah and Zalmana into mine hande, I will teare the fleshe of you with the thornes of the wildernes, and with bryers.

⁸And he went vp thence to Phanuel, & spake vnto them lykewyse: And ye men of Phanuel aunswered him, as did the men of Sucoth.

⁹And he sayd also vnto the men of Phanuel: When I come agayne in peace, I will breake downe this towre.

¹⁰Zebah & Zalmana were in Carcor, and their hoastes with them, vpon a fifteene thousande men, which were all that were left of all the hoastes of them of the east: For there was slaine an hundred and twentie thousande men that drewe swordes.

¹¹And Gedeon went thorowe them that dwelt in tabernacles on the east syde of Nobah and Iegbahah, and smote the hoaste: for the hoaste dyd cast no perylles.

¹²And whan Zebah and Zalmana fled, he folowed after them, and toke ye two kynges of Madian, Zebah and Zalmana, and discomfited all the hoaste.

¹³And Gedeon the sonne of Ioas, returned from battel afore the sunne was vp,

¹⁴And caught a ladde of the men of Sucoth, & enquired of him: And he wrote him of the lordes and elders of Sucoth threescore and seuenteene men.

¹⁵And he came vnto the men of Sucoth, and sayd: Beholde Zebah and Zalmana, with which ye dyd cast me in the teeth, saying: Are the handes of Zebah and Zalmana alredy in thyne hande, that we should geue bread vnto thy fayntie men?

¹⁶And he toke the elders of the citie, and thornes of the wildernesse, and bryers, and dyd teare the men of Sucoth with them.

¹⁷And he brake downe the towre of Phanuel, & slue the men of the citie.

¹⁸And then sayde he vnto Zebah and Zalmana: What maner of men were they whom ye slue at Thabor? And they aunswered: The lykenesse of thee and them is al one, eue after the fashion of the children of a kyng.

¹⁹And he sayd, They were my brethren, euen my mothers children: As truly as the Lord liueth, if ye had saued their lyues, I would not slay you.

²⁰And he sayde vnto Iether his eldest sonne, Up and slay them. But the ladde drue not his sworde: for he feared, because he was yet young.

²¹Then Zebah and Zalmana sayde: Ryse thou, and fall vpon vs: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gedeon arose, and slue Zebah and Zalmana, and toke away the ornamentes that were on their camels neckes.

²²Then the men of Israel sayde vnto Gedeon: Raigne thou ouer vs, both thou, thy sonne, and thy sonnes sonne, for thou hast deliuered vs out of ye hand of Madian.

²³And Gedeon sayd vnto them: I wyll not raigne ouer you, neither shall my childe raigne ouer you: but the Lorde shall raigne ouer you.

²⁴And agayne Gedeon said vnto them: I would desire a request of you, euen that you would geue me euery man the earinges of his pray. For they had golden earinges, because they were Israelites.

²⁵And they aunswered: We will gyue them. And they spread a mantell, and dyd cast therin euery man the earynges of his pray.

²⁶And the wayght of ye golden earinges that he required, was a thousand and seuen hundred sicles of golde, besyde chaynes and iewelles, and purple rayment that was on the kynges of Madian, and besyde the chaynes that were about their camels neckes.

²⁷And Gedeon made an Ephod therof, and put it in his citie Ephrah: And all Israel went a whoryng after it in the same place, which thing became a ruyne vnto Gedeon and to his house.

²⁸Thus was Madian brought lowe before the children of Israel, so that they lyft vp their heades no more: And the countrey was in quietnes fourtie yeres in the dayes of Gedeon.

²⁹And Ierobaal ye sonne of Ioas, went and dwelt in his owne house.

³⁰And Gedeon had threescore and ten sonnes of his body begotten: for he had many wyues.

³¹And his cocubine that was in Sichem bare him a sonne also, whose name he called Abimelech.

³²And Gedeon the sonne of Ioas dyed in a good age, and was buryed in the sepulchre of Ioas his father, euen in Ephrah, that parteyned vnto the father of the Esrites.

³³But assoone as Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned away, & went a whoryng after Baalim, and made a couenaunt with Baal to be their God.

³⁴And the children of Israel thought not on the Lorde their God, which had deliuered them out of the handes of all their enemies on euery syde:

³⁵Neither shewed they mercy on the house of Ierobaal [otherwyse called] Gedeon, according to all the goodnes which he had shewed vnto Israel.

Chapter 9

¹Abimelech the sonne of Ierobaal! went to Sichem vnto his mothers brethren, & communed with them, & with all the kynrede of the house of his mothers father, saying:

²Saye I pray you, in the eares of all the men of Sichem, whether is better for you, that all the sonnes of Ierobaal, (which are threescore and ten persons) raigne ouer you: either that one raigne ouer you? Remember that I am of your bone, and of your fleshe.

³And his mothers brethren spake of him in the audience of all the men of Sichem all these wordes, & their heartes were moued to folow Abimelech: For they sayde, He is our brother.

⁴And they gaue him threescore and ten peeces of siluer out of the house of Baal Berith, wherwith Abimelech hyred vayne and light persons, which went with hym.

⁵And he went vnto his fathers house at Ephrah, and slue his brethren, the sonnes of Ierobaal, beyng threescore & ten persons, vpon one stone: Notwithstandyng, yet Ioatham the youngest sonne of Ierobaal escaped, for he hyd hymselfe.

⁶And all the men of Sichem gathered together, and al the house of Mello, and came and made Abimelech kyng in the playne, where the stone was in Sichem.

⁷And when they tolde it to Ioatham, he went and stoode in the top of mount Garizim, and lyft vp his voyce, & cryed, and sayd vnto them: Hearken vnto me you men of Sichem, that God may hearken vnto you.

⁸The trees went foorth to annoynt a kyng ouer them, and sayde vnto the Olyue tree: Raigne thou ouer vs.

⁹But the Olyue tree sayd vnto them: Should I leaue my fatnesse wherwith by me they honour God and man, & to be promoted ouer the trees?

¹⁰And the trees sayd to the figge tree: Come thou, and be kyng ouer vs.

¹¹The figge tree aunswered them: should I forsake my sweetnes, and my good fruite, and go to be promoted ouer the trees?

¹²Then sayde the trees vnto the vine: Come thou and be kyng ouer vs.

¹³The vine sayde vnto them: Should I leaue my wine wherby I cheare both God and man, and go to be promoted ouer the trees?

¹⁴Then said all the trees vnto the bryer: Come thou and raigne ouer vs.

¹⁵And the bryer sayde vnto the trees: If it be true that ye will annoynt me kyng ouer you, then come and put your trust vnder my shadow: If no, the fyre come out of the bryer, & waste the Cedar trees of Libanon.

¹⁶Nowe therfore, if ye do truely and vncorruptly to make Abimelech kyng, and if ye haue dealte well with Ierobaal & his house, and haue done vnto hym according to the deseruing of his handes:

¹⁷(For euen my father fought for you, and aduentured his life, and ridde you out of the hande of Madian.

¹⁸And ye are rysen vp agaynst my fathers house this day, and haue slayne his children, beyng threescore & ten persones vpon one stone, and haue made Abimelech the sonne of his mayde seruaunt, king ouer the men of Sichem, because he is your brother.)

¹⁹If ye then haue dealt truely and purely with Ierobaal and with his house this day, then reioyce ye with Abimelech, and let him reioyce with you.

²⁰But if you haue not dealt truely, then let a fire come out of Abimelech, & consume the men of Sichem, & the house of Mello: and let there come out a fire fro among the men of Sichem, & out of the house of Mello, & consume Abimelech.

²¹And Ioatham ran away and fledde, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for feare of Abimelech his brother.

²²When Abimelech had raigned three yeres ouer Israel,

²³God sent an euyll spirite betweene Abimelech, & the men of Sichem: and the citezins of Sichem brake their promise to Abimelech,

²⁴That the wickednes done to the three score and ten sonnes of Ierobaal might come on him, and that God might lay the blood of them vnto Abimelech their brother, which slue them, and vpon the other men of Sichem which ayded him in the killing of his brethren.

²⁵And the citezins of Sichem set men to lay awayte for hym in the toppe of the mountaynes, which men robbed al that came along the way by them: And it was tolde Abimelech.

²⁶And Gaal the sonne of Obed came with his brethren, and they gat them to Sichem: and the men of Sichem put their confidence in him.

²⁷And they went out into the fieldes, and gathered in their grapes, & trode them, and made mery, & went into the house of their god, and dyd eate and drinke, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸And Gaal the sonne of Obed sayde: what is Abimelech? & what is Sichem, that we shoulde serue him? Is he not the sonne of Ierobaal? & Zebul is his officer? Serue such as come of Hemor the father of Sichem: for what reason is it that we shoulde serue him?

²⁹Woulde God this people were vnder my hande, then would I take Abimelech out of ye way. And he spake against Abimelech: Make thine hoast greater, and go out.

³⁰And when Zebul the ruler of the citie hearde the wordes of Gaal the sonne of Obed, he was wroth.

³¹And sent messengers vnto Abimelech priuyly, saying: Behold, Gaal the sonne of Obed and his brethren be come to Sichem, and beholde they fortifie the citie agaynst thee.

³²Now therfore vp by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lye in wayte in the fielde.

³³And rise early in the morning assone as the sunne is vp, and fall vpon the citie: And if he & the people that is with hym come out against thee, do to hym what thine handes shalbe able.

³⁴And Abimelech rose vp, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they layde awayte against Sichem in foure companies.

³⁵And Gaal the sonne of Obed went out, and stoode in the entring of the gate of the citie: And Abimelech rose vp, and the folke that were with him, from lying in wayte.

³⁶And when Gaal sawe ye people, he sayd to Zebul: Beholde, there come people downe from the top of the mountaines. And Zebul sayd vnto him: The shadow of the hylles seeme men vnto thee.

³⁷And Gaal aunswered agayne, & sayd: See, there come folke downe by ye middle of the land, & another company come along by the playne of the charmars.

³⁸Then sayd Zebul vnto him: Where is nowe thy mouth that said, what felowe is Abimelech, that we should serue him? Is not this the people that thou hast despysed? Go out now & fight with the.

³⁹And Gaal went out before the citezins of Sichem, & fought with Abimelech.

⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, that he fled before him, and many were ouerthrowen & wounded, euen vnto the entring of the gate.

⁴¹And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal & his brethre that they shoulde not dwell in Sichem.

⁴²And on the morow, the people wet out into the fielde: And they told Abimelech.

⁴³And he toke the people, & deuided them into three copanies, & layd awayte in the fielde, and loked, and behold the people were come out of the citie, and he ran vpon them, and smote them.

⁴⁴And Abimelech and the companions that were with him, rushed forward, & stoode in the entring of the gate of the citie: and the two other companions ran vpon all the people that were in the fieldes, and slue them.

⁴⁵And when Abimelech had fought against the citie al that day, he toke it, and slue the people that was therin, and destroyed the citie, and sowed salte in it.

⁴⁶And when all the men of the towre of Sichem heard that, they entred into an holde of the house of the god Berith.

⁴⁷And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the towre of Sichem were gathered together.

⁴⁸And Abimeleh gat him to mount Zelmon, both he & all the people that were with him, & toke axes with him, and cut downe bowes of trees, & toke them and bare them on his shulder, & sayde vnto the folke that were with hym: what ye haue seene me do, speede your selues, & do lykewyse as I haue done.

⁴⁹And al the men that were among the people, cut downe bowes, and folowed Abimelech, and put them into the hold, and set the holde a fire by them: so that al the men of the towre of Sichem died also, vpon a thousande men & women.

⁵⁰Then went Abimelech to Thebez, & besieged it, and toke it.

⁵¹But there was a strong towre within the citie, and thyther ranne all the men and women, and all the chiefe that were in the citie, and shut it to them, and gate them vp to the toppe of the towre.

⁵²And Abimelech came vnto the towre, and fought agaynst it, and went harde vnto the doore of ye towre to set it on fire.

⁵³And a certayne woman cast a peece of a mylstone vpon his head, & all to brake his brayne panne.

⁵⁴Then Abimelech called hastyly vnto the young man that bare his harnesse, and sayde vnto him: Drawe thy sworde and slea me, that men say not of me, A woman slue him: And his lad thrust him thorowe, and he died.

⁵⁵And when the men of Israel sawe that Abimelech was dead, they departed euery man vnto his owne house.

⁵⁶Thus God rendred the wickednesse of Abimelech which he dyd vnto his father, in sleyng his seuentie brethren.

⁵⁷And therto all the wickednesse of the men of Sichem, dyd God bryng vpon their heades: And vpon them came the curse of Ioatham the sonne of Ierobaal.

Chapter 10

¹After Abimelech, there arose to defende Israel Thola the sonne of Phuah the sonne of Dodo, a man of Isachar, whiche dwelt in Sanur in mount Ephraim.

²And he iudged Israel twentie & three yeres, & died, & was buried in Samir.

³And after him, arose Iair a Gileadite, and iudged Israel twintie and two yeres.

⁴And he had thirtie sonnes that rode on thirtie Asse coltes, and they had thirtie cities, which are called Hauoth Iair vnto this day, and are in the lande of Gilead.

⁵And Iair died, and was buried in Camon.

⁶And the children of Israel wrought wickednesse yet agayne in the sight of the Lord, and serued Baalim and Astaroth, and the gods of Siria, the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsoke the Lorde, and serued not him.

⁷And the Lord was wroth with Israel, and he solde them into the handes of the Philistines, and into the handes of the children of Ammon.

⁸Which from that yere foorth, pilde and oppressed the children of Israel eyghtteene yeres, al that were on the other side Iordane, in the lande of the Amorites whiche is in Gilead.

⁹Moreouer, ye children of Ammon went ouer Iordane to fight agaynst Iuda, Beniamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was sore cumbred.

¹⁰And the children of Israel cryed vnto ye Lord, saying: We haue sinned against thee, for we haue forsaken our owne God, and haue carued Baalim.

¹¹And the Lorde sayde vnto the childre of Israel: Dyd not I ryd you from the Egiptians and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

¹²The Sidonites also, and the Amalekites, & the Maonites dyd oppresse you, and ye cryed to me, and I deliuered you out of their handes.

¹³And for all that, ye haue forsaken me and serued straunge gods, wherfore I will helpe you no more.

¹⁴Go and crye vnto the gods whiche ye haue chosen, and let them saue you in the tyme of your tribulation.

¹⁵And the children of Israel sayde vnto the Lord: We haue sinned, do thou vnto vs whatsoeuer please thee, deliuer vs onely we pray thee this day.

¹⁶And they put away the straunge gods from them, & serued the Lord: And his soule had pitie on the miserie of Israel.

¹⁷Then the children of Ammon gathered together, & pitched in Gilead: And the children of Israel gathered them together, and pitched in Mispah.

¹⁸And the people and lordes of Gilead sayde eche to other: whosoeuer will beginne the battell agaynst the children of Ammon, the same shalbe head ouer all the inhabitauntes of Gilead.

Chapter 11

¹And there was one Iephthah a Gileadite, a strong man, the sonne of an harlot.

²And Gilead begat Iephthah: And Gileads wyfe bare him sonnes, which when they were come to age, thrust out Iephthah, and said vnto him: Thou shalt not inherite in our fathers house, for thou art the sonne of a straunge woman.

³Then Iephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the lande of Tob: And there gathered ydle men to Iephthah, and went out with him.

⁴And in processe of time, the children of Ammon made warre agaynst Israel.

⁵And when the children of Ammon fought thus agaynst Israel, the elders of Gilead went to set Iephthah out of the lande of Tob,

⁶And sayde vnto him: Come, and be our captayne, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

⁷Iephthah aunswered the elders of Gilead: Dyd not ye hate me, & expell me out of my fathers house? howe then come you vnto me nowe in time of your tribulation?

⁸And the elders of Gilead sayde vnto Iephthah: Therfore we turne agayne to thee nowe, that thou mayest go with vs, & fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head ouer all the inhabitauntes of Gilead.

⁹And Iephthah sayde vnto the elders of Gilead: If ye bring me home againe to fight against the children of Ammon, then yf the Lorde deliuer them before me, shall I be your head?

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead sayd to Iephthah: The Lorde be witnesse betweene vs, if we do not according to thy wordes.

¹¹Then Iephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and ye people made hym head & captayne ouer them: And Iephthah rehearsed al his wordes before the Lorde in Mispah.

¹²And Iephthah sent messengers vnto the king of the children of Ammon, saying: What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to fight in my lande?

¹³The king of the children of Ammon aunswered vnto ye messengers of Iephthah: Because Israel toke away my lande when they came out of Egypt, euen from Arnon vnto Iabok, and vnto Iordane: Nowe therfore restore those landes agayne with faire meanes.

¹⁴And Iephthah sent messengers agayne vnto the king of the children of Ammon,

¹⁵And sayd vnto him, thus sayth Iephthah: Israel toke not away the lande of Moab, nor the lande of the children of Ammon.

¹⁶But when Israel came vp fro Egypt, and walked thorowe the wildernesse, euen vnto ye red sea, they came to Cades:

¹⁷And Israel sent messengers vnto the king of Edom, saying, Let me I praye thee go thorow thy lande: But the king of Edo would not agree therto. And in lyke maner they sent vnto the king of Moab: but he woulde not consent. And Israel abode stil in Cades.

¹⁸And then they went along thorowe the wildernesse, and compassed the land of Edom, & the land of Moab, and came along by the east syde of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, and woulde not come within the coast of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

¹⁹And then Israel sent messengers vnto Sehon king of the Amorites, & king of Hesbon, and sayde vnto him: Let vs passe we pray thee thorow thy land vnto our owne countrey.

²⁰But Sehon consented not to Israel, that he shoulde go thorowe his coast: but gathered all his people together, & pitched in Iasa, & fought with Israel.

²¹And the Lorde God of Israel deliuered Sehon & all his folke into the handes of Israel, and they smote them: So Israel smote them, and possessed all the land of the Amorites the inhabitauntes of that countrey.

²²And they possessed al the coastes of the Amorites, from Arnon vnto Iabok, & from the wildernesse vnto Iordane.

²³So nowe, seyng the Lord God of Israel hath cast out the Amorites before his people Israel, shouldest thou possesse it?

²⁴Nay, but what people Camos thy God dryueth out, that lande possesse thou: Euen so whatsoeuer nation the Lord our God expelleth before vs, that lande ought we to enioy.

²⁵And art thou better then Balac the sonne of Zephor king of Moab? Did he not stryue with Israel and fight against them,

²⁶All the whyle Israel dwelt in Hesbon and her townes, in Aroer and her townes, and in all the cities that be along by ye coastes of Arnon three hundred yeres? Why did ye not recouer them in all that space?

²⁷Wherfore I haue not synned agaynst thee, but thou doest me wrong to warre against me: The Lord therfore whiche is a iudge, be iudge this day betweene the children of Israel, and the children of Ammon.

²⁸Howbeit, the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not vnto the wordes of Iephthah, which he sent him.

²⁹Then the spirite of the Lord came vpo Iephthah, and he passed ouer to Gilead & to Manasses, and came to Mispah that lieth in Gilead, & from thence vnto the children of Ammon.

³⁰And Iephthah vowed a vowe vnto ye Lorde, & sayd: If thou shalt deliuer the children of Ammon into my handes,

³¹Then that thing that commeth out of the doores of my house against me, whe I come home in peace from the children of Ammon, shalbe the Lordes, and I will offer it vp for a burnt offering.

³²And so Iephthah went vnto the children of Ammon to fight agaynst them, and the Lorde deliuered them into his handes.

³³And he smote them from Aroer tyll thou come to Mennith, euen twentie cities, and so foorth to the playne of the vineyardes, with an exceeding great slaughter: And thus the childre of Ammon were brought vnder, before the children of Israel.

³⁴When Iephthah came to Misphah vnto his house, see, his daughter came out agaynst him with timbrelles and daunces, which was his onely chylde: so that beside her, he had neither sonne nor daughter.

³⁵And when he sawe her, he rent his clotes, & sayde: Alas my daughter, thou hast brought me lowe, & art one of them that troubleth me: For I haue opened my mouth vnto the Lorde, and cannot go backe.

³⁶And she sayde vnto him: My father, if thou haue opened thy mouth vnto the Lorde, then do with me according to it that proceeded out of thy mouth, for as much as the Lorde hath auenged thee of thyne enemies ye children of Ammon.

³⁷And she sayd vnto her father, Do this much for me: Let me alone two monethes, that I may go to the mountaynes and bewayle my virginite, I and my felowes.

³⁸And he sayd, go. And he sent her away two monethes: And so she went with her companions, & lamented her maydenhead vpon the mountaynes.

³⁹And after the ende of two monethes, she turned agayne vnto her father, whiche dyd with her according to his vowe whiche he had vowed, & she had knowne no man: And it grewe to a custome in Israel,

⁴⁰The daughters of Israel came yere by yere to lamet the daughter of Iephthah the Gileadite, foure dayes in a yere.

Chapter 12

¹And the men of Ephraim gathered them selues together, & went northwarde, & sayd vnto Iephthah: Wherfore wentest thou to fight against the children of Ammon, and dyddest not call vs to go with thee? we will therfore burne thine house vpon thee with fire.

²And Iephthah sayde vnto them, I & my people were at great stryfe with the children of Ammon: And when I called you, ye deliuered me not out of their handes.

³And when I sawe that ye deliuered me not, I put my lyfe in my handes, and went vpon the children of Ammon, and the Lorde deliuered them into my handes: Wherfore then are ye come vppon me nowe, to fight against me?

⁴Iephthah therfore gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with the Ephraites. And the men of Gilead smote the Ephraites, because they sayd: Ye Gileadites are but runneagates of Ephraim, among the Ephraites and the Manassites.

⁵Moreouer, the men of Gilead toke the passages of Iordane before the Ephraites: And when those Ephraites that were escaped, said, Let me go ouer: then the men of Gilead sayde vnto hym, Art thou an Ephraite? If he sayde, nay:

⁶Then sayde they vnto him: Then say, Schibboleth. And he sayde, Sibboleth: for he coulde not so pronounce. And then they toke him, and slue him at the passages of Iordane: And there were ouerthrowen at that time of the Ephraites fourtie and two thousande.

⁷And Iephthah iudged Israel six yeres, then died Iephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] ye cities of Gilead.

⁸After this man, iudged Israel one Ibzan of Bethlehem.

⁹And he had thirtie sonnes and thirtie daughters, whom he sent out, and toke in thirtie daughters from abrode for his sonnes. And when Ibzan had iudged Israel seuen yere,

¹⁰He died, & was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹After him, Elon a Zabulonite iudged Israel ten yeres.

¹²And Elon the Zabulonite died, & was buried in Aialon, in the countrey of Zabulon.

¹³After him, Abdon the sonne of Hellel, a Pharathonite, iudged Israel.

¹⁴And he had fourtie sonnes, and thirtie neuewes, that rode on threscore and ten asse coltes: And when Abdon the sonne of Hellel the Pharathonite had iudged Israel eight yeres,

¹⁵He died, & was buryed in Pharathon in the lande of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

Chapter 13

¹And the children of Israel began agayne to comitte wickednesse in the sight of the lord, and the Lorde deliuered them into the handes of the Philistines fourtie yeres.

²And there was a man in Zaraah of the kinred of Dan, named Manoah, whose wife was barren, and bare not.

³And the angell of the Lord appeared vnto the woman, & sayde vnto her: Beholde, nowe thou art barren, & bearest not, but thou shalt conceaue, and beare a sonne.

⁴And nowe therfore beware that thou drinke no wyne, nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing:

⁵For lo, thou shalt conceaue and beare a sonne, And ther may no rasor come on his head, for ye ladde shalbe a Nazarite vnto God euen from his byrth: And he shal beginne to saue Israel out of the handes of the Philistines.

⁶Then the wife came, & tolde her husbande, saying: A man of God came vnto me, and the fashion of him was lyke the fashion of an angell of God, exceeding fearful: But I asked him not whence he was, neither tolde he me his name:

⁷But sayde vnto me, behold, thou shalt be with childe and beare a sonne, & now drinke no wyne nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing, for the ladde shalbe an abstayner to God, euen from his byrth to the day of his death.

⁸Then Manoah made intercession to the Lorde, and sayde: I pray thee my Lorde, let the man of God whiche thou sendedst, come agayne vnto vs, & teache vs what we shal do vnto the ladde whe he is borne.

⁹And God heard the voyce of Manoah: and the angel of God came agayne vnto the wife as she sate in the felde: but Manoah her husbad was not with her.

¹⁰And the wife made haste, and ranne & shewed her husbande, & sayde vnto him: behold, the man appeared vnto me that came vnto me to day.

¹¹And Manoah arose & went after his wife, and came to the man, and sayde vnto him: Art thou the ma that spakest vnto the woman? And he sayde: I am.

¹²Manoah sayde, Nowe let thy saying come to passe: Howe shall we order the childe, and do vnto him?

¹³And the angell of the Lord sayd vnto Manoah: The woman must absteyne from all that I sayde vnto her:

¹⁴She may eate of nothing that cometh of the vine tree, nor drinke wine or strong drinke, nor eate any vncleane thing: but must obserue all that I bad her.

¹⁵Manoah sayde vuto the angell of the Lorde: I pray thee let vs retayne thee vntill we haue made redy a kyd before thee.

¹⁶And the angel of the Lord sayde vnto Manoah: Though thou make me abide, I wil not eate of thy bread: And if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it vnto the Lorde. For Manoah wist not that it was an angell of the Lorde.

¹⁷And Manoah sayde agayne vnto the angell of the Lord: What is thy name, that when thy saying is come to passe, we may do thee worshippe?

¹⁸And the angel of the Lorde sayde vnto him: Why askest thou thus after my name, which is secrete?

¹⁹And so Manoah toke a kyd, with a meat offring, and offred it vpon a rocke vnto the Lorde: And the angell did wonderously, Manoah and his wife lokyng vpon.

²⁰And whe the flambe came vp toward heauen from the aulter, the angell of the Lorde ascended vp in the flambe of the aulter: And Manoah and his wyfe loked vpon it, and fell on their faces vnto the grounde.

²¹(But the angel of the Lord did no more appeare vnto Manoah and his wyfe:) And then Manoah knewe that it was an angel of the Lorde,

²²And sayd vnto his wyfe: We shal surely dye, because we haue seene God.

²³But his wyfe sayde vnto him: Yf the Lord would kyll vs, he would not haue receaued a burnt offering and a meate offering of our handes, neither woulde he haue shewed vs al these thinges, nor woulde nowe haue tolde vs any suche.

²⁴And the wyfe bare a sonne, and called his name Samson: And ye ladde grewe, and the Lorde blessed him.

²⁵And the spirite of the Lorde began to strengthen him in the hoast of Dan, betweene Zaraah and Esthaol.

Chapter 14

¹Samson went downe to Thamnath, and sawe a woma in Thamnath of the daughters of the Philistines:

²And he came vp, and told his father and his mother, & said: I haue sene a woman in Thamnath of the daughters of the Philistines: & nowe geue me her to wyfe.

³Then his father and mother sayd vnto him: Is there neuer a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, & among al my people, but that thou must go, and take a wyfe of the vncircumcised Philistines? And Samson sayd vnto his father: Geue me this woman, for she pleaseth me well.

⁴But his father and mother wist not that it was the Lordes doyng, and that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines raigned ouer Israel.

⁵Then went Samson and his father & his mother downe to Thamnath, and came to the vineyardes of Thamnath: and beholde, a young Lion roared vpon him.

⁶And the spirite of the Lord came vpo him, and he tare him as he would haue rent a kydde, and yet had nothing in his hande: neither tolde his father and mother what he had done.

⁷And he went downe, & talked with the woman, whiche seemed well fauoured in the sight of Samson.

⁸And within a short space after, as he wet thyther againe to take her to wife, he turned out of the way to see the carkasse of the Lion: And beholde, there was a swarme of bees and hony in the carkasse of the Lion.

⁹And he toke therof in his handes, and went eating, and came to his father and mother, and gaue them also, and they did eate: But he tolde not them that he had taken the hony out of the carkasse of the Lion.

¹⁰And so his father went downe vnto the woman, and Samson made there a feast: for so vsed the younge men to do.

¹¹And whe they sawe him, they brought thirtie companions to be with him.

¹²And Samson sayd vnto them, I will nowe put foorth a riddle vnto you: & yf you can declare it me within seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, I will geue you thirtie sheetes, & thirtie chaunge of garmentes:

¹³But and if you can not declare it me, then shal ye geue me thirtie sheetes and thirtie chaunge of garmentes. And they aunswered him: Put foorth thy riddle, that we may heare it.

¹⁴And he sayd vnto them: Out of the eater came meate, and out of the strong came sweetnesse. And they coulde not in three dayes expounde the riddle.

¹⁵And whe the seuenth day was come, they sayd vnto Samsons wyfe: Flatter thyne husband that he may declare vs the riddle, lest we burne thee and thy fathers house with fire: Haue ye called vs hyther, to make vs beggers? is it not so?

¹⁶And Samsons wyfe wept before him and sayd, Surely thou hatest me and louest me not: for thou hast put foorth a riddle vnto the children of my folke, and hast not tolde it me. And he sayde vnto her: Beholde, I haue not tolde it my father and my mother, and shall I tell it thee?

¹⁷And Samsons wyfe wept before him seuen dayes, whyle the feast lasted: And the seuenth day he told her, because she lay so sore vpo him. And she tolde the riddle to the children of her folke.

¹⁸And the men of the citie sayd vnto him the seuenth day, before the sunne went downe: What is sweeter then hony? and what is stronger then a Lion? Then sayd he vnto them: Yf ye had not plowed with my heyffer, ye had not founde out my riddle.

¹⁹And the spirite of the Lord came vpon him, and he went downe to Askalon, and slue thirtie men of them, and spoyled them, & gaue chaunge of garmentes vnto them which expounded the riddle: And he was wroth, and went vp to his fathers house.

²⁰But Samsons wyfe was geuen to one of his companions that he had taken vnto him.

Chapter 15

¹But within a while after, euen in the time of wheat haruest, Sason visited his wife with a kyd, saying: I wil go in to my wyfe into the chaumber. But her father woulde not suffer him to go in.

²And her father sayde, I thought that thou haddest hated her, & therfore gaue I her to thy companion: Is not her younger sister fayrer then she? Take her I pray thee, in steade of the other.

³Samson sayde vnto hym: Nowe am I more blamelesse then the Philistines, and therfore will I do them displeasure.

⁴And Samson went out, and caught three hundred foxes, & toke firebrandes, and turned them tayle to tayle, and put a firebrand in the middes betweene two tayles.

⁵And when he had set the brandes on fire, he sent them out into the standyng corne of the Philistines, & burnt vp both the reaped corne, and also the standing, with the vineyardes and oliues.

⁶Then the Philistines sayd: Who hath done this? And they aunswered: Samson the sonne in lawe of the Thamnite, because he had taken his wife, & geuen her to his companion. And the Philistines came vp, and burnt her and her father with fire.

⁷And Samson said vnto them: Though ye haue done this, yet will I be auenged of you, and then I will ceasse.

⁸And he smote them legge and thygh with a myghtie plague, and then he went & dwelt in the toppe of the rocke Etam.

⁹Then the Philistines came vp, and pytched in Iuda, and camped in Lehi.

¹⁰And the men of Iuda sayde: Why are ye come vp vnto vs? They aunswered: To bynde Samson are we come vp, & to do to hym, as he hath done to vs.

¹¹Then three thonsande men of Iuda went to the toppe of the rocke Etam, & sayde to Samson: Wottest thou not that the Philistines are rulers ouer vs? Wherfore then hast thou done thus vnto vs? He aunswered them: As they dyd vnto me, so haue I done vnto them.

¹²And they sayd vnto him agayne: We are come to bynde thee, and to deliuer thee into ye hande of the Philistines. And Samson said vnto them: Sweare vnto me, that ye shall not fal vpon me your selues.

¹³They aunswered him, saying: No, but we will bynde thee, & delyuer thee vnto their handes: but we wyll not kyll thee. And they bounde hym with two new cordes, and brought him from the rocke.

¹⁴And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines showted agaynst him: And the spirite of the Lord came vpon him, and the cordes that were vpon his armes, became as flaxe that was burnt with fire, for the bandes loosed from of his handes.

¹⁵And he founde a newe iawe bone of an Asse, & put foorth his hande, and caught it, and slue a thousande men therwith.

¹⁶And Samson sayde: With the iawe of an Asse, heapes vpon heapes: with the iawe of an Asse haue I slayne a thousande men.

¹⁷And when he had left speakyng, he cast away the iawe bone out of his hande, and called the place Ramath Lehi.

¹⁸And he was sore a thyrst, and called on the Lord, and sayde: Thou hast geuen this great victory in the hande of thy seruaunt: and nowe I must dye for thirst, and fall into the handes of the vncircumcised.

¹⁹But God brake a great tooth that was in the iawe, & there came water therout, and when he had drunke, his spirite came agayne, & he was refreshed: wherfore the name thereof was called vnto this day, The well of the caller on: which came of the iawe.

²⁰And he iudged Israel in the dayes of the Philistines, twentie yeres.

Chapter 16

¹Then went Samson to Azzah, and sawe there an harlot, and went in vnto her.

²And it was tolde the Azathites, saying: Samson is come hyther. And they went about, and layde a wayte for hym there all nyght in the gate of the citie, and were styll all the nyght, saying: In the mornyng whan it is day, we shall kyll hym.

³And Samson toke his rest tyll mydnyght, and arose at mydnyght, and toke the doores of the gate of the citie, and the two postes, and rent them of with the barre and all, and put them vppon his shoulders, and caryed them vp to the top of an hyll, that is before Hebron.

⁴And after this, he loued a woman by the ryuer of Sorek, whose name was Dalila.

⁵Unto whom came the lordes of the Philistines, and sayde vnto her: Perswade him, and see wherin his great strength lyeth, and by what meanes we may ouercome him, that we may bynde him, and punishe hym: and euery one of vs shall geue thee a leuen hundred siluer lynges.

⁶And Dalila sayde to Samson: Oh, tell me where thy great strength lyeth, and how thou myghtest be bounde and brought vnder.

⁷Samson aunswered vnto her: Yf they binde me with seuen greene wythes that were neuer dryed, I shalbe weake, and be as an other man.

⁸And then the lordes of the Philistines brought her seuen wythes that were yet greene & neuer dryed, and she bound hym therwith.

⁹(Notwithstanding she had men lying in wayte with her in the chaumbre): And she said vnto him, The Philistines be vpon thee Samson. And immediatly he brake the cordes, as a stryng of towe breaketh when it fealeth fire. And so his strength was not knowen.

¹⁰And Dalila sayde vnto Samson: See, thou hast mocked me, and tolde me lies: Now therfore tell me wherwith thou myghtest be bounde.

¹¹He aunswered her: Yf they bynde me with newe ropes that neuer were occupied, I shall be weake, and be as an other man.

¹²Dalila therfore toke newe ropes, and bounde him therwith, and sayde vnto him, The Philistines be vpo thee Samson. (And there were lyers of wayte in the chamber.) And he brake them from of his armes, as they had ben but a threade.

¹³And Dalila sayde vnto Samson, Hytherto thou hast beguyled me, and tolde me lyes: Yet tell me howe thou myghtest be bounde. He sayde vnto her: Yf thou plattest the seuen lockes of my head with the threades of the wooffe.

¹⁴And she fastened it with a pynne, and sayde vnto him: The Philistines be vpo thee Samson. And he awaked out of his sleepe, and went away with the pynne of the webbe and the wooffe.

¹⁵And she sayde vnto him agayne: How canst thou saye I loue thee, when thyne heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me this three tymes, and hast not tolde me wherin thy great strength lyeth.

¹⁶And as she laye vpon hym with her wordes, continually vexyng of him, his soule was encumbred eue vnto ye death.

¹⁷And so he tolde her all his heart, & said vnto her: There neuer came rasor vpon myne head, for I haue ben a Nazarite vnto God, euen from my mothers wombe: Therfore when I am shauen, my strength will go from me, & I shall waxe weake, and be lyke all [other] men.

¹⁸And when Dalila sawe that he had tolde her all his heart, she sent and called for the lordes of the Philistines, saying: Come vp yet this once, for he hath shewed me all his hearte. Then ye lordes of the Philistines came vp vnto her, and brought the money in their handes.

¹⁹And she made hym sleepe vpon her knees, and she sent for a man, and he dyd shaue of the seuen lockes of his head, & began to vexe him, and his strength was gone from him.

²⁰And she sayde, The Philistines be vp in thee Samson. And he awoke out of his sleepe, and sayde: I will go out now as at other tymes before, & shake my selfe. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from hym.

²¹But the Philistines toke hym, and put out his eyes, and brought him downe to Azzah, and bounde him with fetters of brasse: and he dyd grynde in the prison house.

²²Howbeit the heere of his head began to growe agayne after that he was shauen.

²³Then the lordes of the Philistines gathered them together, for to offer a solempne offring vnto Dagon their God, and to reioyce: For they sayd, Our God hath deliuered Samson our enemie into our handes.

²⁴And when the people sawe him, they praysed their God: for they sayde, Our God hath delyuered into our handes our enemie, and destroyer of our countrey, whiche slue manye of vs.

²⁵And when their heartes were mery, they sayde: Send for Samson, that he may make vs laugh. And they set Samson out of the prison house, and he played before them: and they set hym betweene the pyllers.

²⁶And Samson sayde vnto the lad that led hym by the hande: Set me that I may touche the pyllers that the house standeth vpon, and that I may leane to them.

²⁷And the house was full of men and women, and there were all the lordes of the Philistines: And there were vpon the roofe a three thousande men and women, that behelde whyle Samson played.

²⁸And Samson called vnto the Lorde, and sayde: O Lorde God I pray thee thyncke vpon me, and strengthen me I beseche thee at this tyme onelye O God, that I may be at once auenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹And Samson caught the two middle pyllers on which the house stoode and on which it was borne vp, the one in his ryght hande, and the other in his left.

³⁰And Samson sayde: My soule shall dye with the Philistines, and bowed them with all his myght, and the house fell vpon the lordes and vpon all the people that were therin: And so ye dead which he slue at his death, were mo then they which he slue in his lyfe.

³¹And then his brethren & all the house of his father came downe, and toke him vp, and brought hym, and buryed hym betweene Zarah and Esthaol, in the burying place of Manoah his father: And he iudged Israel twentie yeres.

Chapter 17

¹There was a man of mount Ephraim, named Micah.

²And he sayde vnto his mother: The seuen hundred siluerlynges that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest it in myne eares, behold the syluer is with me, I toke it away. And his mother sayd: Blessed be thou my sonne, in the Lorde.

³And when he had restored the leuen hundreth syluerlynges to his mother, his mother sayde: I had dedicated the syluer vnto the Lorde of myne hande for thee my sonne, that thou shouldest make a grauen and moulten image: Now therfore I will geue it thee agayne.

⁴And when he restored the money vnto his mother, his mother toke two hundreth syluerlynges, and gaue them the founder, which made therof a grauen moulten image, and it was in the house of Micah.

⁵And the man Micah had an house of goddes, and made an Ephod and Theraphim, and consecrated one of his sonnes, which became his prieste.

⁶In those dayes there was no kyng in Israel, but euery man dyd that which was good in his owne eyes.

⁷And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Iuda, of the kynred of Iuda, which young man was a Leuite, & soiourned there.

⁸And the man departed out of the citie of Bethlehem Iuda, to go dwell where he coulde fynde [a conuenient place]: And he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah as he iourneyed.

⁹And Micah sayde vnto him: Whence comest thou? The Leuite aunswered hym: I am of Bethlehem Iuda, and go to dwell where I may fynde [a place].

¹⁰And Micah sayde agayne vnto hym: Dwell with me, and be vnto me a father and a prieste, and I will geue thee ten syluerlynges by yere, two garmentes, and thy meate and dryncke. So the Leuite went in.

¹¹And ye Leuite was content to dwell with the man, and was vnto hym as one of his owne sonnes.

¹²And Micah consecrated the Leuite, & the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

¹³Then sayde Micah: Now I am sure that the Lord will be good vnto me, seing I haue a Leuite to my prieste.

Chapter 18

¹In those dayes there was no kyng in Israel, and in those dayes the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritaunce to dwell in: For vnto that tyme all their inheritaunce had not fallen vnto them among the tribe of Israel.

²And the children of Dan sent of their kynred fyue actiue men in feates of warre out of their coastes, euen out of Zaraah & Esthaol, to viewe the lande and searche it out, and sayde vnto them: Go, and searche out the lande. Which whan they came to mount Ephraim, euen to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

³And when they were in the house of Micah, they knewe the voyce of the young man the Leuite: And when they turned in thyther, they sayde vnto him: Who brought thee thyther? What makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

⁴And he aunswered them: Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hyred me, and I am become his priest.

⁵And they sayd vnto hym agayne: Aske counsell now of God, that we may knowe whether the way which we go shalbe prousperous, or no.

⁶And the priest sayde vnto them: Go in peace, for the Lorde guydeth your way which ye go.

⁷Then the fyue men departed, & came to Lais, and sawe the people that were therin, howe they dwelt carelesse, after the maner of the Sidons styll, & without castyng of perils, and that no man made any trouble in the lande, or vsurped any dominion: but were farre from the Sidons, and had no busynesse with other men.

⁸And they came agayne vnto their brethren to Zaraah and Esthaol, and their brethren sayde vnto them: What haue ye done?

⁹And they aunswered: Aryse, that we may go vp agaynst them, for we haue seene the lande, surely a very good one: And do ye syt styll? Be not slouthfull to go and entre to possesse the lande.

¹⁰Yf ye will go, ye shall come vnto a people that casteth no perils, and it is a very large countrey, which God hath geuen into your handes: It is also a place which doth lacke nothing that is in the worlde.

¹¹And there departed thence of the kynred of the Danites, euen out of Zaraah and Esthaol, sixe hundred men appoyntted with instrumentes of warre.

¹²And they went vp, and pytched in Kiriath iarim, whiche is in Iuda: Wherfore they called the place, Mahaneh Dan, vnto this day, and it is on ye backsyde of Kiriath iarim.

¹³And they went thence vnto mount Ephraim, & came vnto the house of Micah.

¹⁴Then aunswered the fiue men that went to spye out the countrey of Lais, and saide vnto their brethren: Wot ye not that there is in these houses an Ephod, Theraphim, and a grauen and a moulten image? Nowe therfore consider what ye haue to do.

¹⁵And they turned thytherwarde, and came to the house of the young man the Leuite, euen vnto the house of Micah, and saluted hym peaceablie.

¹⁶And the sixe hundred men girded with weapons of warre, which were of the children of Dan, stoode by the entryng of the gate.

¹⁷And the fiue men that went to spye out the lande, went in thyther, & toke the graue image, & the Ephod, Theraphim, and the moulten image: (And the priest stoode in the entryng of the gate with the sixe hundred men that were appointed with weapons of warre.)

¹⁸Whyle the other went into Micahs house, and fet the carued image, the Ephod, Theraphim, and the moulten image: Then saide the priest vnto them, what do ye?

¹⁹They aunswered hym: Holde thy peace, lay thine hande vpon thy mouth, and come with vs, to be our father and priest: Is it better for thee to be a priest vnto the house of one man, then to be a priest vnto a tribe or kynred in Israel?

²⁰And the priestes hearte was glad, and toke the Ephod, and Theraphim, and the grauen image, and went in the middest of the people.

²¹And they turned and departed, and put the children, the catell, and their other substaunce before them.

²²And whe they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses neare to Micahs house, gathered together, & folowed after the children of Dan:

²³And called vnto them, and they turned their faces, & said vnto Micah: What ayleth thee, that thou makest an outcrye?

²⁴And he sayd: Ye haue taken away my goddes which I made, and also ye priest, and go your wayes: and what haue I more? How then saye ye vnto me, What ayleth thee?

²⁵And the children of Dan said vnto him: Let not thy voyce be hearde among vs, lest angrye felowes runne vpon thee, & thou lose thy lyfe, with the lyues of all thyne housholde.

²⁶And so the children of Dan went their wayes: And when Micah sawe that they were to strong for hym, he turned and went backe vnto his house.

²⁷And they toke the thinges which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came vnto Lais, euen vnto a people that were at rest and without mystrust, and smote them with the edge of the sword, & burnt the citie with fire.

²⁸And there was no man to helpe, because Lais was farre from Sidon, & they had medlyng with any other man: And it was in the valley that lyeth by Bethrehob.

²⁹And they buylt them there a citie, and dwelt therin, & called it Dan after the name of Dan their father, which was borne vnto Israel: Howbeit, the name of the citie was Lais at ye begynnyng.

³⁰And the chyldren of Dan set them vp the grauen image: And Ionathan the sonne of Gersom, the sonne of Manasses, and his sonnes, were the priestes in the tribe of Dan, vntyl the day of the captiuitie of the lande.

³¹And they set them vp the carued image which Micah made, all the while that the house of God was in Silo.

Chapter 19

¹Also in those dayes, when there was no kyng in Israel, a certayne Leuite soiournyng on the syde of mount Ephraim, toke to wyfe a concubine out of Bethlehem Iuda.

²And his concubine played the whore by him, and went awaye from him vnto her fathers house to Bethlehem Iuda, and there continued foure monethes.

³And her husbande arose, and went after her, to speake frendly vnto her, and to bryng her agayne, hauyng his lad with him, and a couple of asses: And she brought hym vnto her fathers house, & when the father of the damosell sawe hym, he reioyced of his commyng.

⁴And his father in lawe, the damosels father, retayned hym, and he abode with hym three dayes: and so they dyd eate and drinke, and lodged there.

⁵The fourth day whan they arose early in the mornyng, the man stoode vp, to depart. And the damosels father sayde vnto his sonne in lawe: Comfort thyne heart with a morsell of bread, and then go your way.

⁶And they sate downe, and dyd eate and drincke both of them together. And the damosels father sayde vnto the man: Be content I pray thee, and tary all nyght, and let thyne heart be mery.

⁷And when the man stoode redy to depart, his father in lawe compelled hym: therfore he returned, and taryed all nyght there.

⁸And he rose vp early the fyfth day to departe, and the damosels father said: Comforte thyne hearte I pray thee. And they taryed vntyll after mydday: and they dyd eate both of them together.

⁹And when the man arose to depart with his concubine and his lad, his father in lawe the damosels father, sayd vnto hym: Behold nowe, the day goeth fast away, and draweth towarde euen, I pray you tary all night: Behold the sunne goeth to rest, lodge here, that thyne hearte may be mery: and to morowe get you early vpon your waye, that thou mayest get thee to thy tent.

¹⁰Neuerthelatere the man woulde not tary, but arose and departed, and came as farre as Iebus (which is Hierusalem) and his two asses laden, and his concubine with hym.

¹¹And when they were fast by Iebus, the day was sore spent, and the young man sayde vnto his maister: Come I pray thee, and let vs turne in into this citie of the Iebusites, and lodge al night there.

¹²His maister aunswered him: We wyll not turne into a straunge citie that are not of the children of Israel, we will go foorth to Gibea.

¹³And he sayd vnto his lad: Go forwarde and let vs drawe neare to one of these places to lodge all nyght, either in Gibea, or in Rama

¹⁴And they went forwarde vpon their way, and the sunne went downe vpon them when they were fast by Gibea, which belongeth to them of Beniamin.

¹⁵And they turned thytherwarde to go in, and lodge all nyght in Gibea: And when he came, he sat him downe in a streate of the citie, for there was no man that toke them into his house to lodgyng.

¹⁶And behold, there came an olde man from his worke, out of the fielde at eue, which was also of mount Ephraim, and dwelt as a straunger in Gibea: But the men of the place, were the children of Iemini.

¹⁷And when he had lyft vp his eyes, he sawe a wayfaryng man in the streate of the citie: And the olde man sayde, Whyther goest thou? and whence commest thou?

¹⁸He aunswered hym: We come from Bethlehem Iuda towarde the syde of mount Ephraim, from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehem Iuda, and go nowe to the house of the Lorde, and there is no man that receaueth me to house.

¹⁹We haue strawe and prouender for our asses, and bread and wyne for me and thy handmayde, and for the lad that is with thy seruaunt: & we lacke nothing.

²⁰The olde man sayd: Peace be with thee, all that thou lackest shalt thou fynde with me: Only abyde not in the streate [all nyght].

²¹And so he brought him into his house, and gaue fodder vnto the Asses: and they wasshed their feete, and dyd eate and drynke.

²²And as they were makyng their heartes mery, beholde, the men of the citie which were wicked, beset the house rounde about, and thrust at the doore, & spake to the man of the house, the olde man, saying: Bring foorth the man that came into thyne house, that we may knowe him.

²³And this man the maister of the house went out, and sayd vnto them: Oh, nay my brethren, do not so wickedly, seyng that this man is come into myne house, do not so vnmeete a thyng.

²⁴Behold, here is my daughter a mayden, and this mans concubine, them I wyll bryng out nowe vnto you, and humble them, & do with them what seemeth you good: but vnto this man do not so abhominable a thing.

²⁵But the men woulde not hearken to hym: And the man toke his concubine, and brought her out vnto them, whiche knewe her, and abused her al the night, euen vnto the mornyng: and when the day began to spryng, they let her go.

²⁶And then came the woman in the dawnyng of the day, and fell downe at the doore of the mans house where her lord was, tyll it was day.

²⁷And her lorde arose vp in the morning, and opened the doores of the house, and went out to go his way: and beholde the woman, euen his concubine, laye along before the doore of the house, and her handes vpon the thresholde.

²⁸And he sayde vnto her, Up, and let vs be goyng: But she aunswered not. Then the man toke her vp vpo an asse, & stoode vp, & gate hym vnto his place.

²⁹And whe he was come into his house, he toke a knyfe, and caught his concubine, and deuided her in peeces, with the bones, into twelue partes, and sent her into all quarters of Israel.

³⁰And all that sawe it, sayde: There was no suche deede done or seene sence the childre of Israel came out of Egypt vnto this day. Consider the matter, take aduisement, and say your myndes.

Chapter 20

¹Then all the chyldren of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, euen from Dan to Beerseba, with the lande of Gilead, vnto the Lorde in Mispah.

²And there assembled the chiefe men of all the people, [and] of all the tribes of Israel, in the congregation of the people of God, foure hundred thousande footemen that drewe swordes.

³(Now the chyldren of Beniamin heard that the chyldren of Israel were gone vp to Mispah) Then sayde the chyldren of Israel: Tell vs howe this wickednes is committed?

⁴And the Leuite the womans husband that was slayne, aunswered and saide: I came into Gibea that is in Beniamin with my concubine, to lodge all nyght:

⁵And the men of Gibea rose against me, and beset the house rounde about vpon me by night, & thought to haue slayne me, and my concubyne haue they forced, that she is dead.

⁶And I toke my concubine, & cut her in peeces, and sent her throughout all the countrey of the inheritaunce of Israel: For they haue committed abhomination and villanie in Israel.

⁷Beholde ye are all children of Israel, geue your aduice and counsel herein.

⁸And all the people arose as one man, saying: There shal not a man of vs go to his tent, neither turne into his house.

⁹But this shalbe it that we will do to Gibea: [we will go vp] by lot against it:

¹⁰And we will take ten men of the hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of the thousande, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch vitayle for the people, that they may do when they come to Gibea Beniamin, according to all the abhomination that they haue wrought in Israel.

¹¹And so all the men of Israel gathered together against the citie, knyt together as one man.

¹²And the tribes of Israel sent men thorowe all the tribe of Beniamin, saying: What wickednesse is this that is committed among you?

¹³Nowe therfore deliuer vs the men, those children of belial whiche are in Gibea, that we may slea them, and put away euill from Israel.

¹⁴Neuerthelater, the children of Beniamin would not hearke vnto the voyce of their brethren the children of Israel: But the children of Beniamin gathered the selues together out of the cities vnto Gibea, to come out and fight agaynst the children of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of Beniamin were numbred at that time out of the cities, twentie & sixe thousand men that drewe swordes, besyde the inhabitauntes of Gibea, which were numbred seuen hundred chosen men.

¹⁶And among all these folke, were seuen hundred chosen men beyng left handed, whiche euery one coulde flyng stones at an heere breadth, and not misse.

¹⁷And the children of Israel beside Beniamin, were numbred foure hundred thousand men that drewe swordes, and were all men of warre.

¹⁸And the children of Israel arose, and wet vp to the house of God, and asked of God, saying: Whiche of vs shall go vp first to the battel against the children of Beniamin? And the Lorde sayd: Iuda shall begin.

¹⁹And the children of Israel stoode vp early, and camped against Gibea.

²⁰And the men of Israel went out to battell against Beniamin, and the men of Israel put the selues in aray to fight against them, beside Gibea.

²¹And the children of Beniamin came out of Gibea, and destroyed downe to the ground of the Israelites that day twentie and two thousand men.

²²And the people the men of Israel plucked vp their heartes, and set their battel againe in aray, in the same place where they dyd the first day.

²³(And the children of Israel went vp, and wept before the Lorde vnto euen, and asked of the Lord, saying: Shal we go agayne to battell against the children of Beniamin our brethre? And the Lord sayde: Go vp against them.)

²⁴And the children of Israel came neare against the children of Beniamin the seconde day.

²⁵And the children of Beniamin went against them out of Gibea the seconde day, and destroyed to the earth of the childre of Israel once againe eyghteene thousand men that drewe swordes euerie man of them.

²⁶Then al the children of Israel, and all the people, went vp and came vnto the house of God, and wept, and sate there before the Lord, and fasted the same day vnto euen, and offered burnt offerynges and peace offerynges before the Lorde.

²⁷And the children of Israel asked the Lord: (for there was the arke of the appoyntment of God, in those dayes:

²⁸And Phinehes the sonne of Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron stoode before it at that time) saying: Shal I get me vp to go out any more to battell against the children of Beniamin my brethren, or shal I ceasse? The Lorde sayde: Go vp, for to morow I wil deliuer them into your handes.

²⁹And Israel set lyers awayte round about Gibea.

³⁰And the children of Israel went vp against the childre of Beniamin the third time, & put them selues in aray against Gibea, as twyse before.

³¹And the children of Beniamin came out against the people, & were drawen away from the citie, & they began to smite of ye people, dead as twise before, by two hye wayes in the fielde (of whiche one goeth vp to the house of god, & the other to Gibea) vpon a thirtie men of Israel.

³²(And the children of Beniamin sayde: They are fallen before vs, as at the first. But the children of Israel sayd: Let vs flee, and plucke them away from the citie, vnto the hye wayes.)

³³And all the men of Israel rose vp out of their place, & put them selues in aray at Baal Thamar: And lykewyse the liers in wayte of Israel came foorth out of their places, euen out of the medowes that were about Gibea,

³⁴And came against Gibea ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and there was a sore battel: But they wist not that euyll was neare them.

³⁵And the Lord plagued Beniamin before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed of the Beniamites the same day twentie and fyue thousand and an hundred men, that drue swordes euerie one of them.

³⁶And the children of Beniamin sawe that they were put to ye stricken downe: for the men of Israel gaue place to ye Beniamites, because they trusted vnto the lyers in wayt which they had layde beside Gibea.

³⁷And the lyers in wayte hasted, & brake foorth against Gibea, & the embushment drewe them selues along, and smote all the citie with the edge of the sworde.

³⁸And an appoyntment had the men of Israel from the lyers in wayt, that they should make a great flambe [and] smoke ryse vp out of the citie.

³⁹And when the men of Israel retired in ye battell, Beniamin began to smyte dead of the children of Israel about a thirtie persons, and sayde: Surely they are stricken downe before vs, as in the first battell.

⁴⁰But when there began to aryse out of the citie a flambe as a piller of smoke, the Beniamites loked backe, & behold the flambe of the whole citie began to ascende vp to heauen.

⁴¹When the men of Israel also turned agayne, the men of Beniamin were abashed, for they sawe that euyll approched them:

⁴²And therfore they turned their backes before the men of Israel, vnto the way that leadeth to the wildernesse, but the battel ouertoke them: And besyde that, they which came out of the citie, destroied the in the middle of the.

⁴³And thus they compassed the Beniamites about, and chased them at Menuha, and ouerranne them, euen ouer against Gibea on the east syde.

⁴⁴And there were slayne of Beniamin eyghteene thousand men, whiche were men of warre.

⁴⁵And they turned & fled to the wyldernes ward, & vnto the rocke of Rimmon: and they gleaned by ye way of the rest of them, fiue thousande men: & pursued after them, vntyll they came to Gidom, and slue two thousand men of them.

⁴⁶So that al that were slayne that same day of Beniamin were twentie & fyue thousand men that drue swordes, which were all men of warre:

⁴⁷Onely sixe hundred men turned and fled to the wildernes, vnto the rocke of Rimmon, and abode in the rocke of Rimmon foure monethes.

⁴⁸And the men of Israel turned backe againe vnto the children of Beniamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword in the cities, both man & beast, and al that came to hande, and set on fyre all the cities that they coulde come by.

Chapter 21

¹And the men of Israel sware in Mispah, saying: Ther shal none of vs geue his daughter vnto any of Beniamin to wife.

²And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till euen, before God, & lift vp their voyces, and wept sore,

³And sayde: O Lorde God of Israel, why is this come to passe in Israel, that there shoulde be this day one tribe lacking in Israel?

⁴And on the morowe the people rose vp betyme, and made there an aulter, and offered burnt offeringes and peace offeringes.

⁵And the children of Israel sayd: Who is he among al the tribes of Israel, that came not vp with the congregation vnto the Lorde? for they had made a great othe concerning him that came not vp to the Lord to Mispah, saying: He shall surely dye.

⁶And the children of Israel had pitie on Beniamin their brethren, and sayde: There is one tribe cut of from Israel this day:

⁷What shall we do vnto the remnaunt of them, that they may haue wiues? we haue sworne by the Lorde, that we wyl not geue the of our daughters to wiues.

⁸And they sayde: Is there any of the tribes of Israel, that came not vp to Mispah to the Lord? And behold, there came none of Iabes Gilead vnto the hoaste and congregation.

⁹For the people were viewed, and beholde there were none of the inhabitauntes of Iabes Gilead there.

¹⁰And the congregation sent thyther twelue thousand men of the strongest, and commaunded them, saying: Go, and smyte the inhabitauntes of Iabes Gilead with the edge of the sworde, both women and children.

¹¹And this is it that ye shall do: ye shall vtterly destroy all the males, and al the women that haue lyen by men.

¹²And they found among the inhabitautes of Iabes Gilead foure hundred damoselles, virgins, yt had knowne no man, by lyeng with any male: And they brought them vnto the hoast to Silo, whiche is in the lande of Chanaan.

¹³And the whole congregation sent and spake with the children of Beniamin that were in the rocke of Rimmon, and called peaceably vnto them.

¹⁴And Beniamin came againe at that time, and they gaue them wyues which they had saued alyue of the woman of Iabes Gilead: But they suffised them not.

¹⁵And the people were sory for Beniamin, because that the Lord had made a breache in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶And then the elders of the congregation, sayd: What shall we do to the remnaunt of them, to get them wiues? seyng all the women of Beniamin are destroyed?

¹⁷And they sayde: There must be an inheritaunce for them that be escaped of Beniamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

¹⁸Howbeit, we may not geue the wyues of our daughters. For the children of Israel had sworne, saying: Cursed be he that geueth a wyfe to Beniamin.

¹⁹Then they sayde: Behold, there is a feast of ye Lorde yerely in Silo, which is on the northside of Bethel, & on the cast side of the way that goeth from Bethel to Sichem, and south from Libanon.

²⁰Therfore they commaunded the children of Beniamin, saying: Go, and lye in wayte in the vineyardes.

²¹And when ye see that the daughters of Silo come out to daunce in daunces, the come ye out of the vineyardes & catche you euery man a wyfe of the daughters of Silo, & go to the lande of Beniamin.

²²And when their fathers or brethren come vnto vs to complayne, we will say vnto them, Haue pitie on vs for their sakes: because we reserued not to eche man his wyfe in tyme of warre, neither haue ye geuen vnto them, that ye should sinne at this time.

²³And the children of Beniamin did eue so, and toke them wyues according to the numbre of them that dauced, whom they caught: and they went, and returned vnto their inheritaunce, and repayred the cities, and dwelt in them.

²⁴And the children of Israel departed thence at that tyme, & went euery man to his tribe, and to his kinred, and went out from thence euery man to his inheritaunce.

²⁵In those dayes there was no king in Israel: but euery man dyd that whiche seemed right in his owne eyes.