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12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went
 northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight
 against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee?  we
 will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
12:2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with
 the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of
 their hands.
12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands,
 and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them
 into my hand:  wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight
 against me?
12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with
 Ephraim:  and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye
 Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among
 the Manassites.
12:5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: 
 and it was so that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me
 go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? 
 If he said, Nay;
12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth:  and he said Sibboleth: 
 for he could not frame to pronounce it right.  Then they took him, and
 slew him at the passages of Jordan:  and there fell at that time of the
 Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
12:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years.  Then died Jephthah the
 Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
12:8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
12:9 And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad,
 and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons.  And he judged
 Israel seven years.
12:10 Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
12:11 And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel
 ten years.
12:12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country
 of Zebulun.
12:13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
12:14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and
 ten ass colts:  and he judged Israel eight years.
12:15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in
 Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

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13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and
 the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,
 whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her,
 Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not:  but thou shalt conceive,
 and bear a son.
13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink,
 and eat not any unclean thing:
13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come
 on his head:  for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: 
 and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came
 unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God,
 very terrible:  but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his
 name:
13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and
 now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing:  for
 the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
13:8 Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God
 which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do
 unto the child that shall be born.
13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came
 again unto the woman as she sat in the field:  but Manoah her husband was
 not with her.
13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said
 unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the
 other day.
13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and
 said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman?  And he
 said, I am.
13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass.  How shall we order
 the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto
 the woman let her beware.
13:14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let
 her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing:  all that I
 commanded her let her observe.
13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain
 thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I
 will not eat of thy bread:  and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou
 must offer it unto the LORD.  For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of
 the LORD.
13:17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that
 when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my
 name, seeing it is secret?
13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a
 rock unto the LORD:  and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his
 wife looked on.
13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the
 altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.  And
 Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his
 wife.  Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have
 seen God.
13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he
 would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands,
 neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this
 time have told us such things as these.
13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson:  and the child
 grew, and the LORD blessed him.
13:25 And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of
 Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

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14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the
 daughters of the Philistines.
14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have
 seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines:  now therefore
 get her for me to wife.
14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman
 among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou
 goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?  And Samson said
 unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that
 he sought an occasion against the Philistines:  for at that time the
 Philistines had dominion over Israel.
14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and
 came to the vineyards of Timnath:  and, behold, a young lion roared against
 him.
14:6 And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as
 he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand:  but he told
 not his father or his mother what he had done.
14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson
 well.
14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see
 the carcase of the lion:  and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and
 honey in the carcase of the lion.
14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his
 father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat:  but he told not
 them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
14:10 So his father went down unto the woman:  and Samson made there a
 feast; for so used the young men to do.
14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty
 companions to be with him.
14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you:  if
 ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find
 it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
14:13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets
 and thirty change of garments.  And they said unto him, Put forth thy
 riddle, that we may hear it.
14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of
 the strong came forth sweetness.  And they could not in three days expound
 the riddle.
14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's
 wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we
 burn thee and thy father's house with fire:  have ye called us to take that
 we have?  is it not so?
14:16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me,
 and lovest me not:  thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my
 people, and hast not told it me.  And he said unto her, Behold, I have
 not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?
14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted:  and
 it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore
 upon him:  and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the
 sun went down, What is sweeter than honey?  and what is stronger than a
 lion?  And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had
 not found out my riddle.
14:19 And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to
 Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave
 change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle.  And his anger was
 kindled, and he went up to his father's house.
14:20 But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as
 his friend.

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15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest,
 that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my
 wife into the chamber.  But her father would not suffer him to go in.
15:2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated
 her; therefore I gave her to thy companion:  is not her younger sister
 fairer than she?  take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the
 Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands,
 and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two
 tails.
15:5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the
 standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also
 the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this?  And they answered,
 Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and
 given her to his companion.  And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and
 her father with fire.
15:7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be
 avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
15:8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter:  and he went
 down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread
 themselves in Lehi.
15:10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us?  And they
 answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to
 us.
15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and
 said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?
  what is this that thou hast done unto us?  And he said unto them, As
 they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
15:12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may
 deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines.  And Samson said unto them,
 Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and
 deliver thee into their hand:  but surely we will not kill thee.  And they
 bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: 
 and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that
 were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands
 loosed from off his hands.
15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took
 it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with
 the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast
 away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast
 given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant:  and now shall I
 die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
15:19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came
 water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he
 revived:  wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in
 Lehi unto this day.
15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

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16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto
 her.
16:2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither.  And they
 compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the
 city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day,
 we shall kill him.
16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors
 of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar
 and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top
 of an hill that is before Hebron.
16:4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of
 Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her,
 Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means
 we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him:  and we
 will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great
 strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that
 were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs
 which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
16:9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.
 And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.  And he
 brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. 
 So his strength was not known.
16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me
 lies:  now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
16:11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never
 were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said
 unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.  And there were liers
 in wait abiding in the chamber.  And he brake them from off his arms like a
 thread.
16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told
 me lies:  tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.  And he said unto her,
 If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
16:14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines
 be upon thee, Samson.  And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with
 the pin of the beam, and with the web.
16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine
 heart is not with me?  thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast
 not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and
 urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come
 a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my
 mother's womb:  if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I
 shall become weak, and be like any other man.
16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and
 called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he
 hath showed me all his heart.  Then the lords of the Philistines came up
 unto her, and brought money in their hand.
16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and
 she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to
 afflict him, and his strength went from him.
16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.  And he awoke
 out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and
 shake myself.  And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him
 down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the
 prison house.
16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer
 a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice:  for they said, Our
 god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god:  for they said,
 Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our
 country, which slew many of us.
16:25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said,
 Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.  And they called for Samson out
 of the prison house; and he made them sport:  and they set him between the
 pillars.
16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that
 I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon
 them.
16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the
 Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three
 thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I
 pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I
 may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house
 stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of
 the other with his left.
16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.  And he bowed
 himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon
 all the people that were therein.  So the dead which he slew at his death
 were more than they which he slew in his life.
16:31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took
 him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the
 buryingplace of Manoah his father.  And he judged Israel twenty years.

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17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
17:2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver
 that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also
 in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.  And his mother
 said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
17:3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his
 mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD
 from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image:  now
 therefore I will restore it unto thee.
17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two
 hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof
 a graven image and a molten image:  and they were in the house of Micah.
17:5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and
 teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that
 which was right in his own eyes.
17:7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah,
 who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
17:8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn
 where he could find a place:  and he came to mount Ephraim to the house
 of Micah, as he journeyed.
17:9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou?  And he said unto him, I
 am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a
 place.
17:10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a
 priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a
 suit of apparel, and thy victuals.  So the Levite went in.
17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man
 was unto him as one of his sons.
17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest,
 and was in the house of Micah.
17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I
 have a Levite to my priest.

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18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel:  and in those days the
 tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that
 day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of
 Israel.
18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their
 coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land,
 and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land:  who when
 they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
18:3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the
 young man the Levite:  and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who
 brought thee hither?  and what makest thou in this place?  and what hast
 thou here?
18:4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath
 hired me, and I am his priest.
18:5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may
 know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
18:6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace:  before the LORD is your
 way wherein ye go.
18:7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that
 were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians,
 quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put
 them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and
 had no business with any man.
18:8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol:  and their
 brethren said unto them, What say ye?
18:9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them:  for we have seen
 the land, and, behold, it is very good:  and are ye still?  be not
 slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
18:10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: 
 for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of
 any thing that is in the earth.
18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah
 and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.
18:12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah:  wherefore
 they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day:  behold, it is behind
 Kirjathjearim.
18:13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of
 Micah.
18:14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish,
 and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an
 ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?  now therefore
 consider what ye have to do.
18:15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man
 the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.
18:16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which
 were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.
18:17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in
 thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and
 the molten image:  and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with
 the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
18:18 And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the
 ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image.  Then said the priest unto
 them, What do ye?
18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth,
 and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest:  is it better for
 thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest
 unto a tribe and a family in Israel?
18:20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the
 teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle
 and the carriage before them.
18:22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that
 were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and
 overtook the children of Dan.
18:23 And they cried unto the children of Dan.  And they turned their faces,
 and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a
 company?
18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest,
 and ye are gone away:  and what have I more?  and what is this that ye
 say unto me, What aileth thee?
18:25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard
 among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with
 the lives of thy household.
18:26 And the children of Dan went their way:  and when Micah saw that they
 were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
18:27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which
 he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure:
  and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with
 fire.
18:28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and
 they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth
 by Bethrehob.  And they built a city, and dwelt therein.
18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their
 father, who was born unto Israel:  howbeit the name of the city was Laish
 at the first.
18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image:  and Jonathan, the
 son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the
 tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
18:31 And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time
 that the house of God was in Shiloh.

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19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel,
 that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim,
 who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him
 unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
19:3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her,
 and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of
 asses:  and she brought him into her father's house:  and when the father
 of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
19:4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode
 with him three days:  so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
19:5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the
 morning, that he rose up to depart:  and the damsel's father said unto his
 son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go
 your way.
19:6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together:  for
 the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and
 tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.
19:7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: 
 therefore he lodged there again.
19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart:  and the
 damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee.  And they tarried
 until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
19:9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his
 servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now
 the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night:  behold, the
 day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to
 morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed,
 and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with
 him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
19:11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the
 servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into
 this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the
 city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass
 over to Gibeah.
19:13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of
 these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
19:14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them
 when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah:  and
 when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city:  for there was
 no man that took them into his house to lodging.
19:16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at
 even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah:  but
 the men of the place were Benjamites.
19:17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the
 street of the city:  and the old man said, Whither goest thou?  and whence
 comest thou?
19:18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the
 side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I:  and I went to Bethlehemjudah,
 but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that
 receiveth me to house.
19:19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is
 bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man
 which is with thy servants:  there is no want of any thing.
19:20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy
 wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: 
 and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
19:22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the
 city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at
 the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring
 forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said
 unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly;
 seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.
19:24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will
 bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto
 you:  but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
19:25 But the men would not hearken to him:  so the man took his concubine,
 and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the
 night until the morning:  and when the day began to spring, they let her
 go.
19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the
 door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the
 house, and went out to go his way:  and, behold, the woman his concubine
 was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the
 threshold.
19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going.  But none answered. 
 Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him
 unto his place.
19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on
 his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve
 pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done
 nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land
 of Egypt unto this day:  consider of it, take advice, and speak your
 minds.

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20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was
 gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of
 Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
20:2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel,
 presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred
 thousand footmen that drew sword.
20:3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were
 gone up to Mizpeh. ) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was
 this wickedness?
20:4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and
 said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine,
 to lodge.
20:5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about
 upon me by night, and thought to have slain me:  and my concubine have
 they forced, that she is dead.
20:6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout
 all the country of the inheritance of Israel:  for they have committed
 lewdness and folly in Israel.
20:7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and
 counsel.
20:8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go
 to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.
20:9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will
 go up by lot against it;
20:10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of
 Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand,
 to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah
 of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
20:11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together
 as one man.
20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin,
 saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
20:13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which
 are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from
 Israel.  But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of
 their brethren the children of Israel:
20:14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the
 cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
20:15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the
 cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants
 of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men
 lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not
 miss.
20:17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred
 thousand men that drew sword:  all these were men of war.
20:18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and
 asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle
 against the children of Benjamin?  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up
 first.
20:19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped
 against Gibeah.
20:20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men
 of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.
20:21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed
 down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
20:22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their
 battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the
 first day.
20:23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until
 even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle
 against the children of Benjamin my brother?  And the LORD said, Go up
 against him. )
20:24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin
 the second day.
20:25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and
 destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen
 thousand men; all these drew the sword.
20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came
 unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted
 that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before
 the LORD.
20:27 And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the
 covenant of God was there in those days,
20:28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in
 those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the
 children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?  And the LORD said, Go
 up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
20:29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
20:30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on
 the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other
 times.
20:31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were
 drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and
 kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the
 house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of
 Israel.
20:32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us,
 as at the first.  But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw
 them from the city unto the highways.
20:33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put
 themselves in array at Baaltamar:  and the liers in wait of Israel came
 forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
20:34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all
 Israel, and the battle was sore:  but they knew not that evil was near
 them.
20:35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel:  and the children of Israel
 destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an
 hundred men:  all these drew the sword.
20:36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten:  for the men
 of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers
 in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
20:37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in
 wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the
 sword.
20:38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the
 liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out
 of the city.
20:39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to
 smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons:  for they said,
 Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
20:40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of
 smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the
 city ascended up to heaven.
20:41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were
 amazed:  for they saw that evil was come upon them.
20:42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the
 way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came
 out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
20:43 Thus they enclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them,
 and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
20:44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men
 of valour.
20:45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of
 Rimmon:  and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and
 pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
20:46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five
 thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock
 Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
20:48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and
 smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as
 the beast, and all that came to hand:  also they set on fire all the cities
 that they came to.

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21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any
 of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
21:2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even
 before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
21:3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel,
 that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and
 built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of
 Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD?  For they had
 made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh,
 saying, He shall surely be put to death.
21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother,
 and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
21:7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by
 the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came
 not up to Mizpeh to the LORD?  And, behold, there came none to the camp
 from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
21:9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the
 inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the
 valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of
 Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
21:11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy
 every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred
 young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male:  and they
 brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
21:13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of
 Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which
 they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead:  and yet so they
 sufficed them not.
21:15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had
 made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
21:16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives
 for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
21:17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped
 of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
21:18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters:  for the children
 of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to
 Benjamin.
21:19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh
 yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east
 side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south
 of Lebonah.
21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie
 in wait in the vineyards;
21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in
 dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife
 of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
21:22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to
 complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our
 sakes:  because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war:  for ye
 did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according
 to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught:  and they went and
 returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in
 them.
21:24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to
 his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his
 inheritance.
21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel:  every man did that
 which was right in his own eyes.