Nach

(1) When all the kings west of the Jordan—in the hill country, in the Shephelah, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea up to the vicinity of Lebanon, the [land of the] Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—learned of this, (2) they gathered with one accord to fight against Joshua and Israel. (3) But when the inhabitants of Gibeon learned how Joshua had treated Jericho and Ai, (4) they for their part resorted to cunning. They set out in disguise: they took worn-out sacks for their asses, and worn-out waterskins that were cracked and patched; (5) they had worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and threadbare clothes on their bodies; and all the bread they took as provision was dry and crumbly. (6) And so they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We come from a distant land; we propose that you make a pact with us.” (7) The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live among us; how then can we make a pact with you?” (8) They said to Joshua, “We will be your subjects.” But Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” (9) They replied, “Your servants have come from a very distant country, because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we heard the report of Him: of all that He did in Egypt, (10) and of all that He did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth. (11) So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country instructed us as follows, ‘Take along provisions for a trip, and go to them and say: We will be your subjects; come make a pact with us.’ (12) This bread of ours, which we took from our houses as provision, was still hot when we set out to come to you; and see how dry and crumbly it has become. (13) These wineskins were new when we filled them, and see how they have cracked. These clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” (14) The men took [their word] because of their provisions, and did not inquire of the LORD. (15) Joshua established friendship with them; he made a pact with them to spare their lives, and the chieftains of the community gave them their oath. (16) But when three days had passed after they made this pact with them, they learned that they were neighbors, living among them. (17) So the Israelites set out, and on the third day they came to their towns; these towns were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. (18) But the Israelites did not attack them, since the chieftains of the community had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. The whole community muttered against the chieftains, (19) but all the chieftains answered the whole community, “We swore to them by the LORD, the God of Israel; therefore we cannot touch them. (20) This is what we will do to them: We will spare their lives, so that there may be no wrath against us because of the oath that we swore to them.” (21) And the chieftains declared concerning them, “They shall live!” And they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole community, as the chieftains had decreed concerning them. (22) Joshua summoned them and spoke to them thus: “Why did you deceive us and tell us you lived very far from us, when in fact you live among us? (23) Therefore, be accursed! Never shall your descendants cease to be slaves, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the House of my God.” (24) But they replied to Joshua, “You see, your servants had heard that the LORD your God had promised His servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all the inhabitants of the country on your account; so we were in great fear for our lives on your account. That is why we did this thing. (25) And now we are at your mercy; do with us what you consider right and proper.” (26) And he did so; he saved them from being killed by the Israelites. (27) That day Joshua made them hewers of wood and drawers of water—as they still are—for the community and for the altar of the LORD, in the place that He would choose.

(1) The following are the local kings whom the Israelites defeated and whose territories they took possession of: East of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, including the eastern half of the Arabah: (2) King Sihon of the Amorites, who resided in Heshbon and ruled over part of Gilead—from Aroer on the bank of the Wadi Arnon and the wadi proper up to the Wadi Jabbok [and] the border of the Ammonites— (3) and over the eastern Arabah up to the Sea of Chinnereth and, southward by way of Beth-jeshimoth at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east, down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Dead Sea. (4) Also the territory of King Og of Bashan—one of the last of the Rephaim—who resided in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (5) and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salcah, and all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, as also over part of Gilead [down to] the border of King Sihon of Heshbon. (6) These were vanquished by Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites; and Moses, the servant of the LORD, assigned that territory as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. (7) And the following are the local kings whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan—from Baal-gad in the Valley of the Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir—which Joshua assigned as a possession to the tribal divisions of Israel: (8) in the hill country, in the lowlands, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb—[in the land of] the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (9) They were: the king of Jericho 1. the king of Ai, near Bethel, 1. (10) the king of Jerusalem 1. the king of Hebron 1. (11) the king of Jarmuth 1. the king of Lachish 1. (12) the king of Eglon 1. the king of Gezer 1. (13) the king of Debir 1. the king of Geder 1. (14) the king of Hormah 1. the king of Arad 1. (15) the king of Libnah 1. the king of Adullam 1. (16) the king of Makkedah 1. the king of Bethel 1. (17) the king of Tappuah 1. the king of Hepher 1. (18) the king of Aphek 1. the king of Sharon 1. (19) the king of Madon 1. the king of Hazor 1. (20) the king of Shimron-meron 1. the king of Achshaph 1. (21) the king of Taanach 1. the king of Megiddo 1. (22) the king of Kedesh 1. the king of Jokneam in the Carmel 1. (23) the king of Dor in the district of Dor 1. the king of Goiim in Gilgal 1. (24) the king of Tirzah 1. Total number of kings 31.

(1ins, one chieftain from each ancestral house of each of the tribes of Israel; they were every one of them heads of ancestral houses of the contingents of Israel. (15) When they came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they spoke to them as follows: (16) “Thus said the whole community of the LORD: What is this treachery that you have committed this day against the God of Israel, turning away from the LORD, building yourselves an altar and rebelling this day against the LORD! (17) Is the sin of Peor, which brought a plague upon the community of the LORD, such a small thing to us? We have not cleansed ourselves from it to this very day; (18) and now you would turn away from the LORD! If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole community of Israel. (19) If it is because the land of your holding is unclean, cross over into the land of the LORD’s own holding, where the Tabernacle of the LORD abides, and acquire holdings among us. But do not rebel against the LORD, and do not rebel against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. (20) When Achan son of Zerah violated the proscription, anger struck the whole community of Israel; he was not the only one who perished for that sin.” (21) The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the contingents of Israel: They said, (22) “God, the LORD God! God, the LORD God! He knows, and Israel too shall know! If we acted in rebellion or in treachery against the LORD, do not vindicate us this day! (23) If we built an altar to turn away from the LORD, if it was to offer burnt offerings or meal offerings upon it, or to present sacrifices of well-being upon it, may the LORD Himself demand [a reckoning]. (24) We did this thing only out of our concern that, in time to come, your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? (25) The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between you and us, O Reubenites and Gadites; you have no share in the LORD!’ Thus your children might prevent our children from worshiping the LORD. (26) So we decided to provide [a witness] for ourselves by building an altar—not for burnt offerings or [other] sacrifices, (27) but as a witness between you and us, and between the generations to come—that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and our offerings of well-being; and that your children should not say to our children in time to come, ‘You have no share in the LORD.’ (28) We reasoned: should they speak thus to us and to our children in time to come, we would reply, ‘See the replica of the LORD’s altar, which our fathers made—not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between you and us.’ (29) Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD, or to turn away this day from the LORD and build an altar for burnt offerings, meal offerings, and sacrifices other than the altar of the LORD our God which stands before His Tabernacle.” (30) When the priest Phinehas and the chieftains of the community—the heads of the contingents of Israel—who were with him heard the explanation given by the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites, they approved. (31) The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites, “Now we know that the LORD is in our midst, since you have not committed such treachery against the LORD. You have indeed saved the Israelites from punishment by the LORD.” (32) Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the chieftains returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and gave them their report. (33) The Israelites were pleased, and the Israelites praised God; and they spoke no more of going to war against them, to ravage the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites dwelt. (34) The Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar [“Witness”], meaning, “It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is [our] God.” (1) Much later, after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, and when Joshua was old and well advanced in years, (2) Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and commanders, their magistrates and officials, and said to them: “I have grown old and am advanced in years. (3) You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all those nations on your account, for it was the LORD your God who fought for you. (4) See, I have allotted to you, by your tribes, [the territory of] these nations that still remain, and that of all the nations that I have destroyed, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. (5) The LORD your God Himself will thrust them out on your account and drive them out to make way for you, and you shall possess their land as the LORD your God promised you. (6) “But be most resolute to observe faithfully all that is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moses, without ever deviating from it to the right or to the left, (7) and without intermingling with these nations that are left among you. Do not utter the names of their gods or swear by them; do not serve them or bow down to them. (8) But hold fast to the LORD your God as you have done to this day. (9) “The LORD has driven out great, powerful nations on your account, and not a man has withstood you to this day. (10) A single man of you would put a thousand to flight, for the LORD your God Himself has been fighting for you, as He promised you. (11) For your own sakes, therefore, be most mindful to love the LORD your God. (12) For should you turn away and attach yourselves to the remnant of those nations—to those that are left among you—and intermarry with them, you joining them and they joining you, (13) know for certain that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you; they shall become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge to your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you. (14) “I am now going the way of all the earth. Acknowledge with all your heart and soul that not one of the good things that the LORD your God promised you has failed to happen; they have all come true for you, not a single one has failed. (15) But just as every good thing that the LORD your God promised you has been fulfilled for you, so the LORD can bring upon you every evil thing until He has wiped you off this good land that the LORD your God has given you. (16) If you break the covenant that the LORD your God enjoined upon you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you shall quickly perish from the good land that He has given you.” (1) Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Schechem. He summoned Israel’s elders and commanders, magistrates and officers; and they presented themselves before God. (2) Then Joshua said to all the people, “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods. (3) But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, (4) and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. (5) “Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with [the wonders] that I wrought in their midst, after which I freed you— (6) I freed your fathers—from Egypt, and you came to the Sea. But the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Sea of Reeds with chariots and horsemen. (7) They cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians; then He brought the Sea upon them, and it covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. “After you had lived a long time in the wilderness, (8) I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They gave battle to you, but I delivered them into your hands; I annihilated them for you, and you took possession of their land. (9) Thereupon Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, made ready to attack Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, (10) but I refused to listen to Balaam; he had to bless you, and thus I saved you from him. (11) “Then you crossed the Jordan and you came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you, but I delivered them into your hands. (12) I sent a plague ahead of you, and it drove them out before you—[just like] the two Amorite kings—not by your sword or by your bow. (13) I have given you a land for which you did not labor and towns which you did not build, and you have settled in them; you are enjoying vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant. (14) “Now, therefore, revere the LORD and serve Him with undivided loyalty; put away the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. (15) Or, if you are loath to serve the LORD, choose this day which ones you are going to serve—the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates, or those of the Amorites in whose land you are settled; but I and my household will serve the LORD.” (16) In reply, the people declared, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD and serve other gods! (17) For it was the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, and who wrought those wondrous signs before our very eyes, and guarded us all along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. (18) And then the LORD drove out before us all the peoples—the Amorites—that inhabited the country. We too will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” (19) Joshua, however, said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions and your sins. (20) If you forsake the LORD and serve alien gods, He will turn and deal harshly with you and make an end of you, after having been gracious to you.” (21) But the people replied to Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!” (22) Thereupon Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have by your own act chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are!” they responded. (23) “Then put away the alien gods that you have among you and direct your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (24) And the people declared to Joshua, “We will serve none but the LORD our God, and we will obey none but Him.” (25) On that day at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant for the people and he made a fixed rule for them. (26) Joshua recorded all this in a book of divine instruction. He took a great stone and set it up at the foot of the oak in the sacred precinct of the LORD; (27) and Joshua said to all the people, “See, this very stone shall be a witness against us, for it heard all the words that the LORD spoke to us; it shall be a witness against you, lest you break faith with your God.” (28) Joshua then dismissed the people to their allotted portions. (29) After these events, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten years. (30) They buried him on his own property, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. (31) Israel served the LORD during the lifetime of Joshua and the lifetime of the elders who lived on after Joshua, and who had experienced all the deeds that the LORD had wrought for Israel. (32) The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought for a hundred kesitahs from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, and which had become a heritage of the Josephites. (33) Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him on the hill of his son Phinehas, which had been assigned to him in the hill country of Ephraim.

(1) These are the nations that the LORD left so that He might test by them all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars of Canaan, (2) so that succeeding generations of Israelites might be made to experience war—but only those who had not known the former wars: (3) the five principalities of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites who inhabited the hill country of the Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. (4) These served as a means of testing Israel, to learn whether they would obey the commandments which the LORD had enjoined upon their fathers through Moses. (5) The Israelites settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; (6) they took their daughters to wife and gave their own daughters to their sons, and they worshiped their gods. (7) The Israelites did what was offensive to the LORD; they ignored the LORD their God and worshiped the Baalim and the Asheroth. (8) The LORD became incensed at Israel and surrendered them to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim; and the Israelites were subject to Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. (9) The Israelites cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them: Othniel the Kenizzite, a younger kinsman of Caleb. (10) The spirit of the LORD descended upon him and he became Israel’s chieftain. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram into his hands. He prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim, (11) and the land had peace for forty years. When Othniel the Kenizzite died, (12) the Israelites again did what was offensive to the LORD. And because they did what was offensive to the LORD, the LORD let King Eglon of Moab prevail over Israel. (13) [Eglon] brought the Ammonites and the Amalekites together under his command, and went and defeated Israel and occupied the City of Palms. (14) The Israelites were subject to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. (15) Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up a champion for them: the Benjaminite Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man.

Notice that God raises him up...

It happened that the Israelites sent tribute to King Eglon of Moab through him. (16) So Ehud made for himself a two-edged dagger, a gomed in length, which he girded on his right side under his cloak. (17) He presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. (18) When [Ehud] had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had conveyed the tribute. (19) But he himself returned from Pesilim, near Gilgal, and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.” [Eglon] thereupon commanded, “Silence!” So all those in attendance left his presence; (20) and when Ehud approached him, he was sitting alone in his cool upper chamber. Ehud said, “I have a message for you from God”; whereupon he rose from his seat. (21) Reaching with his left hand, Ehud drew the dagger from his right side and drove it into [Eglon’s] belly. (22) The fat closed over the blade and the hilt went in after the blade—for he did not pull the dagger out of his belly—and the filth came out. (23) Stepping out into the vestibule, Ehud shut the doors of the upper chamber on him and locked them. (24) After he left, the courtiers returned. When they saw that the doors of the upper chamber were locked, they thought, “He must be relieving himself in the cool chamber.” (25) They waited a long time; and when he did not open the doors of the chamber, they took the key and opened them—and there their master was lying dead on the floor! (26) But Ehud had made good his escape while they delayed; he had passed Pesilim and escaped to Seirah. (27) When he got there, he had the ram’s horn sounded through the hill country of Ephraim, and all the Israelites descended with him from the hill country; and he took the lead. (28) “Follow me closely,” he said, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.” They followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites; they let no one cross. (29) On that occasion they slew about 10,000 Moabites; they were all robust and brave men, yet not one of them escaped. (30) On that day, Moab submitted to Israel; and the land was tranquil for eighty years. (31) After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. He too was a champion of Israel.

(1) The Israelites again did what was offensive to the LORD—Ehud now being dead. (2) And the LORD surrendered them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. His army commander was Sisera, whose base was Harosheth-goiim. (3) The Israelites cried out to the LORD; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he had oppressed Israel ruthlessly for twenty years. (4) Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess; she judged Israel at that time. (5) She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for judgment. (6) She summoned Barak son of Abinoam, of Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded: Go, march up to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun. (7) And I will draw Sisera, Jabin’s army commander, with his chariots and his troops, toward you up to the Wadi Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hands.” (8) But Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; if not, I will not go.” (9) “Very well, I will go with you,” she answered. “However, there will be no glory for you in the course you are taking, for then the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. (10) Barak then mustered Zebulun and Naphtali at Kedesh; ten thousand men marched up after him; and Deborah also went up with him. (11) Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, descendants of Hobab, father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent at Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh. (12) Sisera was informed that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. (13) So Sisera ordered all his chariots—nine hundred iron chariots—and all the troops he had to move from Harosheth-goiim to the Wadi Kishon. (14) Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! This is the day on which the LORD will deliver Sisera into your hands: the LORD is marching before you.” Barak charged down Mount Tabor, followed by the ten thousand men, (15) and the LORD threw Sisera and all his chariots and army into a panic before the onslaught of Barak. Sisera leaped from his chariot and fled on foot (16) as Barak pursued the chariots and the soldiers as far as Harosheth-goiim. All of Sisera’s soldiers fell by the sword; not a man was left. (17) Sisera, meanwhile, had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was friendship between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. (18) Jael came out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord, come in here, do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. (19) He said to her, “Please let me have some water; I am thirsty.” She opened a skin of milk and gave him some to drink; and she covered him again. (20) He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent. If anybody comes and asks you if there is anybody here, say ‘No.’” (21) Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent pin and grasped the mallet. When he was fast asleep from exhaustion, she approached him stealthily and drove the pin through his temple till it went down to the ground. Thus he died. (22) Now Barak appeared in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to greet him and said, “Come, I will show you the man you are looking for.” He went inside with her, and there Sisera was lying dead, with the pin in his temple. (23) On that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. (24) The hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan.

(1) On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang: (2) When locks go untrimmed in Israel, When people dedicate themselves— Bless the LORD! (3) Hear, O kings! Give ear, O potentates! I will sing, will sing to the LORD, Will hymn the LORD, the God of Israel. (4) O LORD, when You came forth from Seir, Advanced from the country of Edom, The earth trembled; The heavens dripped, Yea, the clouds dripped water, (5) The mountains quaked— Before the LORD, Him of Sinai, Before the LORD, God of Israel. (6) In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, In the days of Jael, caravans ceased, And wayfarers went By roundabout paths. (7) Deliverance ceased, Ceased in Israel, Till I arose, O Deborah, Arose, O mother, in Israel! (8) When they chose new gods, Was there a fighter then in the gates? No shield or spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel! (9) My heart is with Israel’s leaders, With the dedicated of the people— Bless the LORD! (10) You riders on tawny she-asses, You who sit on saddle rugs, And you wayfarers, declare it! (11) Louder than the sound of archers, There among the watering places Let them chant the gracious acts of the LORD, His gracious deliverance of Israel. Then did the people of the LORD March down to the gates! (12) Awake, awake, O Deborah! Awake, awake, strike up the chant! Arise, O Barak; Take your captives, O son of Abinoam! (13) Then was the remnant made victor over the mighty, The LORD’s people won my victory over the warriors. (14) From Ephraim came they whose roots are in Amalek; After you, your kin Benjamin; From Machir came down leaders, From Zebulun such as hold the marshal’s staff. (15) And Issachar’s chiefs were with Deborah; As Barak, so was Issachar— Rushing after him into the valley. Among the clans of Reuben Were great decisions of heart. (16) Why then did you stay among the sheepfolds And listen as they pipe for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben Were great searchings of heart! (17) Gilead tarried beyond the Jordan; And Dan—why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained at the seacoast And tarried at his landings. (18) Zebulun is a people that mocked at death, Naphtali—on the open heights. (19) Then the kings came, they fought: The kings of Canaan fought At Taanach, by Megiddo’s waters— They got no spoil of silver. (20) The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera. (21) The torrent Kishon swept them away, The raging torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with courage! (22) Then the horses’ hoofs pounded As headlong galloped the steeds. (23) “Curse Meroz!” said the angel of the LORD. “Bitterly curse its inhabitants, Because they came not to the aid of the LORD, To the aid of the LORD among the warriors.” (24) Most blessed of women be Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite, Most blessed of women in tents. (25) He asked for water, she offered milk; In a princely bowl she brought him curds. (26) Her [left] hand reached for the tent pin, Her right for the workmen’s hammer. She struck Sisera, crushed his head, Smashed and pierced his temple. (27) Between her legs he sank, lay outstretched, Between her legs he sank, lay still; Where he sank, there he lay—destroyed. (28) Through the window peered Sisera’s mother, Behind the lattice she whined: “Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why so late the clatter of his wheels?” (29) The wisest of her ladies give answer; She, too, replies to herself: (30) “They must be dividing the spoil they have found: A damsel or two for each man, Spoil of dyed cloths for Sisera, Spoil of embroidered cloths, A couple of embroidered cloths Round every neck as spoil.” (31) So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may His friends be as the sun rising in might! And the land was tranquil forty years.

(1) Then the Israelites did what was offensive to the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. (2) The hand of the Midianites prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian, the Israelites provided themselves with refuges in the caves and strongholds of the mountains. (3) After the Israelites had done their sowing, Midian, Amalek, and the Kedemites would come up and raid them; (4) they would attack them, destroy the produce of the land all the way to Gaza, and leave no means of sustenance in Israel, not a sheep or an ox or an ass. (5) For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, swarming as thick as locusts; they and their camels were innumerable. Thus they would invade the land and ravage it. (6) Israel was reduced to utter misery by the Midianites, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD. (7) When the Israelites cried to the LORD on account of Midian, (8) the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to them, “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought you up out of Egypt and freed you from the house of bondage. (9) I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all your oppressors; I drove them out before you, and gave you their land. (10) And I said to you, ‘I the LORD am your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.” (11) An angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was then beating out wheat inside a winepress in order to keep it safe from the Midianites. (12) The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, valiant warrior!” (13) Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this befallen us? Where are all His wondrous deeds about which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Truly the LORD brought us up from Egypt’? Now the LORD has abandoned us and delivered us into the hands of Midian!” (14) The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and deliver Israel from the Midianites. I herewith make you My messenger.” (15) He said to Him, “Please, my lord, how can I deliver Israel? Why, my clan is the humblest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s household.” (16) The LORD replied, “I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian to a man.” (17) And he said to Him, “If I have gained Your favor, give me a sign that it is You who are speaking to me: (18) do not leave this place until I come back to You and bring out my offering and place it before You.” And He answered, “I will stay until you return.” (19) So Gideon went in and prepared a kid, and [baked] unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and poured the broth into a pot, and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth. As he presented them, (20) the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, put them on yonder rock, and spill out the broth.” He did so. (21) The angel of the LORD held out the staff that he carried, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread with its tip. A fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. (22) Then Gideon realized that it was an angel of the LORD; and Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.” (23) But the LORD said to him, “All is well; have no fear, you shall not die.” (24) So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD and called it Adonaishalom. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (25) That night the LORD said to him: “Take the young bull belonging to your father and another bull seven years old; pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred post which is beside it. (26) Then build an altar to the LORD your God, on the level ground on top of this stronghold. Take the other bull and offer it as a burnt offering, using the wood of the sacred post that you have cut down.” (27) So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him; but as he was afraid to do it by day, on account of his father’s household and the townspeople, he did it by night. (28) Early the next morning, the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been torn down and the sacred post beside it had been cut down, and that the second bull had been offered on the newly built altar. (29) They said to one another, “Who did this thing?” Upon inquiry and investigation, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did this thing!” (30) The townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son, for he must die: he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred post beside it!” (31) But Joash said to all who had risen against him, “Do you have to contend for Baal? Do you have to vindicate him? Whoever fights his battles shall be dead by morning! If he is a god, let him fight his own battles, since it is his altar that has been torn down!” (32) That day they named him Jerubbaal, meaning “Let Baal contend with him, since he tore down his altar.” (33) All Midian, Amalek, and the Kedemites joined forces; they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. (34) The spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon; he sounded the horn, and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. (35) And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they too rallied behind him. He then sent messengers through Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet the Manassites. (36) And Gideon said to God, “If You really intend to deliver Israel through me as You have said— (37) here I place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew falls only on the fleece and all the ground remains dry, I shall know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have said.” (38) And that is what happened. Early the next day, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew from the fleece, a bowlful of water. (39) Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak just once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece: let the fleece alone be dry, while there is dew all over the ground.” (40) God did so that night: only the fleece was dry, while there was dew all over the ground.

(1) Jephthah the Gileadite was an able warrior, who was the son of a prostitute. Jephthah’s father was Gilead; (2) but Gilead also had sons by his wife, and when the wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out. They said to him, “You shall have no share in our father’s property, for you are the son of an outsider.” (3) So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the Tob country. Men of low character gathered about Jephthah and went out raiding with him.Minor/embarrasing Bio

(4) Some time later, the Ammonites went to war against Israel. (5) And when the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from the Tob country. (6) They said to Jephthah, “Come be our chief, so that we can fight the Ammonites.” (7) Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “You are the very people who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house. How can you come to me now when you are in trouble?” (8) The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Honestly, we have now turned back to you. If you come with us and fight the Ammonites, you shall be our commander over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” (9) Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “[Very well,] if you bring me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD delivers them to me, I am to be your commander.” (10) And the elders of Gilead answered Jepthah, “The LORD Himself shall be witness between us: we will do just as you have said.” (11) Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their commander and chief. And Jephthah repeated all these terms before the LORD at Mizpah. (12) Jephthah then sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What have you against me that you have come to make war on my country?” (13) The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized the land which is mine, from the Arnon to the Jabbok as far as the Jordan. Now, then, restore it peaceably.” (14) Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. (15) He said to him, “Thus said Jephthah: Israel did not seize the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. (16) When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds and went on to Kadesh. (17) Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Allow us to cross your country.’ But the king of Edom would not consent. They also sent a mission to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel, after staying at Kadesh, (18) traveled on through the wilderness, skirting the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They kept to the east of the land of Moab until they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; and, since Moab ends at the Arnon, they never entered Moabite territory. (19) “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, ‘Allow us to cross through your country to our homeland.’ (20) But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. Sihon mustered all his troops, and they encamped at Jahaz; he engaged Israel in battle. (21) But the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his troops into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them; and Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that land. (22) Thus they possessed all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. (23) “Now, then, the LORD, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites before His people Israel; and should you possess their land? (24) Do you not hold what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So we will hold on to everything that the LORD our God has given us to possess. (25) “Besides, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he start a quarrel with Israel or go to war with them? (26) “While Israel has been inhabiting Heshbon and its dependencies, and Aroer and its dependencies, and all the towns along the Arnon for three hundred years, why have you not tried to recover them all this time? (27) I have done you no wrong; yet you are doing me harm and making war on me. May the LORD, who judges, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites!” (28) But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message that Jephthah sent him. (29) Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He marched through Gilead and Manasseh, passing Mizpeh of Gilead; and from Mizpeh of Gilead he crossed over [to] the Ammonites. (30) And Jephthah made the following vow to the LORD: “If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, (31) then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.” (32) Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites and attacked them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands. (33) He utterly routed them—from Aroer as far as Minnith, twenty towns—all the way to Abel-cheramim. So the Ammonites submitted to the Israelites. (34) When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, with timbrel and dance! She was an only child; he had no other son or daughter. (35) On seeing her, he rent his clothes and said, “Alas, daughter! You have brought me low; you have become my troubler! For I have uttered a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract.” (36) “Father,” she said, “you have uttered a vow to the LORD; do to me as you have vowed, seeing that the LORD has vindicated you against your enemies, the Ammonites.” (37) She further said to her father, “Let this be done for me: let me be for two months, and I will go with my companions and lament upon the hills and there bewail my maidenhood.” (38) “Go,” he replied. He let her go for two months, and she and her companions went and bewailed her maidenhood upon the hills. (39) After two months’ time, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She had never known a man. So it became a custom in Israel (40) for the maidens of Israel to go every year, for four days in the year, and chant dirges for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

(1) There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. (2) He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, so that you uttered an imprecation which you repeated in my hearing—I have that silver; I took it.” “Blessed of the LORD be my son,” said his mother. (3) He returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother; but his mother said, “I herewith consecrate the silver to the LORD, transferring it to my son to make a sculptured image and a molten image. I now return it to you.” (4) So when he gave the silver back to his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave it to a smith. He made of it a sculptured image and a molten image, which were kept in the house of Micah. (5) Now the man Micah had a house of God; he had made an ephod and teraphim and he had inducted one of his sons to be his priest. (6) In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did as he pleased. (7) There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan seat of Judah; he was a Levite and had resided there as a sojourner. (8) This man had left the town of Bethlehem of Judah to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his way, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim. (9) “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem of Judah, and I am traveling to take up residence wherever I can find a place.” (10) “Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be a father and a priest to me, and I will pay you ten shekels of silver a year, an allowance of clothing, and your food.” The Levite went. (11) The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the youth became like one of his own sons. (12) Micah inducted the Levite, and the young man became his priest and remained in Micah’s shrine. (13) “Now I know,” Micah told himself, “that the LORD will prosper me, since the Levite has become my priest.”

(1) There was a man from Ramathaim of the Zuphites, in the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. (2) He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. (3) This man used to go up from his town every year to worship and to offer sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh.—Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD there. (4) One such day, Elkanah offered a sacrifice. He used to give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; (5) but to Hannah he would give one portion only—though Hannah was his favorite—for the LORD had closed her womb. (6) Moreover, her rival, to make her miserable, would taunt her that the LORD had closed her womb. (7) This happened year after year: Every time she went up to the House of the LORD, the other would taunt her, so that she wept and would not eat. (8) Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why aren’t you eating? Why are you so sad? Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?” (9) After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose.—The priest Eli was sitting on the seat near the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.— (10) In her wretchedness, she prayed to the LORD, weeping all the while. (11) And she made this vow: “O LORD of Hosts, if You will look upon the suffering of Your maidservant and will remember me and not forget Your maidservant, and if You will grant Your maidservant a male child, I will dedicate him to the LORD for all the days of his life; and no razor shall ever touch his head.” (12) As she kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. (13) Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. (14) Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up!” (15) And Hannah replied, “Oh no, my lord! I am a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart to the LORD. (16) Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; I have only been speaking all this time out of my great anguish and distress.” (17) “Then go in peace,” said Eli, “and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.” (18) She answered, “You are most kind to your handmaid.” So the woman left, and she ate, and was no longer downcast. (19) Early next morning they bowed low before the LORD, and they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah and the LORD remembered her. (20) Hannah conceived, and at the turn of the year bore a son. She named him Samuel, meaning, “I asked the LORD for him.” (21) And when the man Elkanah and all his household were going up to offer to the LORD the annual sacrifice and his votive sacrifice, (22) Hannah did not go up. She said to her husband, “When the child is weaned, I will bring him. For when he has appeared before the LORD, he must remain there for good.” (23) Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do as you think best. Stay home until you have weaned him. May the LORD fulfill His word.” So the woman stayed home and nursed her son until she weaned him. (24) When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a jar of wine. And though the boy was still very young, she brought him to the House of the LORD at Shiloh. (25) After slaughtering the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. (26) She said, “Please, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you and prayed to the LORD. (27) It was this boy I prayed for; and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. (28) I, in turn, hereby lend him to the LORD. For as long as he lives he is lent to the LORD.” And they bowed low there before the LORD.

Story of reconstruction(1) Young Samuel was in the service of the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare (precious); prophecy was not widespread. (2) One day, Eli was asleep in his usual place; his eyes had begun to fail and he could barely see. (3) symbol of continuity The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the Ark of God was. (4) The LORD called out to Samuel, and he answered, “I’m coming.” (5) He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But he replied, “I didn’t call you; go back to sleep.” So he went back and lay down. (6) Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But he replied, “I didn’t call, my son; go back to sleep.”— (7) Now Samuel had not yet experienced the LORD; the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.— (8) The LORD called Samuel again, a third time, and he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy. (9) And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” And Samuel went to his place and lay down. (10) The LORD came, and stood there, and He called as before: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” (11) The LORD said to Samuel: “I am going to do in Israel such a thing that both ears of anyone who hears about it will tingle. (12) In that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I spoke concerning his house, from beginning to end. (13) And I declare to him that I sentence his house to endless punishment for the iniquity he knew about—how his sons committed sacrilege at will—and he did not rebuke them. (14) Assuredly, I swear concerning the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli will never be expiated by sacrifice or offering.” (15) Samuel lay there until morning; and then he opened the doors of the House of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to report the vision to Eli, (16) but Eli summoned Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son”; and he answered, “Here.” (17) And [Eli] asked, “What did He say to you? Keep nothing from me. Thus and more may God do to you if you keep from me a single word of all that He said to you!” (18) Samuel then told him everything, withholding nothing from him. And [Eli] said, “He is the LORD; He will do what He deems right.” (19) Samuel grew up and the LORD was with him: He did not leave any of Samuel’s predictions unfulfilled. (20) All Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba (civil war against Binyamin! but here unity for Samuel), knew that Samuel was trustworthy as a prophet of the LORD. (21) And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh: the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh with the word of the LORD;

(1) and Samuel’s word went forth to all Israel. Israel marched out to engage the Philistines in battle; they encamped near Eben-ezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek. (2) The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel; and when the battle was fought, Israel was routed by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the field of battle. (3) When the [Israelite] troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh; thus He will be present among us and will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.” (4) So the troops sent men to Shiloh; there Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were in charge of the Ark of the Covenant of God, and they brought down from there the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Hosts Enthroned on the Cherubim. (5) When the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all Israel burst into a great shout, so that the earth resounded. (6) sympathy for them The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting and they wondered, “Why is there such a loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they learned that the Ark of the LORD had come to the camp, (7) the Philistines were frightened; for they said, “God has come to the camp.” And they cried, “Woe to us! Nothing like this has ever happened before. (8) Woe to us! Who will save us from the power of this mighty God? He is the same God who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness! (9) Brace yourselves and be men, O Philistines! Or you will become slaves to the Hebrews as they were slaves to you. Be men and fight!” (10) The Philistines fought; Israel was routed, and they all fled to their homes. The defeat was very great, thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell there. (11) The Ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. (12) A Benjaminite ran from the battlefield and reached Shiloh the same day; his clothes were rent and there was earth on his head. (13) When he arrived, he found Eli sitting on a seat, waiting beside the road—his heart trembling for the Ark of God. The man entered the city to spread the news, and the whole city broke out in a cry. (14) And when Eli heard the sound of the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” the man rushed over to tell Eli. (15) Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; his eyes were fixed in a blind stare. (16) The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battlefield; I have just fled from the battlefield.” [Eli] asked, “What happened, my son?” (17) The bearer of the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines and the troops also suffered a great slaughter. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the Ark of God has been captured.” (18) focus of Eli When he mentioned the Ark of God, [Eli] fell backward off the seat beside the gate, broke his neck and died; for he was an old man and heavy. He had been a chieftain of Israel for forty years. (19) His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child, about to give birth. When she heard the report that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she was seized with labor pains, and she crouched down and gave birth. (20) As she lay dying, the women attending her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not respond or pay heed. (21) She named the boy Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel”—referring to the capture of the Ark of God and to [the death of] her father-in-law and her husband. (22) “The glory is gone from Israel,” she said, “for the Ark of God has been captured.”

(1) The men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the Ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill; and they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the Ark of the LORD. (2) A long time elapsed from the day that the Ark was housed in Kiriath-jearim, twenty years in all; and all the House of Israel yearned after the LORD. (3) And Samuel said to all the House of Israel, “If you mean to return to the LORD with all your heart, you must remove the alien gods and the Ashtaroth from your midst and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him alone. Then He will deliver you from the hands of the Philistines.” (4) And the Israelites removed the Baalim and Ashtaroth and they served the LORD alone. (5) Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” (6) They assembled at Mizpah, and they drew water and poured it out before the LORD; they fasted that day, and there they confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. And Samuel acted as chieftain of the Israelites at Mizpah. (7) When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had assembled at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines marched out against Israel. Hearing of this, the Israelites were terrified of the Philistines (8) and they implored Samuel, “Do not neglect us and do not refrain from crying out to the LORD our God to save us from the hands of the Philistines.” (9) Thereupon Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried out to the LORD in behalf of Israel, and the LORD responded to him. (10) For as Samuel was presenting the burnt offering and the Philistines advanced to attack Israel, the LORD thundered mightily against the Philistines that day. He threw them into confusion, and they were routed by Israel. (11) The men of Israel sallied out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down to a point below Beth-car. (12) Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Eben-ezer: “For up to now,” he said, “the LORD has helped us.” (13) The Philistines were humbled and did not invade the territory of Israel again; and the hand of the LORD was set against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. (14) The towns which the Philistines had taken from Israel, from Ekron to Gath, were restored to Israel; Israel recovered all her territory from the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. (15) Samuel judged Israel as long as he lived. (16) Each year he made the rounds of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and acted as judge over Israel at all those places. (17) Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there too he would judge Israel. He built an altar there to the LORD.