1 Samuel 29

1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by the fountain which is in Jezreel.

2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish.

3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell awayunto meunto this day?

4 But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us: for wherewith should thisfellowreconcile himself unto his lord? should it not be with the heads of these men?

5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, As theLordliveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.

7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been before thee unto this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with the servants of thy lord that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.

11 So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 30

1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

2 and had taken captive the womenand allthat were therein, both small and great: they slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way.

3 And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened himself in theLordhis God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.

8 And David inquired of theLord, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtakethem, and shalt without fail recoverall.

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred stayed behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor:

11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink:

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.

14 We made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

15 And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and feasting, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels and fled.

18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David rescued his two wives.

19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David brought back all.

20 And David took all the flocks and the herds,whichthey drave before thoseothercattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.

21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.

23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which theLordhath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.

24 And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall share alike.

25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel, unto this day.

26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of theLord;

27 To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in Ramoth of the South, and to them which were in Jattir;

28 and to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa;

29 and to them which were in Racal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites;

30 and to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Cor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach;

31 and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

1 Samuel 31

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.

5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.

6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people.

10 And they put his armour in the house of the Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Ruth 1

1 And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

5 And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her two children and of her husband.

6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that theLordhad visited his people in giving them bread.

7 And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each of you to her mother’s house: theLorddeal kindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

9 TheLordgrant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

10 And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people.

11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have an husband to-night, and should also bear sons;

13 would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of theLordis gone forth against me.

14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: return thou after thy sister in law.

16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: theLorddo so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.

18 And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left speaking unto her.

19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, andthe womensaid, Is this Naomi?

20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went out full, and theLordhath brought me home again empty: why call ye me Naomi, seeing theLordhath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 2

1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

3 And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on the portion of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

4 And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, TheLordbe with you. And they answered him, TheLordbless thee.

5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

7 And she said, Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, save that she tarried a little in the house.

8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.

9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thy sight, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

12 TheLordrecompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of theLord, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.

13 Then she said, Let me find grace in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly unto thine handmaid, though I be not as one of thine handmaidens.

14 And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and they reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left thereof.

15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not.

16 And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and rebuke her not.

17 So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that she had left after she was sufficed.

19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of theLord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.

21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other field.

23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother in law.

Ruth 3

1 And Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now is there not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put on thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing-floor: but make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest I will do.

6 And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

10 And he said, Blessed be thou of theLord, my daughter: thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

12 And now it is true that I am a near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as theLordliveth: lie down until the morning.

14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.

15 And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it; and she held it: and he measured sixmeasuresof barley, and laid it on her: and he went into the city.

16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

17 And she said, These sixmeasuresof barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

Ruth 4

1 Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

3 And he said unto the near kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s:

4 And I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying, Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

6 And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it.

7 Now this wasthe customin former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, for to confirm all things; a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was themanner ofattestation in Israel.

8 So the near kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thyself. And he drew off his shoe.

9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.

10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. TheLordmake the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:

12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which theLordshall give thee of this young woman.

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and theLordgave her conception, and she bare a son.

14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be theLord, which hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman, and let his name be famous in Israel.

15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.

16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begat Hezron;

19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab;

20 and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon;

21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed;

22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Judges 1

1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked of theLord, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?

2 And theLordsaid, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

4 And Judah went up; and theLorddelivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7 And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gatheredtheir meatunder my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba:) and they smote Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher.)

12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

14 And it came to pass, when she cameunto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted down from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?

15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing; for that thou hast set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ brother in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

18 Also Judah took Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof.

19 And theLordwas with Judah; and he drave outthe inhabitants ofthe hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drave out thence the three sons of Anak.

21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem: but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem, unto this day.

22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and theLordwas with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)

24 And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee.

25 And he shewed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

27 And Manasseh did not drive outthe inhabitants ofBeth-shean and her towns, norofTaanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

28 And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.

29 And Ephraim drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun drave not out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributary.

31 Asher drave not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

32 but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali drave not out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributary unto them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

35 but the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributary.

36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Judges 2

1 And the angel of theLordcame up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:

2 and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice: why have ye done this?

3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall beas thornsin your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4 And it came to pass, when the angel of theLordspake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto theLord.

6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7 And the people served theLordall the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of theLord, that he had wrought for Israel.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of theLord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not theLord, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of theLord, and served the Baalim:

12 and they forsook theLord, the God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked theLordto anger.

13 And they forsook theLord, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of theLordwas kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of theLordwas against them for evil, as theLordhad spoken, and as theLordhad sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.

16 And theLordraised up judges, which saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17 And yet they hearkened not unto their judges, for they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves down unto them: they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of theLord;butthey did not so.

18 And when theLordraised them up judges, then theLordwas with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented theLordbecause of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

19 But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20 And the anger of theLordwas kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

22 that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of theLordto walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

23 So theLordleft those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

Judges 3

1 Now these are the nations which theLordleft, to prove Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

2 only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof;

3 namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

4 And they were for to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of theLord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites; the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

6 and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of theLord, and forgat theLordtheir God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

8 Therefore the anger of theLordwas kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

9 And when the children of Israel cried unto theLord, theLordraised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

10 And the spirit of theLordcame upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and theLorddelivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand: and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim.

11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of theLord: and theLordstrengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of theLord.

13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees.

14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Israel cried unto theLord, theLordraised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and the children of Israel sent a present by him unto Eglon the king of Moab.

16 And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

17 And he offered the present unto Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man.

18 And when he had made an end of offering the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

19 But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in his summer parlour. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

22 and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his belly; and it came out behind.

23 Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

24 Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked; and they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took the key, and openedthem: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirah.

27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he before them.

28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for theLordhath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over.

29 And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valour; and there escaped not a man.

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which smote of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also saved Israel.