Chapter 1
1 And it was after the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel inquired of YAHWEH, saying, Who shall first go up for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?
2 And YAHWEH said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.
3 And Judah said to his brother Simeon, Go up with me into my lot, and we shall fight against the Canaanites. And I also will go with you into your lot. And Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up, and YAHWEH delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. And they struck them in Bezek, ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him, and struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
7 And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to be gathering scraps under my table. As I have done, so Elohim has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and captured it, and struck it with the mouth of the sword, and set the city on fire.
9 And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the mountains, and the Negev, and the Shefelah.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (and the name of Hebron was formerly City of Arba) and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from there he went against the ones living in Debir, and the name of Debir formerly was City of Sepher.
12 And Caleb said, He who strikes the City of Sepher and captures it, I shall give my daughter Achsah to him for a wife.
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, the younger one, captured it. And he gave his daughter Achsah to him for a wife.
14 And it happened as she came, she persuaded him to ask a field from her father. And she dismounted from the donkey. And Caleb said to her, What do you desire?
15 And she said to him, Give a blessing to me. Since you have given me the land of the Negev, also you shall give springs of water to me. And Caleb gave the upper springs and the lower springs to her.
16 And the sons of the Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses, had gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad. And they went and lived with the people.
17 And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath and destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18 And Judah captured Gaza and its border, and Ashkelon and its border, and Ekron and its border.
19 And YAHWEH was with Judah, and he occupied the hills, but did not expel the ones living in the valley, for they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. And He expelled the three sons of Anak from there.
21 And the sons of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. And the Jebusites live with Judges the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day.
22 And the house of Joseph went up, they also against Bethel. And YAHWEH was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph scouted around Bethel, and the name of the city formerly was Luz.
24 And those keeping watch saw a man coming out from the city and said to him, Let us see the entrance of the city, and we will deal with you with mercy.
25 And he showed them the entrance of the city. And they struck the city with the mouth of the sword; and they sent away the man and all his family.
26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called its name Luz; it is its name to this day.
27 And Manasseh had not expelled Beth-Shean and its daughter-villages, or Taanach and its daughter-villages, nor struck the ones living in Dor and its daughter-villages, nor the ones living in Ibleam and its daughter-villages; or the ones living in Megiddo and its daughter-villages. For the Canaanites desired to live in that land.
28 But it happened when Israel became strong, it happened that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not completely expel them.
29 And Ephraim did not expel the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, and the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.
30 Zebulun did not expel the inhabitants of Kitron, and the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and they became forced-laborers.
31 And Asher did not expel the ones living in Accho, and the ones living in Sidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.
32 And the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the ones living in the land, for they did not expel them.
33 Naphtali did not expel the ones living in Beth-Shemesh, and the ones living in Beth-Anath, and they lived among the Canaanites, the ones living in the land. But the ones living in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath became forced-laborers to them.
34 And the Amorites pressed the sons of Dan into the hills, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.
35 But the Amorites were determined to live in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. Yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became forced-laborers.
36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.
Chapter 2
1 And the Messenger of YAHWEH came up from Gilgal to The Place of Weeping, and said, I caused you to come up out of Egypt and brought you into the land which I had sworn to your fathers, and said, I will not break My covenant with you forever.
2 And you, you shall cut no covenant with the ones living in this land. You shall break down their altars. Yet you have not listened to My voice. What is this you have done?
3 And I also have said, I shall not expel them before you, and they shall become adversaries to you; and their gods shall become a snare to you.
4 And it happened when the Messenger of YAHWEH spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim (The place of weeping); and sacrificed to YAHWEH there.
6 And Joshua sent the people away, and the sons of Israel each went to his inheritance, to possess the land.
7 And the people served YAHWEH all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged their days after Joshua, who saw all the great work of YAHWEH which He had done for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of YAHWEH, died, being a son of a hundred and ten years.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Heres, in the hills of Ephraim on the north of Mount Gaash.
10 And also all that generation was gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them who had not known YAHWEH, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.
11 And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of YAHWEH, and served the Baals.
12 And they forsook YAHWEH, the Elohim of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt. And they went after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves to them, and angered YAHWEH.
13 Yea, they forsook YAHWEH, and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
14 And the anger of YAHWEH glowed against Israel, and He gave them into the hand of plunderers; and they plundered them. And He sold them into the hand of their enemies all around, and they were not able to stand before their enemies any longer.
15 Wherever they went, the hand of YAHWEH was against them for evil, as YAHWEH had spoken, and as YAHWEH had sworn to them. And it distressed them very much.
16 And YAHWEH raised up judges, and they saved them from the hand of their plunderers.
17 But they also did not listen even to their judges, but went whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them. They quickly turned aside out of the way in which their fathers walked to obey the commands of YAHWEH. They did not do so.
18 And when YAHWEH raised up judges to them, then YAHWEH was with the judge, and rescued them out
of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For YAHWEH took pity because of their groaning before their oppressors, and those that crushed them.
19 And at the death of the judge, it happened that they would turn and act more corruptly than their fathers, to go after other gods, to serve them, and to bow themselves to them. And they did not fall away from their own practices, and from their stubborn way.
20 And the anger of YAHWEH glowed against Israel. And He said, Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice,
21 I also from now on will not drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;
22 so that by them I may test Israel, whether they are keeping the way of YAHWEH, to go in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.
23 And YAHWEH left those nations without dispossessing them quickly. And He did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
Chapter 3
1 And these are the nations which YAHWEH left in order to test Israel by them, all who did not know all the wars of Canaan;
2 only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, only those who did not before know them:
3 five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-Hermon to the entering of Hamath.
4 And they existed to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the commands of YAHWEH, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 And the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
6 And they took their daughters to themselves for wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.
7 And the sons of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of YAHWEH, and forgot YAHWEH their Elohim, and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
8 And the anger of YAHWEH glowed against Israel. And He gave them over into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. And the sons of Israel served Chushan-Rishathaim eight years.
9 And when the sons of Israel cried to YAHWEH, YAHWEH raised up a deliverer to the sons of Israel, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them.
10 And the Spirit of YAHWEH was put on him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and YAHWEH gave Chushan-Rishathaim the king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand had power over Chushan-Rishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of YAHWEH. And YAHWEH made Eglon the king of Moab strong against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of YAHWEH.
13 And he gathered to him the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and went and struck Israel. And they possessed the city of palm trees.
14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 And the sons of Israel cried to YAHWEH, even YAHWEH raised up a deliverer to them, Ehud the son of Gera, a son of the Benjamite, a man with his right hand impeded. And the sons of Israel sent a present by his hand to Eglon the king of Moab.
16 And Ehud made a sword for himself, and it had two edges, a cubit in length. And he girded it under his long robe, on his right thigh.
17 And he brought the present to Eglon the king of Moab; and Eglon was a very fat man.
18 And it happened, when he had finished offering the present, he sent away the people, the bearers of the present.
19 And he himself turned back from the carved images at Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word for you, O king. And he said, Be silent! And all those standing beside him went out from him.
20 And Ehud came to him. And he was sitting by himself in the cool roof room which was his. And Ehud said, I have a word from Elohim to you. And he rose out of his seat.
21 And Ehud put out his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon's belly.
22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade; for he did not draw the sword out of his belly. And it came out behind.
23 Then Ehud went out to the porch, and shut the doors of the roof room on him, and locked them.
24 And when he had gone out, his servants came. And they looked, and, behold, the doors of the roof room were locked. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the cool roof room.
25 And they waited until they were ashamed. And, behold! He did not open the doors of the room. So they took the key and opened them. And, behold, their master had fallen down to the earth dead.
26 And Ehud escaped while they waited. And he had passed by the images, and had slipped away to Seirath.
27 And it happened, when he had come, he blew a horn in the hills of Ephraim. And the sons of Israel came down with him from the hills, and he before them.
28 And he said to them, Follow me, for YAHWEH has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites. And they did not allow a man to pass over.
29 And they struck about ten thou-sand men of Moab at that time, every lusty man, all mighty men. And not a man escaped.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.
31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. And he also delivered Israel.
Chapter 4
1 And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of YAHWEH when Ehud was dead.
2 And YAHWEH sold them into the hand of Jabin the king of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. And his army commander was Sisera; and he lived in Harosheth of the nations.
3 And the sons of Israel cried to YAHWEH, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron. And he mightily oppressed the sons of Israel twenty years.
4 And Deborah the wife of Lapidoth, a woman prophetess, was judging Israel at that time.
5 And she lived under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, in the hills of Ephraim. And the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called for Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kadesh in Naphtali, and said to him, Has not YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel commanded? Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali, and of the sons of Zebulun with you.
7 And I will draw to you at the Kishon River, Sisera, the army commander of Jabin, and his chariots, and his multitude, and shall give him into your hands.
8 And Barak said to her, If you go with me, then I will go. And if you will not go with me, I will not go.
9 And she said, I will certainly go with you; but, surely you shall not get the glory because of the way which you are going, for YAHWEH shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah rose up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh. And he went up with ten thousand men at his feet. And Deborah went up with him.
11 And Heber the Kenite had broken away from the Kenites, he being of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses. And he pitched his tent by the oak in Zaanaim, near Kedesh.
12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera mustered all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people with him, from Harosheth of the nations, to the Kishon River.
14 And Deborah said to Barak, Rise up, for this is the day in which YAHWEH has given Sisera into your hand. Has not YAHWEH gone out before you? And Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And YAHWEH routed Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the army, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak. And Sisera came down from the chariot and fled on his feet.
16 And Barak pursued the chariots and went after the army, to Harosheth of the nations. And all the army of Sisera fell by the mouth of the sword; there was not even one left.
17 And Sisera fled on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn aside, my master; turn aside to me; do not fear. And he turned in to her into the tent; and she covered him with a rug.
19 And he said to her, Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a skin of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 And he said to her, Stand at the door of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes in and asks you, and says, Is there a man here? Then you shall say, There is not.
21 And Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went to him secretly. And she drove the peg into his temple, and she beat it into the ground. And he had been fast asleep, and faint; and he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak followed Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking. And he came in to her, and, behold! Sisera had fallen dead with the peg in his temple.
23 And on that day Elohim humbled Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.
24 And the hand of the sons of Israel went on, going on and pressing hard on Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin the king of Canaan.
Chapter 5
1 And Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, sang on that day, saying:
2 For the absovling of the leadership of Israel; for the volunteering of the people, bless YAHWEH!
3 Listen, O kings; give ear, O princes. I, even I, will sing to YAHWEH; I will sing praise to YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel.
4 O YAHWEH, when You went forth out of Seir, when You marched out of the fields of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped. Yea, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked before the face of YAHWEH, this Sinai quaked from before YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways ceased, and those going in the paths traveled in byways.
7 The leaders ceased in Israel; they ceased until I, Deborah, arose; I arose as a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods; then war was at the gates! Neither a shield nor a spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart was toward the lawgivers of Israel, who volunteered among the people; bless YAHWEH!
10 You that ride on white donkeys, you that sit on rich carpets, and you going on the way, sing out!
11 Louder than the voice of the dividers between the watering places there, they shall tell of the righteous acts of YAHWEH, the righteous acts of His leaders in Israel. Then the people of YAHWEH went down to the gates.
12 Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Rise, Barak, and lead your captives captive, son of Abinoam.
13 Then He caused me to tread on the remnant of the noble ones of the people; YAHWEH trod for me among the warriors.
14 Out of Ephraim they came, those whose root was against Amalek. After you, Benjamin, among your peoples; and out of Machir came down commanders; and out of Zebulun the ones that hold the staff of the scribe.
15 And my commanders in Issachar were with Deborah; as was Issachar, so was Barak. They were sent into the valley at his feet. Among the divisions of Reuben resolves of heart were great!
16 Why did you sit between the sheepfolds to hear the bleating of flocks? At the divisions of Reuben searchings of heart were great!
17 Gilead remained beyond the Jordan; and why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the shore by the water, and remained by his havens.
18 Zebulun, a people who despised his life, even to death; also Naphtali on the high places of the field.
19 Kings came; they fought; then the kings of Canaan fought in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of silver.
20 The stars fought from the heavens; from their courses they fought with Sisera.
21 The Kishon torrent swept them away, the ancient river, the Kishon torrent. You trod, my soul, in strength.
22 Then did the hooves of horses beat from the galloping, galloping of his mighty stallions.
23 Curse Meroz, said the Messenger of YAHWEH; curse the ones living in it bitterly, because they did not come to the help of YAHWEH, to the help of YAHWEH against the warriors.
24 Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. She is blessed among women in the tent.
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk; in a noble bowl she brought curd.
26 She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and she hammered Sisera; she smashed his head; she struck through and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he bowed; he fell; he lay down. Between her feet he bowed; he fell! Where he bowed, there he fell down ruined.
28 Through the window she looked out; yea, she cried out, the mother of Sisera, through the lattice; Why does his chariot delay to come? Why have the steps of his chariot tarried?
29 The wise ones of her princesses answered her; yea, she returned her words to herself:
30 Do they not find and divide the plunder? A womb, two wombs to each man's head; a plunder of dyed garments to Sisera, a plunder of embroidered dyed garments, two embroidered dyed garments for the necks of the plunderers?
31 So all Your enemies shall perish, O YAHWEH, and those who love Him shall be as the sun when it goes forth in its might. And the land had rest forty years.
Chapter 6
1 And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of YAHWEH, and YAHWEH gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian was strong against Israel. And the sons of Israel made dens for themselves before the faces of Midian, in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
3 And it happened after Israel had sown crops, Midian, and Amalek, and the sons of the east came; and they came against them,
4 and camped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land until you enter Gaza. And they left no food in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or donkey.
5 For they came up with their livestock, and with their tents. They came in like locusts for number, and there was no number to them, to their camels. And they came into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was brought very low before Midian. And the sons of Israel cried to YAHWEH.
7 And it happened when the sons of Israel had cried to YAHWEH about Midian,
8 YAHWEH sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel. And he said to them, So says YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, I have brought you up out of Egypt; and I have brought you out from a house of slaves.
9 And I have delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all your oppressors; and I have driven them out before you; and I have given you their land.
10 And I said to you, I am YAHWEH your Elohim. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorite among whom you are dwelling in their land. But you have not listened to My voice.
11 And the Messenger of YAHWEH came and sat under the oak which is in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. And his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the eyes of Midian.
12 And the Messenger of YAHWEH appeared to him, and said to him, YAHWEH is with you, mighty warrior of valor.
13 And Gideon said to Him, Oh my master, if YAHWEH is with us, then why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Did not YAHWEH bring us up out of Egypt? And now YAHWEH has abandoned us, and has given us into the hands of Midian.
14 And YAHWEH turned to him and said, Go in this strength of yours, and you shall deliver Israel out of the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?
15 And he said to Him, Oh YAHWEH, with what shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I the least in my father's house.
16 And YAHWEH said to him, Because I am with you, you shall strike Midian as one (echad) man.
17 And he said to Him, Please, if I have found grace in Your eyes, then You shall do for me a sign that You are speaking with me.
18 Please do not move from here until I come to You and bring my food offering and lay it before You. And He said, I will stay until you come back.
19 And Gideon went in and prepared a kid of the goats, and unleavened bread of an ephah of flour. He put the flesh in a basket, and he put the broth Judges in a pot. And he brought it out to Him, under the oak, and offered it.
20 And the Messenger of YAHWEH said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened bread and place them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 And the Messenger of YAHWEH put forth the end of the staff in His hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread. And the fire rose up out of the rock and burned up the flesh and the unleavened bread. And the Messenger of YAHWEH walked and disappeared out of his sight.
22 And Gideon saw that He was the Messenger of YAHWEH. And Gideon said, Alas, Adonai YAHWEH! Because I have seen the Messenger of YAHWEH face to face!
23 And YAHWEH said to him, Peace to you, fear not. You shall not die.
24 And Gideon built an altar to YAHWEH there, and called it Peace of YAHWEH. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites until today.
25 And it happened on that night, YAHWEH said to him, Take your father's bull, and the second bull of seven years; and you shall throw down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and you shall cut down the pillar beside it.
26 And you shall build an altar to YAHWEH your Elohim on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and shall take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the pillar which you have cut down.
27 And Gideon took ten men from his servants and did as YAHWEH had spoken to him. And it happened, since he feared his father's house and the men of the city, to do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And the men of the city rose early in the morning. And, behold, the altar of Baal had been smashed, and the Asherah pillar beside it had been cut down. And the second bull had been offered on the altar which was built.
29 And they each said to his neighbor, Who has done this thing? And they asked and sought. And they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.
30 And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, and he shall die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah pillar which was beside it.
31 And Joash said to all that stood against him, You, will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who contends for him shall be killed by the morning. If he is a Elohim, let him contend for himself, because one has smashed his altar.
32 And on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he has smashed his altar.
33 And all Midian and Amalek, and the sons of the east, were gathered together, and crossed over, and camped in the valley of Jezreel.
34 And the Spirit of YAHWEH clothed Gideon with Himself, and he blew with a ram's horn. And the Abiezrites were called after him.
35 And he sent messengers to all Manasseh, and it also was called after him. And he sent messengers to Asher and Zebulun, and to Naphtali. And they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said to Elohim, If You are to deliver Israel by my hand, as You have spoken,
37 behold, I am placing the fleece of wool on the grain floor; if the dew is on the fleece only, and dryness on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.
38 And it was so. And he rose early on the next day and wrung the fleece, and drained dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said to Elohim, Let not Your anger glow against me, and I shall speak only this time. Please let me try only this time with the fleece; please let there be dryness on the fleece alone; and let there be dew on all the ground.
40 And Elohim did so on that night, and there was dryness only on the fleece, and there was dew on all the ground.