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24 melech, that he might bring the injustice done to the seventy sons of Jerobaal, and lay their blood, on the head of their brother Abimelech, who slew them, and on the Sychemites be25 cause they strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. And the Sychemites set men in ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along by them that 26 way and king Abimelech had information of this. But when Gaal son of Jobel came with his brethren, and joined the Sychemites, the men of Sychem put confidence in him, and went out into the fields, and gathered their vintage, and trod 27 out their grapes, and uttered the usual shouts of joy, and car

ried offerings to the house of their god, and ate and drank, 28 and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal son of Jobel said, Who is Abimelech? And who is the son of Sychem, that we should serve him? Is not this son of Jerobaal and Zebul his overseer-his slave, with all the men of Emmor, the property of 29 father Sychem? Why then should we serve him? O that this people were under my hand! I would depose Abimelech, and 30 say to him, Increase thy army, and come out. When Zebul,

the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal, son of Jobel, he 31 was fired with indignation, and sent messengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, Behold Gaal, son of Jobel, with his brethren, are come to Sychem, and lo! they have set the city 32 against thee. Now therefore arise by night, thou, and the peo33 ple with thee, and lie in wait in the fields; so that in the morning, soon as the sun is up, thou mayst rise betimes, and approach the city, and behold when he and the people with him go out, and meet thee, thou shalt do to him as the occasion 34 may direct. Accordingly Abimelech arose by night, and all

the people with him, and lay in wait against Sychem, in four 35 companies. And Gaal son of Jobel went out and stood at the

entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech, and the people 36 with him, arose from the ambush. And when Gaal son of Jobel saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold there are people coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains like men. 37 And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold there are people coming down, westward, from the middle ground, and there is ano38 ther company coming by the way of Elon-maonenim. Then Zebul said to him, Where is now thy mouth with which thou

saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people whom thou didst despise? Go out now, I pray 39 thee, and fight them. Whereupon Gaal went out before the 40 men of Sychem, and drew up in array against Abimelech, and

Abimelech pursued him, and he fled from before him, and there 41 fell many wounded, even to the entrance of the gate. Then Abimelech went to Aremo, and Zebul expelled Gaal and his bre 42 thren, that they should not dwell in Sychem. And the next morning the people went out to the fields. When this was told 43 Abimelech, he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. And when he had taken a view, and behold the people came out of the city, he 44 rose upon them, and smote them; and Abimelech, and the officers who were with him, rushed forward and took post at the entrance of the gate of the city, and the two other companies 45 fell upon all in the fields, and smote them. And Abimelech fought against the city the whole day, and having taken the city, he slew the people in it, and demolished the city, and 46 sowed it with salt. Now when all the men of the tower of Sy47 chem heard this, they repaired to the fort Baithel-berith. And when it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Sychem were assembled together, he went up to mount Sel48 mon, with all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand, and cut a bough of a tree, and took it and put it on his shoulder, and said to the people who were 49 with him, Haste and do as I-what you have seen me do. So

they cut every man a bough, and went after Abimelech, and piled them up against the fort, and set the fort on fire about them, so that all the men of the tower of Sychem died, about 50 a thousand men and women. Then Abimelech went from 51 Baithel-berith, and encamped against Thebes, and took it. But

there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and all the men and the women of the city fled thither, and shut the gate 52 after them, and went up to the top of the tower. And Abime

lech came to the tower, and when they opposed him, Abime53 lech went near to the gate of the tower to set it on fire, and a

woman threw a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, 54 and fractured his scull; whereupon he cried hastily to the young man who carried his armour, and said to him, Draw my sword,

55 and kill me, that they may not say, A woman killed him. So his servant run him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went every man 56 to his place. Thus God turned upon Abimelech the wickedness which he had committed against his father, in killing his 57 seventy brothers. God also turned upon the head of the men of Sychem all their wickedness, and upon them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerobaal.

X.

And after Abimelech, there arose to defend Israel, Thola son of Phuah, the son of his father's brother, a man of Issachar, 2 and he dwelt at Samir on mount Ephraim. And when he had judged Israel twenty three years, he died, and was buried at 3 Samir. And after him arose Jair the Galaadite, and he judged 4 Israel twenty two years. Now he had thirty two sons, who rode on thirty two ass-colts, and they had thirty two cities, which are called, The folds of Jair, to this day, in the land of Galaad. 5 And Jair died, and was buried at Ramnon. And the children 6 of Israel proceeded again to do evil in the sight of the Lord,

and served the Baals, and the Astartes, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, 7 and did not serve him. Whereupon the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the 8 hands of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon, and they afflicted, and oppressed the children of Israel, at that time eighteen years, even all the children of Israel who were on the border of the Jordan, in the land of the Amo9 rites, in Galaad. Morcover the children of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight against Juda, and Benjamin, and against Ephraim, so that the Israelites were grievously oppressed. 10 And when the children of Israel cried to the Lord, and said,

We have sinned against thee, because we have forsaken God, 11 and served Baals, the Lord said to the Israelites, Did I not deliver you out of Egypt, and from the Amorites and the Ammonites, and the Philistines, and the Sidonians, and Amalek, and 12 Madiam, who afflicted you? When you cried to me, I saved 13 you out of their hands. But you have forsaken me, and served 14 other gods, therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen for yourselves, and let them

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15 deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said to the Lord, We have sinned. Do thou thyself to us, whatever seemeth good in thine eyes, but deliver us this 16 time. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord alone. Whereupon his heart relented at the distress of Israel.

17 Now the children of Ammon had gone up, and encamped 18 in Galaad; and the children of Israel assembled and encamped at the watch tower. And the people, the chiefs of Galaad, said to one another, Whoever will undertake to fight the children of Ammon, he shall be ruler over all the inhabitants of Galaad.

XI.

Now Jephthae, the Galaadite, was at the head of an army. He was the son of a harlot, who bore Jephthae to Galaad. 2 Galaad's wife also bore him sons; and when the wife's sons grew up, they thrust out Jephthae, and said to him, Thou shalt have no inheritance in the house of our father; for thou art the 3 son of a concubine. Upon which Jephthae fled from the face of his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And there were gathered to Jephthae men of desperate fortunes, who went out 4 with him. Now when the children of Ammon came out in 5 array to fight against Israel, the elders of Galaad went to bring

Jephthae from the land of Tob, and they said to him, Come and 7 be our leader that we may fight the Ammonites; whereupon Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, Have you not hated me, and driven me from my father's house, and sent me away from you? Why then are you come to me now when you are in dis8 tress? And the elders of Galaad said to him, It is for this very

reason, that we have now come to thee. Therefore thou must come with us, and fight the children of Ammon, and thou shalt 9 be our chief over all the inhabitants of Galaad. Then Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, If you take me back to fight the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them up before me, 10 I shall be your chief? And the elders of Galaad said to him, Let the Lord be witness between us, if we do not according 11 to this thy word. Thereupon Jephthae went with the elders of

Galaad, and the people made him head and leader over them. 12 And when Jephthae had repeated all these his terms before the Lord, at Massepha, he sent messengers to the king of the Am

monites, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art 13 come up against me to fight in my land? And the king of the Ammonites said to Jephthae's messengers--Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon to Jabok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore me those 14 lands peaceably, and I will depart. Thereupon Jephthae again

sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, and said to 15 him, Thus saith Jephthae, Israel did not take the land of Moab, 16 nor the land of the children of Ammon. For when they came

out of Egypt, Israel marched through the wilderness to the sea 17 of Siph, and came to Kades; and Israel sent messengers to the

king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, march through 18 thy land; but the king of Edom did not consent. They sent also to the king of Moab; but the king of Moab did not consent. So after halting at Kades, Israel marched through the wilderness, and went round the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came eastward of Moab, and encamped on the bank of the Arnon, but did not enter the borders of Moab; 19 for Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Then Israel sent mes

sengers to Seon, king of the Amorites-the king of Esebon, 20 and said to him, Let us we pray thee pass through thy land

to our place; but Seon would not trust Israel to pass through along his border, but assembled all his people, and encamped 21 at Jasa, and came to an engagement with Israel. And the Lord

God of Israel delivered into the hands of Israel, Seon and all 22 his people, and they smote him. So Israel.took possession of

all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited the country from 23 Arnon to Jabok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. Now

therefore hath the Lord God of Israel removed the Amorites 24 from before his people, and art thou to possess them? If thy god Chamos were to put thee in possession of any places, wouldst thou not possess them? And shall not we succeed all those whom the Lord our God hath removed from before us? 25 Besides, art thou in any respect better than Balak, son of Sep26 phor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or go to war with them about this, all the while they lived in Esebon, and the borders thereof, and in the land of Aroer, and the borders thereof, and in all the cities along the Jordan, for three hundred years? Why didst thou not in all this time recover

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