The parable of lotham.

JUDGES.

Conspiracy of Gaal. cd together, and all the house of Millo, Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and and went and made Abimelech king, by the men of Shechem dealt treacherously the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. with Abimelech:

7 And when they told it to Jotham, 24 That the cruelty done to the threehe went and stood in the top of mount Ge- score and ten sons of Jerubbaal might rizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, come, and their blood be laid upon Abiand said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye melech their brother which slew them, men of Shechem, that God may hearkenj and upon the men of Shechem which unto you. aided him in the killing of his brethren. 8 The trees went forth on a time to 25 And the men of Shechem set liers in anoint a king over them; and they said wait for him in the top of the mountains, unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

9 But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

27 And they went out into the fields, 11 But the fig-tree said unto them, and gathered their vineyards, and trode Should I forsake my sweetness, and my the grapes, and made merry, and went good fruit, and go to be promoted over the into the house of their god, and did eat trees? and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebu! his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abi- 31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well melech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the with Jerubbaal and his house, and have son of Ebed, and his brethren, be come done unto him according to the deserving to Shechem; and behold, they fortify the of his hands: city against thee.

17 (For my father fought for you, and 32 Now therefore up by night, thou, adventured his life far, and delivered you and the people that is with thee, and lie out of the hand of Midian: in wait in the field:

33 And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.

18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother:) 19 If ye then have dealt truly and sin- 34 And Abimelech rose up, and all cerely with Jerubbaal and with his house the people that were with him, by night, this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and they laid wait against Shechem in and let him also rejoice in you: four companies.

:

20 But if not, let fire come out from 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, Abimelech, and devour the men of She- and stood in the entering of the gate of the chem, and the house of Millo; and let fire city and Abimelech rose up, and the peocome out from the men of Shechem, and ple that were with him, from lying in wait. from the house of Millo, and devour Abi- 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

melech.

21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

23 Then God sent an evil spirit between

37 And Gaal spake again, and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company

Abimelech overcomes him.

CHAP. X.

The Israelites oppressed. come along by the plain of Meonenim. the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is 53 And a certain woman cast a piece of now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all Who is Abimelech, that we should serve to break his skull.

him? is not this the people that thou hast 54 Then he called hastily unto the despised? go out, I pray now, and fight young man his armour-bearer, and said with them. unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, 39 And Gaal went out before the men that men say not of me, A woman slew of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. him. And his young man thrust him 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he through, and he died. fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.

41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.

55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.

56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. CHAP. X.

end Israel, Tola the son of Puah,

ND after Abimelech there arose to

43 And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and them. he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 44 And Abimelech, and the company 2 And he judged Israel twenty and that was with him, rushed forward, and three years, and died, and was buried in stood in the entering of the gate of the Shamir. city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them.

45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.

46 T And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a hold of the house of the god Berith.

3 ¶ And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of 47 And it was told Abimelech, that all Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the the men of the tower of Shechem were gods of Moab, and the gods of the chilgathered together. dren of Ammon, and the gods of the Phi48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount listines, and forsook the LORD, and served Zalmon, he and all the people that were not him.

with him; and Abimelech took an axe in 7 ¶ And the anger of the LORD was hot his hand, and cut down a bough from the against Israel, and he sold them into the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoul- hands of the Philistines, and into the hands der, and said unto the people that were of the children of Ammon. with him, What ye have seen me do, make 8 And that year they vexed and op. haste, and do as I have done. pressed the children of Israel eighteen 49 And all the people likewise cut years, all the children of Israel that were down every man his bough, and followed on the other side Jordan in the land of the Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and Amorites, which is in Gilead. set the hold on fire upon them: so that all 9 Moreover, the children of Ammon the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. 50 ¶ Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51 But there was a strong tower within 10 T And the children of Israel cried the city, and thither fled all the men and unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned women, and all they of the city, and shut against thee, both because we have forit to them, and gat them up to the top of saken our God, and also served Baalim. the tower. 11 And the LORD said unto the children 52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the and fought against it, and went hard unto Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from

passed over Jordan, to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim: so that Israel was sore distressed.

Jephthah's covenant

- JUDGES.

with the Gileadites." the children of Ammon, and from the Phi-Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight listines? against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be

12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites did oppress you; your head? and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you

no more.

14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD ia Mizpeh. 15 And the children of Israel said 12 T And Jephthah sent messengers unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto the king of the children of Ammon, unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto saying, What hast thou to do with me, thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this that thou art come against me to fight in day. my land? 16 And they put away the strange gods 13 And the king of the children of Amfrom among them, and served the LORD: mon answered unto the messengers of and his soul was grieved for the misery of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my Israel. land, when they came up out of Egypt, 17 Then the children of Ammon were from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto gathered together, and encamped in Gi- Jordan: now therefore restore those lands lead. And the children of Israel assem- again peaceably. bled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

NOW

CHAP. XI.

OW Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab; but he would not consent. And Israel abode in Kadesh.

18 Then they went along through the 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, wilderness, and compassed the land of and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there Edom, and the land of Moab, and came were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and by the east side of the land of Moab, and went out with him. pitched on the other side of Arnon, but 4 And it came to pass in process of came not within the border of Moab: for time, that the children of Ammon made Arnon was the border of Moab. war against Israel.

5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me 21 And the LORD God of Israel deliverout of my father's house? and why are ye ed Sihon and all his people into the hand come unto me now when ye are in distress? of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto possessed all the land of the Amorites, the Jephtlrah, Therefore we turn again to thee inhabitants of that country.

now, that thou mayest go with us, and 22 And they possessed all the coasts of fight against the children of Ammon, and be the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabour head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. bok, and from the wilderness even unto 9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Jordan.