Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!”

They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.”

When Gideon realized that it was the Lord’s messenger, he said, “Oh no! Master, Lord! I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.

The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group.

When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard the news, they went to the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.

When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord.

They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars.

The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.”

The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.

He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them.

Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast, he stayed by his harbors.

If only these men were under my command, I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, “Muster your army and come out for battle!”

The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites.