The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord turned them over to Midian for seven years.

The Midianites overwhelmed Israel. Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east assembled. They crossed the Jordan River and camped in the Jezreel Valley.

The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time.

After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.

The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today!”

The leaders of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”

Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have you come against me to attack my land?”

Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power.

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?”

The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home.

But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. We will travel on to Gibeah.”

All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the Lord at Mizpah.

That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah.

The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers.

The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites.