<p class="bodytext">They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions.<n id="1" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith<n id="1" /> their god.

The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting<n id="1" /> bandits in<n id="2" /> the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it.<n id="3" />p>

They worshiped<n id="1" /> Micah&#8217;s carved image<n id="2" /> the whole time God&#8217;s authorized shrine<n id="3" /> was in Shiloh.p>

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches<n id="1" /> against the stronghold and set fire to it.<n id="2" /> All the people<n id="3" /> of the Tower of Shechem died &#8211; about a thousand men and women.p>

So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement<n id="1" /> before the <sc>Lordsc> in Mizpah.p>