From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house.

When the man got ready to leave, ¹  his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. ² 

He said to his servant, ¹  “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns ²  and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”

The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah ¹  to make war against the Israelites.

The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ¹ 

The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they ¹  arranged their battle lines against Gibeah.

The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; ¹  they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.

So the people came to Bethel ¹  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ² 

The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. ¹ 

Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ¹  food scraps ²  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ³  They brought him to Jerusalem, ⁴  where he died.

When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ²  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ³ 

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹  They worshiped ²  the Baals and the Ashtars, ³  as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, ⁴  Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. ⁵  They abandoned the Lord and did not worship ⁶  him.

The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ¹  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ¹  Samson!” ²  He woke up ³  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate ¹  this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” ² 

The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ¹  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. ² 

When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, ¹  we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, ²  for we could not get each one a wife through battle. ³  Don’t worry about breaking your oath! ⁴  You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” ⁵ 

Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. ¹ 

The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

He ¹  moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.