She nagged him<n id="1" /> every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it.<n id="2" />

All you Israelites,<n id="1" /> make a decision here!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies.<n id="1" />p>

Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead.

he<n id="1" /> ordered<n id="2" /> all his chariotry &#8211; nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels &#8211; and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon.

The <sc>Lordsc> routed<n id="1" /> Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword.<n id="2" /> Sisera jumped out of<n id="3" /> his chariot and ran away on foot.

Gideon said to him, &#8220;Pardon me,<n id="1" /> but if the <sc>Lordsc> is with us, why has such disaster<n id="2" /> overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said,<n id="3" /> &#8216;Did the <sc>Lordsc> not bring us up from Egypt?&#8217; But now the <sc>Lordsc> has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.&#8221;

So he brought the men<n id="1" /> down to the water. Then the <sc>Lordsc> said to Gideon, &#8220;Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed.<n id="1" />

&#8220;Tell<n id="1" /> all the leaders of Shechem this: &#8216;Why would you want<n id="2" /> to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal&#8217;s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="3" />

His mother&#8217;s relatives<n id="1" /> spoke on his behalf to<n id="2" /> all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal.<n id="3" /> The leaders were drawn to Abimelech;<n id="4" /> they said, &#8220;He is our close relative.&#8221;<n id="5" />

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>

There was a fortified<n id="1" /> tower<n id="2" /> in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city&#8217;s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.

The <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took<n id="1" /> all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land.

The Gazites were told,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Samson has come here!&#8221; So they surrounded the town<n id="2" /> and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave.<n id="3" /> They relaxed<n id="4" /> all night, thinking,<n id="5" /> &#8220;He will not leave<n id="6" /> until morning comes;<n id="7" /> then we will kill him!&#8221;

Finally he told her his secret.<n id="1" /> He said to her, &#8220;My hair has never been cut,<n id="2" /> for I have been dedicated to God<n id="3" /> from the time I was conceived.<n id="4" /> If my head<n id="5" /> were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.&#8221;

When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret,<n id="1" /> she sent for<n id="2" /> the rulers of the Philistines, saying, &#8220;Come up here again, for he has told me<n id="3" /> his secret.&#8221;<n id="4" /> So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.

We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army.<n id="1" /> When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">So all the Israelites, the whole army,<n id="1" /> went up to<n id="2" /> Bethel.<n id="3" /> They wept and sat there before the <sc>Lordsc>; they did not eat anything<n id="4" /> that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace<n id="5" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>.

The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns<n id="1" /> and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities,<n id="2" /> the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path.<n id="3" />p>