Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ¹  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ²  I will be your leader.” ³ 

So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah.

The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ¹  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ²  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ³  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁴ 

I have not done you wrong, ¹  but you are doing wrong ²  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”

When they really started celebrating, ¹  they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. ²  They made him stand between two pillars.

The wisest of her ladies ¹  answer; indeed she even thinks to herself,

Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ¹  into the fabric on the loom ²  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith ¹  their god.

The leaders ¹  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ²  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? ¹ 

He and all his men ¹  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ²  took an ax ³  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁴  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁵ 

They were having a good time, ¹  when suddenly ²  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ³  surrounded the house and kept beating ⁴  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ⁵ 

Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ¹  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ¹  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ²  Otherwise ³  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ¹ 

When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz),

The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

“The trees were determined to go out ¹  and choose a king for themselves. ²  They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ ³ 

So Abimelech and all his men came up ¹  at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into ²  four units.

The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. ¹  Israel suffered greatly. ²