They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ¹  you will not kill ²  me.”

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.

Now the Danites ¹  took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. ² 

They stopped there and decided to spend the night ¹  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ² 

But they did not obey ¹  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ²  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ³  their ancestors ⁴  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁵ 

That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. ¹  Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. ¹  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ²  For the child will be dedicated ³  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ¹  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ²  fire, and they ³  melted away from his hands.

The Gazites were told, ¹  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ²  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ³  They relaxed ⁴  all night, thinking, ⁵  “He will not leave ⁶  until morning comes; ⁷  then we will kill him!”

the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian ¹  when they oppressed you? ²  You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. ³ 

They said, ¹  “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.”

Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me,

Jephthah approached ¹  the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him.

The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash ¹  to Gibeah. They ²  attacked ³  and put the sword to the entire city.

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

The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ¹  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him.

He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ¹  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ²  ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died.

Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ¹  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ² 

When you invade, ¹  you will encounter ²  unsuspecting people. The land is wide! ³  God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!” ⁴