Every year ¹  Israelite women commemorate ²  the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. ³ 

Jephthah led ¹  Israel for six years; then he ²  died and was buried in his city in Gilead. ³ 

All you Israelites, ¹  make a decision here!” ² 

So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. ¹ 

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

The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days;

The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush ¹  sent up a smoke signal from the city,

When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ¹  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ² 

The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.”

The Israelites regretted what had happened to ¹  their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire ²  tribe from Israel!

The people regretted what had happened to ¹  Benjamin because the Lord had weakened ²  the Israelite tribes.

When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹  raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued ²  them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ³ 

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹  The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel ²  because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight.

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 cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera ¹  had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, ²  and he cruelly ³  oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

The Midianites ¹  overwhelmed Israel. ²  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ³  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

he ¹  sent a prophet ²  to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt ³  and took you out of that place of slavery. ⁴ 

They ruthlessly oppressed ¹  the Israelites that eighteenth year ²  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.

Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us ¹  to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. ²  Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. ³  So Israel stayed at Kadesh.

The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ¹