He said to her, &#8220;If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used,<n id="1" /> I will become weak and be just like any other man.&#8221;

She said, &#8220;The Philistines are here,<n id="1" /> Samson!&#8221; He woke up<n id="2" /> and thought,<n id="3" /> &#8220;I will do as I did before<n id="4" /> and shake myself free.&#8221; But he did not realize that the <sc>Lordsc> had left him.

Samson said to the young man who held his hand, &#8220;Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple.<n id="1" /> Then I can lean on them.&#8221;

Micah said, &#8220;Now I know God will make me rich,<n id="1" /> because I have this Levite as my priest.&#8221;p>

When these men broke into Micah&#8217;s house and stole<n id="1" /> the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, &#8220;What are you doing?&#8221;

He said, &#8220;You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, &#8216;What do you want?&#8217;&#8221;<n id="1" />

On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave.<n id="1" /> But the girl&#8217;s father said to his son-in-law, &#8220;Have a bite to eat for some energy,<n id="2" /> then you can go.&#8221;

So the two of them sat down and had a meal together.<n id="1" /> Then the girl&#8217;s father said to the man, &#8220;Why not stay another night and have a good time!&#8221;<n id="2" />

He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl&#8217;s father said, &#8220;Get some energy.<n id="1" /> Wait until later in the day to leave!&#8221;<n id="2" /> So they ate a meal together.

But his master said to him, &#8220;We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live.<n id="1" /> We will travel on to Gibeah.&#8221;

When he looked up and saw the traveler<n id="1" /> in the town square, the old man said, &#8220;Where are you heading? Where do you come from?&#8221;

The old man said, &#8220;Everything is just fine!<n id="1" /> I will take care of all your needs. But don&#8217;t spend the night in the town square.&#8221;

He said to her, &#8220;Get up, let&#8217;s leave!&#8221; But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home.<n id="1" />

The Levite,<n id="1" /> the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, &#8220;I and my concubine stopped in<n id="2" /> Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin<n id="3" /> to spend the night.

Adoni-Bezek said, &#8220;Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up<n id="1" /> food scraps<n id="2" /> under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.&#8221;<n id="3" /> They brought him to Jerusalem,<n id="4" /> where he died.

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s angelic messenger<n id="1" /> went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, &#8220;I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors.<n id="2" /> I said, &#8216;I will never break my agreement<n id="3" /> with you,

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> was furious with Israel.<n id="1" /> He said, &#8220;This nation<n id="2" /> has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors<n id="3" /> by disobeying me.<n id="4" />

When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated<n id="1" /> upper room all by himself. Ehud said, &#8220;I have a message from God<n id="2" /> for you.&#8221; When Eglon rose up from his seat,<n id="3" />

He said to them, &#8220;Follow me, for the <sc>Lordsc> is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!&#8221;<n id="1" /> They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River<n id="2" /> opposite Moab,<n id="3" /> and did not let anyone cross.

he<n id="1" /> sent a prophet<n id="2" /> to the Israelites. He said to them, &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel says: &#8216;I brought you up from Egypt<n id="3" /> and took you out of that place of slavery.<n id="4" />