and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal ¹  the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites.

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years.

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹  so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ¹  gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ¹  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ² 

The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹  they were too strong to resist, ²  he turned around and went home.

All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ¹  and from the land of Gilead ²  left their homes ³  and assembled together ⁴  before the Lord at Mizpah.

The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹ 

Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat ¹  and lure them ²  away from the city into the main roads.”

Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before ¹  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. ¹ 

But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, ¹  for the Israelites took an oath, saying, ‘Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!’ ² 

Then the Israelites dispersed from there to their respective tribal and clan territories. Each went from there to his own property. ¹ 

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹  They worshiped ²  the Baals and the Ashtars, ³  as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, ⁴  Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. ⁵  They abandoned the Lord and did not worship ⁶  him.

Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, ¹  located in the Negev. ²  They went and lived with the people of Judah. ³ 

The Lord was furious with Israel ¹  and turned them over to ²  King Cushan-Rishathaim ³  of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects ⁴  for eight years.

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.

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