Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. ¹ 

Finally he told her his secret. ¹  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ²  for I have been dedicated to God ³  from the time I was conceived. ⁴  If my head ⁵  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

When a leader died, the next generation ¹  would again ²  act more wickedly than the previous one. ³  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁴  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁵  their practices or their stubborn ways.

Hear ¹  the sound of those who divide the sheep ²  among the watering places; there they tell of ³  the Lord’s victorious deeds, the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁴  in Israel. Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

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

So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died.

This is why ¹  the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; ²  he did not hand them over to Joshua.

Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ¹  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ²  him. ³ 

You who ride on light-colored female donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, ¹  you who walk on the road, pay attention!

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ¹  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ² 

Then Jotham ran away ¹  to Beer and lived there to escape from ²  Abimelech his half-brother. ³ 

Abimelech went back ¹  to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. ² 

Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ¹  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ² 

When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down ¹  and named that place Ramath Lehi. ² 

The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ¹ 

Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ¹  is dry, then I will be sure ²  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ³  as you promised.”

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.

When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ¹  You have brought me disaster! ²  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ³ 

The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. ¹  The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. ² 

The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ¹  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.