He said to them, &#8220;Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim&#8217;s leftover grapes<n id="1" /> are better quality than Abiezer&#8217;s harvest!<n id="2" />

He said to them, &#8220;Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely!<n id="1" /> I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!

He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request.<n id="1" /> The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother&#8217;s relatives.<n id="1" /> He said to them and to his mother&#8217;s entire extended family,<n id="2" />

God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell<n id="1" /> on them.p>

<p class="bodytext">Jephthah said to them, &#8220;My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites.<n id="1" /> I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power.<n id="2" />

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;

The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, &#8220;No, my brothers! Don&#8217;t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don&#8217;t do such a disgraceful thing!

The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite<n id="1" /> grabbed his concubine and made her go outside.<n id="2" /> They raped<n id="3" /> her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us,<n id="1" /> we&#8217;ll say to them, &#8220;Do us a favor and let them be,<n id="2" /> for we could not get each one a wife through battle.<n id="3" /> Don&#8217;t worry about breaking your oath!<n id="4" /> You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="5" />p>