unto his inheritance to possess the land. 7And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord, that He had wrought for Israel. 8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 9And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, that knew not the Lord, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel.
11And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim. 12And they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and worshipped them; and they provoked the Lord. 13And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He gave them over into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken, and as the Lord had sworn unto them; and they were sore distressed. 16And the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17And yet they hearkened not unto their judges, for they went astray after other gods, and worshipped them; they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not so. 18And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented the Lord because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them. 19But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to worship them; they left nothing undone of their practices, nor of their stubborn way. 20And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; and He said: 'Because this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice; 21I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died; 22that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.' 23So the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua.
3Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof; 3namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entrance of Hamath. 4And they were there, to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth. 8Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them over into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim; and the children of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim. 11And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm-trees. 14And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed; and the children of Israel sent a present by him unto Eglon the king of Moab. 16And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh. 17And he offered the present unto Eglon king of Moab—now Eglon was a very fat man. 18And when he had made an end of offering the present, he sent away the people that bore the present. 19But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said: 'I have a secret errand unto thee, O king.' And he said: 'Keep silence.' And all that stood by him went out from him. 20And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in his cool upper chamber. And Ehud said: 'I have a message from God unto thee.' And he arose out of his seat. 21And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his belly; and it came out behind. 23Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and locked them. 24Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the upper chamber were locked; and they said: 'Surely he is covering his feet in the cabinet of the cool chamber.' 25And they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors of the upper chamber; therefore they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth. 26And Ehud escaped while they lingered, having passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirah. 27And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a horn in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them. 28And he said unto them: 'Follow after me; for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.' And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over. 29And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valour; and there escaped not a man. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
31And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who smote of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad; and he also saved Israel.
4And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2And the Lord gave them over into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-goiim. 3And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5And she sat under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him: 'Hath not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded, saying: Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7And I will draw unto thee to the brook Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy hand. 8And Barak said unto her: 'If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go.' 9And she said: 'I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy honour; for the Lord will give Sisera over into the hand of a woman.' And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh;