Judges — The Coverdale Bible (1535)

Judges tells of the deliverers who ruled Israel between Joshua and the monarchy, among them Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson. In Coverdale’s Bible of 1535 it stands in the second part of the Old Testament (Joshua to Esther) under the heading “The boke of the Iudges called, Iudicum”. Coverdale’s summary of the chapters stands before the text; the 1535 Bible has no verse numbers, so the text keeps its own paragraphs, in 21 chapters, with the marginal notes and references printed after each chapter. The copy transcribed lacks a leaf here (Judges 12:10 - 15:8); that text is supplied from Bagster’s 1838 reprint of the edition and marked off in the text.

What this boke conteyneth.

• Chap. I. Iudas is made captayne of the people subdueth, the Cananytes, and wynneth I⟨illegible⟩rusalem. Israel roteth not out the Cananites as God commaunded them.
• Chap. II. The angell of God punysheth the⟨illegible⟩, because they cōsente to their enemies The childrē of Israel serue Baal, for the which cause God geueth them ouer in to captiuyte.
• Chap. III. God punysheth Israel, and yet delyuereth them wonderously.
• Chap. IIII. Debbora the prophetisse with B⟨illegible⟩rach ouercōmeth Sissara, and delyuereth the people of the LORDE.
• Chap. V. The songe of prayse which Debbora and Barach songe because of the victory.
• Chap. VI. For their synnes God geueth them ouer in to the handes of the Madianites, from the which Gedeon delyuereth them.
• Chap. VII. How Gedeon parteth his hoost, & discomfiteth the Madianites.
• Chap. VIII. Gedeon punysheth thē at Suchoth, dyeth, and is buried.
• Chap IX. Abimelech seketh the superiorite, slayeth his seuentye brethren, wynneth Sichē and Thebes.
• Chap. X. Thola & Iair rule the people. The Israelites synne, and are punyshed
• Chap. XI. Iepthe is made ruler of the people, and ouercōmeth Ammon in Maspha.
• Chap XII. The Ephraites rise vp against Iepthe, and there are slayne of them two and fortye thousande.
• Chap. XIII. The byrth of Samson is shewed vnto his father and mother by an angell.
• Chap. XIIII. Samson taketh a wife ī Timnath, renteth a yonge Lyon in peces, and putteth forth a dark sentence vnto his companyons.
• Chap. XV. How Samson hurteth the Philistynes with the foxes. He slayeth a thousande mē with the cheke bone of an asse.
• Chap XVI. Samson taketh both the portes of the gate of the cite vpon his backe, & beareth them vp to the mount Dalila the harlot bryngeth him in dotage, so that he telleth her his secretes, and is blynded of his enemies.
• Chap. XVII. Of Micha and his ymage &c.
• Chap. XVIII. Dan sendeth out men to spye the lōde, which take Michas ymage, & carie awaye the prest.
• Chap. XIX. How shamefully the Gabeonites deale with the Leuites wife.
• Chap XX. How the same synne is punyshed.
• Chap. XXI. The Ben Iamites optayne wyues in Israel, whō the Israelites had sworne not to geue them.

Chapter 1

[A] AFter the death of Iosua the children of Israel axed the LORDE, and sayde: Who shall go vp & be oʳ captayne of warre against yᵉ Cananites? The LORDE sayde: Iuda shall go vp.⁽¹⁾ Beholde, I haue delyuered the londe in to his hande. Then sayde Iuda vnto his brother Simeon: Go vp wᵗ me in to my lot, and let vs fighte against the Cananites, then wyl I go agayne with the in to yᵉ lot: So Simeon wente with him.

Now whan Iuda wente vp the LORDE delyuered the Cananites and Pheresites in to their hādes, & they slewe tē thousande mē at Besek: & they foūde Adoni Besek at Besek, & foughte agaynst him, and slewe the Cananites and Pheresites. But Adoni Besek fled, and they folowed after him: and whan they had ouertaken him, they cut of the thōbes of his handes and fete.

[B] Then sayde Adoni Besek: Thre score and ten kynges wᵗ the thombes of their hādes & fete cut of, gathered vp the meate yᵗ was lefte vnder my table. ⁽²⁾ Now as I haue done, so hath God rewarded me agayne. And he was broughte vnto Ierusalē, where he dyed.

But yᵉ childrē of Iuda foughte agaynst Ierusalem, and wāne it,⁽³⁾ and smote it with the edge of the swerde, and set fyre vpon the cite. Then wente the children of Israel downe, to fighte agaynst yᵉ Cananites, yᵗ dwelt vpon the mount, and towarde the south, and in the vall⟨illegible⟩ And Iuda wente agaynst the Cananites, which dwelt at Hebron.⁽⁴⁾ (As for Hebron, it was called Kiriatharba afore tyme) and they smote Sesai, & Achiman, and Thalmai.

And from thence he wente agaynst yᵉ inhabiters [C] of Debir (but Debir was called Kiriath Sepher aforetyme.) And Caleb sayde:⁽⁵⁾ He yᵗ smyteth Kiriath Sepher, & wynneth it, I wyl geue him my doughter Achsa to wife. Then Athniel the sonne of Kenas, Calebs yongest brother wāne it. And he gaue him his doughter Achsa to wife. And it fortuned yᵗ whan they wēte in she was counceled of hir houszbande, to axe a pece of londe of hir father. And she fell from the asse. Thē sayde Caleb vnto her: What ayleth yᵉ? She sayde: Geue me a blessynge, for thou hast geuen me a south & drye londe, geue me also a watery londe. Then gaue he her a londe that was watery aboue and beneth.

And the childrē of yᵉ Kenyte Moses brother [D] in lawe, wente vp out of the ⁽⁶⁾ palme cite, with the children of Iuda in to the wyldernesse of Iuda, that lyeth on yᵉ south syde of the cite Arad:⁽⁷⁾ and wente their waye, & dwelt amonge the people. And Iuda wente with his brother Simeon, & they smote the Cananites at Zephath, & damned them, & called the name of the cite Horma.⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ Iuda also wanne Gasa with the borders therof, & Ascalon with hir borders, & Accaron with the coastes therof. And the LORDE was wᵗ Iuda, so that he conquered the mountaynes: but them that dwelt in the valley coulde he not conquere, because they had yron charettes. And acordinge as Moses had sayde, they gaue Hebron vnto Caleb, which droue out the thre sonnes of Enak.⁽¹⁰⁾ Howbeit yᵉ children of Ben Iamin droue not out yᵉ Iebusites which dwelt at Ierusalem,⁽¹¹⁾ but yᵉ Iebusites dwelt amonge the children of Ben Iamin at Ierusalem vnto this daye.

Likewyse the children of Ioseph wēte vp [E] also vnto Bethel, & the LORDE was wᵗ thē.⁽¹²⁾ And the house of Ioseph spyed out Bethel (which afore tyme was called Lus) and the watch men sawe a man goinge out of the cite, and saide vnto him: Shewe vs where we maye come in to the cite, ⁽¹³⁾ & we wyll shewe mercy vpon the. And whan he had shewed them where they mighte come in to the cite, they smote yᵉ cite wᵗ the edge of the swerde: but they let the man go & all his frendes.

Then wēte the same man vp in to yᵉ countre of the Hethites, & buylded a cite, and called it Lus, & so is the name of it yet vnto this daye. And Manasses ⁽¹⁴⁾ droue not out Beth Sean wᵗ the vyllages therof, ner Thaenah [F] with the vyllages therof, ner the inhabiters of Dor with the vyllages therof: ner the inbiters of Iebleam wᵗ the vyllages therof, ner the inhabiters of Mageddo wᵗ the vyllages therof, and yᵉ Cananites beganne to dwell in the same londe. But whan Israel was mightie, he made the Cananites tributaries, and droue them not out.

⁽¹⁵⁾In like maner Ephraim droue not out yᵉ Cananites that dwelt at Gaser, but the Cananites dwelt amonge them at Gaser.

Zabulon also droue not out the inhabiters of Kitron and Nahalol, but yᵉ Cananites dwelt amonge them, & were tributaries.

[G] Asser droue not out yᵉ inhabiters of Aco, & yᵉ inhabiters of Sidon, of Ahelab, of Achsib, of Helba, of Aphik & of Rehob, but yᵉ Asserites dwelt amōge the Cananites that dwelt in the lōde, for they droue thē not out.

Nephtali droue not out yᵉ inhabiters of Beth Semes, ner of Beth Anath, but dwelt amonge the Cananites which dwelt in the londe: howbeit they of Beth Semes and of Beth Anath were tributaries.

And the Amorites subdued the childrē of Dan vpon the mountaine, and suffred them not to come downe in to the valley. And the Amorites beganne to dwell vpō mount Heres at Aiolon and at Saalbim. Howbeit yᵉ hande of yᵉ house of Ioseph was to sore for them, and they became tributaries. And the border of the Amorites was, as a mā goeth vp towarde Acrabim, and from the rocke, & from the toppe.

Notes to Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ 13. a

⁽²⁾ Leu. 24. d Iudic. 15. ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ Deu. 20. ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ Iosu. 15. d

⁽⁵⁾ Iosu. 15. d 2. Par. 12. a 1. Re. 17. c

⁽⁶⁾ Deu. 34. a

⁽⁷⁾ Nu. 10. d 1. Re. 15. d

⁽⁸⁾ Num. 21. a

⁽⁹⁾ Iosu. 15. a

⁽¹⁰⁾ Iosu. 14. d

⁽¹¹⁾ Iosu. 15. g

⁽¹²⁾ Iosu. 16. a

⁽¹³⁾ Iosu. 2. c

⁽¹⁴⁾ Nu. 33 g Iosu. 17. c

⁽¹⁵⁾ Iosu. 16. b

Chapter 2

[A] BVt there came vp a messaūger of yᵉ LORDE from Gilgall vnto Bochim, and sayde: I haue caried you vp hither out of Egipte, and broughte you in to the londe that I sware vnto youre fathers, & saide:⁽¹⁾ I wyl neuer breake my couenaunt wᵗ you, that ye shulde make no couenaunt with the indwellers of this londe, but breake downe their altares: Neuertheles ye haue not herkened vnto my voyce. Wherfore haue ye done this? Then saide I morouer: I wil no⟨illegible⟩ dryue them out before you, that they maye be a fall vnto you, and their goddes a snare. And whan yᵉ messaunger of the LORDE had spoken these wordes vnto all the children of Israel, the people lefte vp their voyce, & wepte, and called yᵉ name of the place Bochim, and offred there vnto the LORDE.

For whan Iosua had sente awaye yᵉ people, and the childrē of Israel were gone, euery one to his enheritaūce, for to take possession of the londe, ⁽²⁾ the people serued the LORDE as longe as Iosua lyued and yᵉ Elders, which lyued longe after Iosua, and yᵗ sawe all the greate workes of the LORDE, which he dyd for Israel.

Now whan Iosua the sonne of Nun, the seruaunt of the LORDE, ⁽³⁾ was deed (whan he was an hūdreth and ten yeare olde) they buried him in yᵉ border of his inheritaunce at Timnath Heres vpon mount Ephraim on the north syde of mount Gaas. And whan all the same generacion was gathered vnto their fathers, there came vp after them another generacion, which knew not the LORDE, ner the workes that he had done for Israel.

Then wroughte the children of Israel euell before the LORDE, ⁽⁴⁾ and serued Baalim, and forsoke yᵉ LORDE the God of their fathers (which broughte them out of the londe of Egipte) and folowed other goddes & the goddes of the nacions that dwelt rounde aboute them, & worshipped them, & displeased the LORDE: for they forsoke yᵉ LORDE euer more and more, and serued Baal and Astaroth.

Then yᵉ wrath of the LORDE waxed whote vpō Israel, & he delyuered thē in to yᵉ handes of those yᵗ spoyled thē, that they mighte spoyle them, & solde thē in to the handes of their enemies roūde aboute, & they were not able to withstonde their enemies eny more, but what waye so euer they wolde out, yᵉ hāde of the LORDE was agaynst thē to their hurte (euen as the LORDE sayde and sware vnto them) and they were sore oppressed.⁽⁵⁾

Now whan the LORDE raysed them vp iudges, which helped them out of the hande of soch as spoyled thē, they folowed not the iudges nether, but wente a whoringe after other goddes, & worshipped them, and were soone gone out of yᵉ waye yᵗ their fathers walked in, to heare the cōmaundementes of the LORDE, & dyd not as they dyd.

But whan yᵉ LORDE raysed vp iudges vnto them, the LORDE was with yᵉ iudge, and helped them out of the hande of their enemies, as longe as the iudge lyued. ⁽⁶⁾ For the LORDE had pitie of their complaynte, which they made ouer those yᵗ subdued thē and oppressed them.

[D] Neuertheles whan the iudge dyed, they turned backe,⁽⁷⁾ and marred all more thē their fathers, so that they folowed other goddes to serue them and to bowe them selues vnto them: they wolde not fall from their purposes, ner from their obstinate waye.

Therfore waxed the wrath of the LORDE allwaie so whote ouer Israel, that he sayde: For so moch as the people haue transgressed my couenaunt, which I commaunded their fathers, & folowe not my voyce, I wil from hence forth dryue out none of the Heythen, whō Iosua lefte behynde him, whā he dyed, ⁽⁸⁾ that by them I maye proue Israel, whether they wil kepe the waye of the LORDE, to walke therin, as their fathers dyd, or not. Thus the LORDE suffred all these nacions, so that in a shorte tyme he droue them not out, whom he had not geuen ouer in to Iosuas hande.

Notes to Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ Deut▪ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩od. 2. d

⁽⁷⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁸⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 8. a ⟨illegible⟩ 13. a

Chapter 3

[A] THese are the nacions, whom the LORDE suffred to remayne, yᵗ by them he mighte proue Israel, which had no vnderstondinge in the warres of Canaan: onely because yᵗ the trybes of the childrē of Israel might knowe & lerne to warre, which afore had no knowlege therof, namely: The fyue lordes of yᵉ Philistynes, & all the Cananites, & Sidonians, & the Hethites yᵗ dwelt vpon mount Libanus, fro mount Baal Hermon, vntyll a man come vnto Hemath. The same remayned, that Israel mighte be proued by them, that it mighte be knowne whether they wolde herken to the commaundementes of the LORDE, which he commaunded their fathers by Moses.

Now whan the children of Israel dwelt thus amōge the Cananites, Hethites, Amorites, Pheresites, Heuites & Iebusites,⁽¹⁾ they toke their doughters to wyues, & gaue their doughters vnto their sonnes, & serued their goddes, and wroughte wickednes before the LORDE, & forgat the LORDE their God, & serued Baalim & Astaroth. Then yᵉ wrath of yᵉ LORDE waxed whote ouer Israel, & he solde thē vnder the hāde of Cusan Risathaim kynge of Mesopotamia, & so yᵉ childrē of Israel serued Cusan Risathaim viij. yeare.

[B] Thē cried the childrē of Israel vnto the LORDE, & the LORDE raysed thē vp a sauioʳ which delyuered thē, namely ⁽²⁾ Athniel yᵉ sonne of Kenas, Calebs yongest brother. And the sprete of the LORDE came vpon him, & he was iudge in Israel, & wente out a warre fare. And yᵉ LORDE delyuered Cusan Risathaim the kynge of Syria in to his hāde, so yᵗ his hande was to strōge for him. ⁽³⁾ Then was the londe in rest fortye yeares. And Athniel the sonne of Kenas dyed.

But the children of Israel dyd yet more euell before the LORDE. Then the LORDE strengthed Eglon the kynge of yᵉ Moabites agaynst yᵉ childrē of Israel, because they wrought wickednesse before yᵉ LORDE. And he gathered vnto him yᵉ childrē of Ammon, & the Amalechites, & wēte and smote Israel, and conquered the ⁽⁴⁾ cite of the palme trees. And the children of Israel serued Eglon yᵉ kynge of yᵉ Moabites eightene yeare. Thē cried they vnto the LORDE. And the LORDE raysed thē vp a sauioure, namely Ehud the sonne of Gera yᵉ sonne of Iemini, which was a man that mighte do nothinge with his righte hande.

And whā the childrē of Israel sent a present by him vnto Eglon the kynge of the Moabites, Ehud made him a two edged dagger of a spanne longe, & gyrded it vnder his garmēt vpō his righte thye, & broughte yᵉ present vnto Eglon the kynge of yᵉ Moabites. As for Eglon, he was a very fat man.

And whan he had delyuered the presente,[C] he let the people go that had caried the present, and he himselfe turned backe from the Idols at Gilgall, & caused to saye thus (vnto the kynge:) I haue a secrete thinge to tell the O kynge. And he commaunded to kepe sylence, & all they that stode aboute him, wente out from him.

And Ehud came in vnto him. He sat in a syled Sommer perler, which was for him selfe alone. And Ehud saide: I haue somwhat to saye vnto the of God. Thē rose he vp frō his seate. But Ehud put forth his lefte hande, & toke the dagger from his righte thye, & thrust it in to his bely, so yᵗ the hefte wente in also after the blade, & the fatt closed the hefte: for he drue not yᵉ dagger out of his bely, & yᵉ fylthines departed frō him. But Ehud gat him out at the backe dore, & put to yᵉ dore after him, and lockte it.

Now whan he was gone, his seruauntes came in, and sawe that the dore of the Sommer perler was lockte, and they sayde: peraduenture he is gone to the preuye in the syled Sommer perler.

But whan they had wayted so lōge tyll [D] they were ashamed (for no man opened the perler dore) they toke the keye, and opened it. Beholde, then laye their lorde deed vpō the earth. As for Ehud, he was gotten awaye, whyle they made so longe tariēge, & he wente ouer by the Idols, and ranne his waye vnto Seirath.

And whan he came in ⁽⁵⁾ he blewe yᵉ trompet vpō mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel wente with him from the mount, and he before them, and he saide vnto them: Folowe me, for the LORDE hath delyuered the Moabites youre enemies in to yoʳ hande. And they folowed him, & wanne yᵉ ferye of Iordane, yᵗ goeth towarde Moab, & suffred no man to go ouer, and at yᵉ same tyme they smote of the Moabites vpō a ten thousande men, all nobles and men of armes, so that there escaped not one. Thus were the Moabites broughte vnder the hande of the children of Israel at that tyme, and the londe was in rest foure score yeares.

Afterwarde was ⁽⁶⁾ Samgar yᵉ sonne of Anath, which slewe sixe hundreth Philistynes with an oxes gadd, and delyuered Israel also.

Notes to Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩eut. 7. a ⟨illegible⟩ 12. a

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 1. c

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. Par. 1⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ Deut. ⟨illegible⟩0▪

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ ▪ 10. a

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ud. 5. a

Chapter 4

[A] BVt the children of Israel dyd yet more euell before yᵉ LORDE, whan Ehud was deed. And the LORDE solde thē in to the hande of Iabin the kynge of the Cananites, which dwelt at Hazor, & the chefe captayne of his hooste was Sissera, and he dwelt at Haroseth of the Heythen. And the childrē of Israel cried vnto the LORDE: for he had nyne hūdreth yron charettes, and subdued the children of Israel by violence twentye yeare.

At yᵉ same tyme was Iudgesse in Israel the prophetisse Debbora, the wyfe of Lapidoth, and she dwelt vnder yᵉ palme of Debbora betwene Rama & Bethel, vpon mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came vp vnto her to the lawe. She sent forth, ⁽¹⁾ & called for Barak the sonne of Abi Noam of Kedes Nephtali, and sayde vnto him: Hath not yᵉ LORDE the God of Israel cōmaunded the: Go thy waye, and get the vp vnto mount Thabor, & take wᵗ the ten thousande men of the children of Nephtali & Zabulon? For I wil make Sissera the chefe captayne of Iabins hoost to come to the vnto yᵉ ⁽²⁾ water of Cyson, with his charettes and with his multitude, and I wyll delyuer him in to thy hande. Barak sayde vnto her: Yf thou wilt come wᵗ me, I wil go: but yf thou wilt not come with me, I wil not go.

[B] She sayde: I wyll go with the: neuerthelesse the prayse shal not be thine in this iourney that thou goest, but yᵉ LORDE shal delyuer Sissera in to a womās hande. So Debbora gat hir vp, and wente with Barak vnto Kedes. Then Barak called Zabulon and Nephtali vnto Kedes, and wēte on fote wᵗ ten thousande men. And Debbora wente wᵗ him also. As for Heber the Kenyte he was departed from the Kenytes from the children of ⁽³⁾ Hobab Moses brother in lawe, and had pitched his tent by yᵉ Oke of Zaanaim besyde Kedes.

Then was it tolde Sissera, yᵗ Barak the sonne of Abi Noā, was gone vp vnto moūt Thabor: & he gathered all his charettes together, nyne C. yron charettes, & all the people yᵗ was with him from Haroseth of the Heythē, vnto the water Cyson. Debbora sayde vnto Barak: Vp, this is the daie wherin the LORDE hath delyuered Sissera in to yᵉ hande: for yᵉ LORDE shal go forth before yᵉ. So Barak wente fro mount Thabor, and yᵉ ten thousande men after him.

But the LORDE discomfited Sissera wᵗ [C] all his charettes & hoost, & made thē afrayed of the edge of the swerde before Barak, so yᵗ Sissera leapte of his charet, & fled on fote. Neuerthelesse Barak folowed vpon the charettes & the hoost vnto Haroseth of the Heythen, & all Sisseras hoost fell thorow yᵉ edge of the swerde, so yᵗ not one escaped. As for Sissera, he fled on fote vnto the tente of Iael, yᵉ wife of Heber yᵉ Kenite. For there was peace betwene kynge Iabin at Hasor, & the house of Heber the Kenite.

Iael wēte forth to mete Sissera, & sayde vnto him: Turne in my lorde, turne in to me, & be not afrayed. And he turned in vnto her in to the tente, & she couered him with a garmēt. He sayde vnto her: I praye yᵉ geue me a litle water to drynke, for I am a thyrst. ⁽⁴⁾ Thē opened she a mylke pot, & gaue him to drynke, and couered him. And he sayde vnto her: Stōde in the tente dore, & yf one come & axe, is there eny man here? saye Noman.

Then Iael the wife of Heber toke a nale [D] of the tente, and an hammer in hir hande, & wente in preuely vnto him, & smote the nale in thorow the temples of his heade, so yᵗ he sancke to yᵉ earth. As for him, he was fallen on a slomber, and weery, and so he dyed.

But whā Barak folowed after Sissera, Iael wente for to mete him, and sayde vnto him: Come hither, I wil shewethe the man, whom thou sekest. And whan he came in vnto her, he sawe Sissera deed, & the nale stickinge in his temples. Thus God broughte downe Iabin the kynge of the Cananites before the children of Israel at that tyme, & the hande of the children of Israel wente & subdued Iabin yᵉ kynge of the Cananites, tyll they had roted him out. Then Debbora and Barac the sonne of Abi Noam, sange at the same tyme, and sayde:

Notes to Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 5. b

⁽²⁾ Psal. ⟨illegible⟩2. a

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

Chapter 5

[A] NOw that ye are come to rest, ye quyete men in Israel, prayse yᵉ LORDE, amonge soch of the people as be frewyllinge.

Heare ye kynges, & herken to ye prynces: I wyl, I wyl synge to the LORDE, euen vnto the LORDE yᵉ God of Israel wil I playe.

⁽¹⁾ LORDE, whan thou wentest out from Seir, & camest in from the felde of Edom, yᵉ earth quaked, the heauen dropped, and the cloudes dropped with water.

⁽²⁾ The hilles melted before the LORDE, Sinai before the LORDE the God of Israel.

In the tyme of ⁽³⁾ Sanger the sonne of Anath: In the tyme of ⁽⁴⁾ Iael the wayes fayled: and they that shulde haue gone in pathes, walked thorow croked wayes.

There was scarcenesse, there was scarcenesse of houszbande men in Israel, vntyll I Debbora came vp, vntyll I came vp a mother in Israel.

God hath chosen a new thinge. He hath ouercome yᵉ portes in battayll: and yet was there sene nether shylde ner speare amonge fortye thousande in Israel.

[B] My hert loueth yᵉ teachers of Israel: ye yᵗ are frewyllinge amonge the people, prayse the LORDE.

Ye that ryde vpō fayre Asses, ye that syt in iudgment and geue sentence, ye that go by the waye, prayse the LORDE.

Whā yᵉ archers cried betwene yᵉ drawers of water, then was it spokē of yᵉ righteousnes of the LORDE, of the righteousnes of his huszbande men in Israel: then ruled the people of the LORDE vnder the gates.

Vp Debbora vp, get the vp, get the vp, & rehearse a songe.⁽⁵⁾ Arise Barak, & catch him yᵗ catched the, thou sonne of Abinoam.

Then had the desolate the rule with the mightie of the people. The LORDE had yᵉ dominion thorow the giauntes.

⁽⁶⁾ Out of Ephraim was their rote against Amalek, and after him Ben Iamin in thy people.

Out of Machir haue teachers ruled, and out of Zabulō are there become gouernours thorow the wrytinge penne.

And out of Isachar there were prynces with Debbora, and Isachar was as Barak in yᵉ valley, sent with his people on fote: As for Ruben, he stode hye in his awne consayte, and separated him selfe from vs.

Why abodest thou betwixte the borders,[C] whan thou herdest the noyse of the flockes? because Ruben stode hye in his awne cōsayte, and separated him selfe from vs.

Gilead abode beyonde Iordane, and why dwelt Dan amonge the shippes? Asser sat in the hauen of the see, and taried in his porcions.

But Zabulons people ioperde their life vnto death: Nephtali also in the toppe of yᵉ felde of Merom.

The kynges came & foughte, then foughte yᵉ kynges of the Cananites at Thaanah by the water of Megiddo, but spoyle of money broughte they not there from.

From heauē were they foughtē agaynst, the starres in their courses foughte with Sissera.

The broke Cyson ouerwhelmed them, the broke Kedumim, yee the broke Cyson. My soule treade thou vpon the mightie.

Then made the horse fete a ruszshinge together, for the greate violence of their mightie horse men.

Curse the cite of Meros (sayde yᵉ angell [D] of the LORDE) curse the citesyns therof, be cause they come not to helpe yᵉ LORDE, to helpe the LORDE to the giauntes.

Blessynge amonge wemen haue Iael the wife of Heber the Kenite: blessinge haue she in the tente amonge the wemen.

⁽⁷⁾ Whan he axed water, she gaue him mylke, & broughte forth butter in a lordlyd⟨illegible⟩szshe.

She toke holde of the nale wᵗ hir hande, & the smyth hammer with hir righte hande, and smote Sissera, cut of his heade & pearsed and bored thorow his temples.

He bowed him selfe downe at hir fete, he fell downe, and laye there. He sanke downe, and fell at hir fete: whan he had soncke downe, he laye there destroyed.

His mother loked out at the wyndowe, & cried piteously thorow the tr⟨illegible⟩llace: Why tarieth his charet out so lōge, that he cōmeth not? Wherfore do the wheles of his charet make so longe tarienge?

The wysest amōge his ladies answered, & sayde vnto her: Shulde they not finde & deuide the spoyle, vnto euery man a fayre mayde or two for a pray, & partye coloured garmētes of nedle worke to Sissera for a spoyle, partye coloured garmentes of nedle worke aboute the necke for a pray?

Thus all thine enemies must perishe O LORDE: but they that loue the, shal be euen as the Sonne rysinge vp in his mighte.

And the londe had peace fortye yeares.

Notes to Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 19. c ⟨illegible⟩ut. 4. b

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 96. a

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ 3. d

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 4. c

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 4. a

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 3. d

⁽⁷⁾ Iud. 4. c

Chapter 6

[A] ANd whan the children of Israel dyd euell in the sighte of the LORDE, the LORDE delyuered them vnder the hande of the Madianites vij. yeares. And whā the hande of the Madianites was to mightie ouer the children of Israel, the children of Israel made them clyffes in yᵉ mountaynes, and caues and holdes, to defende them selues from yᵉ Madianites. And whan Israel sowed eny thinge, yᵉ Madianites and Amalechites, and the children towarde the south came vp vpon them, and pitched their tētes agaynst them, and destroyed the increase of the londe downe vnto Gasa, & let nothinge remayne ouer of the beestes in Israel, nether shepe, ner oxen, ner asses. For they came vp with their catell and tentes, as it had bene a greate multitude of greshoppers (so that nether they ner their camels mighte be nombred) and fell in to the londe, that they mighte destroye it. Thus was Israel exceadinge small before the Madianites. Then cried the children of Israel vnto the LORDE.

[B] But whan they cried vnto the LORDE be cause of yᵉ Madianites, yᵉ LORDE sent thē a prophet, which sayde vnto thē: Thus saieth the LORDE the God of Israel: I caried you out of Egipte, & broughte you out of yᵉ house of bondage, & delyuered you from the hande of the Egipcians, & from the hāde of all them that oppressed you, and I haue thrust them out before you, & geuen you their lōde and sayde vnto you: I am the LORDE youre God.⁽¹⁾ Feare not ye the goddes of the Amorites, in whose londe ye dwell: neuertheles ye haue not herkened vnto my voyce.

And there came an angell of the LORDE, & sat him downe vnder an Oke at Aphra, which belonged vnto Ioas the father of yᵉ Esrites, and his sonne Gedeon was throsshinge wheate in the barne, that he mighte flye awaye before the Madianites.

[C] Then appeared vnto him the angell of yᵉ LORDE, and sayde vnto him: The LORDE with yᵉ thou mightie giaunte. But Gedeon sayde vnto him: Syr, yf the LORDE be wᵗ vs, wherfore is all this then happened vnto vs? And where are all the wonders, which oure fathers tolde vs, & sayde: The LORDE brought vs out of Egipte? But now hath the LORDE forsaken vs, and delyuered vs in to the hande of the Madianites.

The LORDE turned him vnto him, & sayde: Go thy waye in this thy strength, thou shalt delyuer Israel out of the hande of yᵉ Madianites. I haue sent the. But he sayde: My LORDE, wherwithall shal I delyuer Israel? Beholde, my kynred is the smallest in Manasse, & I am the leest in my fathers house? The LORDE sayde vnto him: I will be wᵗ the, so yᵗ thou shalt smyte the Madianites, euen as though they were but one man.

He sayde vnto him: Yf I haue foūde grace [D] in thy sighte, then make me a token, that it is thou, which speakest with me: go not awaye, tyll I come to yᵉ, and brynge a meat-offerynge, to set before the. He sayde: I wyll tary, tyll thou cōmest agayne. And Gedeon wēte, and made ready a kydd, and an Epha of vnleuended floure, and layed the flesh in a maunde, and put the broth in a pot, and broughte it forth vnto him vnder the Oke, and came nye. But the angell of God sayde vnto him: ⁽²⁾ Take the flesh and the vnleuended bred, & set it vpon the stonye rocke that is here, and poure the broth theron. And he dyd so. Then the angell of the LORDE stretched out the staffe that he had in his hande, and with the ende of it he touched the flesh and the vnleuended floure: ⁽³⁾ and the fyre came out of the rocke, and consumed the flesh and the vnleuended floure. And the angell of the LORDE vanyshed out of his sighte.

Now whā Gedeon sawe that it was an [E] angell of yᵉ LORDE, he sayde:⁽⁴⁾ O LORDE LORDE, haue I thus sene an angell of yᵉ LORDE face to face? The LORDE sayde vnto him: Peace be with the, feare not, thou shalt not dye. Thē Gedeon buylded an altare there vnto yᵉ LORDE, & called it: The LORDE of peace. The same stondeth yet vnto this daye at Apra, yᵗ belōgeth vnto the father of yᵉ Esrites.

And in yᵉ same night sayde yᵉ LORDE vnto him: Take a fedd bullocke frō amōge thy fathers oxen, & another bullocke of seuen yeare olde, and breake downe the altare of Baall which is thy fathers, and cut downe the groue that stondeth by it, and buylde thou an altare vnto the LORDE yᵉ God aboue vpon the toppe of this rocke, and make it ready, and take the other bullocke, and offre a burnt offerynge with the wodd of the groue that thou hast hewen downe. Then toke Gedeon ten men of his seruauntes, and dyd as yᵉ LORDE sayde vnto him: but he was afrayed to do this by daye tyme, for his fathers house and the people in yᵉ cite, and so he dyd it by nighte.

Now whan the people in the cite rose vp [F] early in the mornynge, beholde, Baals altare was broken, and the groue hewen downe by it, and the other bullocke a burnt offerynge vpon the altare that was buylded, & one sayde vnto another: Who hath done this? And whan they soughte & made searche, it was sayde: Gedeon the sonne of Ioas hath done it. Thē sayde the people of yᵉ cite vnto Ioas: Brynge forth yᵉ sonne, He must dye, because he hath broken Baals altare, and hewen downe the groue therby. But Ioas sayde vnto all them that stode by him: Wyl ye stryue for Baal? Wil ye delyuer him? He yᵗ stryueth for him, shal dye this mornynge. Yf he be God, let him auēge him selfe, because his altare is broken downe. From yᵗ daye forth was he called Ierubaal, because it was sayde: Let Baal auenge him selfe, that his altare is broken downe.

[G] Whan yᵉ Madianites now & yᵉ Amalechites, & the childrē towarde the south had gathered thēselues together, & were passed thorow (Iordane) & had pitched their tentes in the valley of Iesrael, the sprete of the LORDE endued Gedeon, & he caused the trompet to be blowne, & called (the house of) ⁽⁵⁾ Abieser, that they shulde folowe him: & he sent messaungers vnto all Manasse, & called them, yᵗ they shulde folowe him also: and he sent messaungers likewyse vnto Asser & Zabulon & Nephtali, which came vp to mete him.

[woodcut]

And Gedeon sayde vnto God: Yf thou wilt delyuer Israel thorow my hande, as thou hast saide, thē wil I laye a flese of woll in the courte: yf yᵉ dew be onely vpon yᵉ flese, & drye vpon all the grounde, then wyll I perceaue, that thou shalt delyuer Israel thorow my hande, as thou hast sayde. And it came so to passe. And whan he rose vp early on the morow, he wrāge yᵉ dew out of the flese, and fylled a dyszshe full of water. And Gedeon sayde vnto God ⁽⁶⁾Be not wroth at me, that I speake yet this one tyme. I wyl proue yet but once with the flese, let it be drye onely vpon the flese, and dew vpon all the grounde. And God dyd so the same nighte: so that it was drye onely vpon the flese, and dew vpon all the grounde.

Notes to Chapter 6

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ge. 17. g ⟨illegible⟩e. 10. a

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 18. d

Chapter 7

THen Ierubaal (that is Gedeon) gat [A] him vp early,⁽¹⁾ and all the people that was with him, and pitched their tentes besyde the well of Harod, so that he had the hoost of the Madianites on the north side behynde the hyll of More in the valley. But the LORDE sayde vnto Gedeon: The people that be with yᵗ are to many for me to delyuer Madian in to their hande, lest Israel boost them selues agaynst me, and saye: My hande hath delyuered me. Cause a proclamacion now to be made in the eares of the people, and saye:⁽²⁾ He that feareth, and is afrayed, let him turne backe, and get him soone fro mount Gilead. Then returned there of the people aboute a two and twenty thousande so that there was left but ten thousande.

And the LORDE sayde vnto Gedeon. The [B] people are yet to many: brynge them downe to the water, there wyl I proue them for yᵉ: and of whom I saye that he shal go wᵗ the, the same shal go with the: but of whō I saie that he shal not go with the, the same shall not go. And he broughte the people vnto yᵉ water. And the LORDE sayde vnto Gedeon: Whosoeuer licketh of the water with his tūge, as a dogg licketh, make him stonde asyde and lykewyse who soeuer falleth downe vpō his knees to drynke. Then was the nombre of them that had licked out of the hande to the mouth, thre hundreth men. And the LORDE sayde vnto Gedeon: Thorow the thre hūdreth which haue licked, wyl I delyuer you, and geue ouer the Madianites in to thy hāde: As for the other people, let them go euery one vnto his place.

And they toke vytayles with them for yᵉ people, and their trompettes: but the other [C] Israelites let he go, euery one vnto his tente. And he strengthed himselfe with the thre hundreth men, and the Madianites hoost laye before him beneth in the valley. And the same night sayde the LORDE vnto him: Vp, and go downe in to the hoost, for I haue geuen them ouer in to thy hande. But yf thou be afrayed to go downe, then let yᵉ seruaunt Pura go downe with the vnto the hoost, yᵗ thou maiest heare what they saie: after that shalt thou be bolde, and thy honde stronge, that thou mayest go downe in to the hoost.

Than wente Gedeon downe with his seruaunt vnto yᵉ vttemost parte of yᵉ watchmē of armes yᵗ were in yᵉ hoost. And yᵉ Madianites and Amalechites, and all the children of the south, had layed them selues beneth in the valley, as a multitude of greshoppers, and their Camels were not to be nombred for multitude, euē as the sonde on yᵉ see shore. Now whan Gedeon came, beholde, one tolde another his dreame, & sayde: Beholde, I haue dreamed a dreame: Me thoughte a bakē barlye lofe came rollinge downe to yᵉ hoost of yᵉ Madianites: and whan it came to the tente, it smote it, and ouerthrew it, and turned it vpsyde downe, so that the tente fell. Then answered the other: That is nothinge els then yᵉ swerde of Gedeon the sonne of Ioas yᵉ Israelite: God hath geuē ouer the Madianites with all the hoost in to his hande.

[E] Whan Gedeon herde this dreame tolde, & the interpretacion of it, he worshipped, and came agayne in to the hoost of Israel, and sayde: Vp, for the LORDE hath delyuered yᵉ hoost of the Madianites in to youre hāde. And he deuyded the thre hundreth men in to thre partes, and gaue euery one a trompet in his hande, and emptye pytchers, and lampes therin, and sayde vnto them: Loke vnto me,⁽³⁾ and do ye euē so, and beholde, whā I come to the vttemost parte of the hoost, euen as I do, so do ye also. Whan I blowe yᵉ trompet, and all that are wᵗ me, then shal ye blowe yᵉ trōpettes also rounde aboute all the hoost, and saye: Here the LORDE & Gedeon. Thus came Gedeon and the thre hundreth men with him vnto the vttemost parte of yᵉ hoost (aboute the tyme whan the mydwatch begynneth) and waked vp the watchmē, and blewe with the trompettes, and smote asunder the pitchers in their handes.

So all the thre companies blewe with yᵉ [F] trompettes, and brake the pitchers. But the lampes helde they in their lefte hande, and the trompettes in their righte hāde, so that they blewe, and cried: Here the swerde of the LORDE and Gedeon. And euery one stode in his place aboute the hoost. Then ranne all the hoost, and cried and fled. And whyle the thre hundreth men blewe the trompettes, yᵉ LORDE broughte it so to passe, that ⁽⁴⁾ euery mans swerde in all yᵉ hoost was agaynst another, and the hoost fled vnto Bethsitha Zereratha, and vnto the border of the playne of Mehohab besyde Tabath. And yᵉ men of Israel of Nephtali, of Asser, & of Manasse cried, and folowed vpon the Madianites.

And Gedeon sent messaungers vp vnto all mount Ephraim, sayenge: Come downe against the Madianites, and stoppe the water from them vnto Beth Bara and Iordane. And then cryed all they that were of Ephraim, and stopped the water from them vnto Bethbara and Iordane, and toke two prynces of the Madianites Oreb and Zeb, and slewe Oreb vpon the rocke of Oreb, and Zeb in the wyne presse of Zeb, and folowed vpon the Madianites, and broughte the heades of Oreb and Zeb, vnto Gideon ouer Iordane.

Notes to Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Iud. 6. ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ Deu. 20. b 1. Mac. 3. g

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩ud. 9. g

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. Re. 14. c ⟨illegible⟩. Pa. 20. d

Chapter 8

ANd the men of Ephraim sayde vnto [A] him: Wherfore hast thou done this vnto vs, that thou hast not called vs, whā thou wentest forth to fight agaynst yᵉ Madianites? and they chode sore with him. But he sayde vnto them: What haue I done now that is like youre acte? Is not the after gadderynge of Ephraim better then the whole haruest of Abieser?⁽¹⁾ God hath delyuered yᵉ prynces of the Madianites Oreb and Zeb in to youre hande, how coulde I do that ye haue done? Whā he had sayde this, their blast was swaged from him.

Now whan Gedeon came vnto Iordane, he wente ouer with the thre hundreth mē that were with him, and they were weery, and folowed vpon their chace. And he sayde vnto the men of Sucoth: I praye you geue [B] the people that are with me, some loaues of bred (for they are weery) that I maye folowe vpon Zebea and Salmana the kinges of the Madianites.

But the rulers of Sucoth sayde: Are the handes of Zebea and Salmana in thy handes allready, that we must geue bred vnto thy men of warre? Gedeon sayde: Well, whan the LORDE delyuereth Zebea and Salmana in to my hāde, I wyll thres⟨illegible⟩she youre flesh with thornes of the wyldernesse and with breares. And from thence he wente vp vnto Penuel, and spake euen so vnto them. And the mē of Penuel gaue him like answere as they of Sucoth. And he sayde also vnto the men of Penuel: Yf I come peaceably agayne, I wil breake downe this tower.

As for Zebea and Salmana, they were [C] at Karkar, and their hoost with them vpon a fyftene thousande, which were all that were lefte of the whole hoost of the children of the Easte: for there were fallen an hundreth and twentye thousande, that coulde drawe the swerde.

And Gedeon wente vp by the waye, where they dwell in the tentes on the east side of Nobah and Iakbeha, & smote the hoost, for the hoost was carelesse, and mystrusted nothinge. And Zebea and Salmana fled, but he folowed after them, and toke yᵉ two kynges of the Madianites Zebea and Salmana, and put all the hoost in feare▪

Now whan Gedeon yᵉ sonne of Ioas came agayne frō the battayll out of yᵉ east, he toke a lad of the men of Sucoth, & examyned him, which wrote him vp the names of the rulers of Sucoth, and their Elders, euē thre score and seuentene men.

[D] And he came to the men of Sucoth, & sayde: Beholde, here is Zebea & Salmana, cōcernynge whō ye laughed me to scorne, & sayde: Are the handes of Zebea and Salmana in thy hādes all ready, that we must geue bred vnto thy men which are weery? And he toke the Elders of the cite, and thornes out of the wildernes, and breres, and caused yᵉ men of Sucoth to be torne therwith. ⁽²⁾ And the tower of Penuel brake he downe, and slewe the men of the cite.

And he saide vnto Zebea and Salmana: What maner of mē were they whō ye slewe at Thabor? They sayde: They were euen like the, & goodly men, as yf they had bene a kynges childrē. He sayde: They were my brethren, euen my mother sonnes: As truly as the LORDE lyueth, yf ye had lettē them lyue, I wolde not slaye you.

[E] And he saide vnto his first borne sonne Iether: Stonde vp, & slaye them. Howbeit the lad drue not out his swerde, for he was afrayed, for so moch as he was yet but a lad. Zebea & Salmana sayde: Stonde thou vp, & slaye vs, for as the man is, soch is also his strēgth. So Gedeon arose, and slewe Zebea and Salmana, and toke the ornamentes that were aboute their Camels neckes.

Then sayde certayne in Israel vnto Gedeon: Be thou lorde ouer vs, thou and thy sonne, and thy sonnes sonne, for so moch as thou hast delyuered vs from yᵉ hande of yᵉ Madianites. Neuertheles Gedeon saide vnto them: I wil not be lorde ouer you, nether shal my sonne be lorde ouer you, but the LORDE shalbe lorde ouer you.

[F] Gedeon sayde vnto them: One thinge I desyre of you, Euery man geue me the earinge that he hath spoyled. (For in so moch as yᵉ men were Ismaelites, they had earinges.) They sayde: Them wyll we geue the. And they spred out a cloth, and euery man cast the earinge theron that he had spoyled. And the golden earynges which he requyred, had in weight, a thousande and seuen hundreth Sycles of golde, besyde the spanges and cheynes, and scarlet rayment which the kynges of the Madianites dyd weere, and besyde the neckbandes of their Camels. And Gideon made a cote armoure therof, and set it in his cite at Aphra. And all Israel wente there a whoringe after it, and it turned to an occasion of fallinge vnto Gedeon and his house.

Thus were yᵉ Madianites brought downe [G] before the children of Israel, and lifte vp their heade nomore: and the londe was in rest fortye yeares, as lōge as Gedeon lyued.

And Ierubaal the sonne of Ioas wēte & dwelt in his house.⁽³⁾ And Gedeon Had thre score & ten sonnes, which were come out of his thye: for he had many wyues. And his concubyne which he had at Sichē, bare him a sonne also, whom he called Abimelech. And Gideon the sonne of Ioas dyed in a good age, & was buried at Aphra in yᵉ sepulcre of his father Ioas the father of the Esrites.

But whan Gedeon was deed, the childrē of Israel turned backe, and wente awhoringe after Baalim, and made a couenaunt wᵗ Baal Berith, yᵗ he shulde be their God. And yᵉ childrē of Israel thoughte not on yᵉ LORDE their God, which had delyuered them frō the hande of their enemies rounde aboute: and they shewed not mercy vnto the house of Ierubaal Gedeon, acordinge to all the good that he had done vnto Israel.

Notes to Chapter 8

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ 4. Re. 10▪ ⟨illegible⟩

Chapter 9

ABimelech the sonne of Ierubaal, wente [A] vnto Sichē to his mothers brethren, & spake vnto them, & to all the kynred of his mothers fathers house, and sayde: I praye you speake in the eares of all the men at Sichem: What is better for you, that threscore and ten men all children of Ierubaal shulde be lordes ouer you, or that one man shulde be lorde ouer you? Remembre also that I am youre bone and youre flesh.

Then spake his mothers brethrē all these wordes for him, in yᵉ eares of all yᵉ men at Sichem. And their hert enclyned to Abimelech, for they thoughte: He is oure brother: and gaue him thre score and ten syluerlinges out of yᵉ house of Baal Berith. And wᵗ [B] them Abimelech hyred men that were vagabundes and of light condicions, which folowed him. And he came to his fathers house vnto Aphra, and slew his brethren the children of Ierubaal,⁽¹⁾ euen thre score men and tē vpon one stone. But Iotham the yongest sonne of Ierubaal remayned ouer, for he was hydd. And all the men of Sichem, and all the house of Millo gathered them selues together, and wente and made Abimelech kynge by the Oke that stondeth at Sichem.

[B] Whan this was tolde Iotham, he wente, and stode vpon the toppe of mount Grisim, and lifte vp his voyce, cried, and sayde: Heare me ye men of Sichem, that God maye heare you also ⁽²⁾ The trees wente to anointe a kinde ouer them, and sayde vnto the Olyue tre: Be thou oure kynge. But the Olyue tre answered them: Shall I go and leaue my fatnesse (which both God and men commende in me) and go to be puft vp aboue the trees? Then sayde the trees vnto the fygge tre: Come thou and be kynge ouer vs. But the fygge tre sayde vnto thē: Shal I leaue my swetnes and my good frute, and go to be puft vp aboue the trees? Then sayde the trees vnto the vyne: Come thou and be oure kinge. But the vyne sayde vnto them: Shal I leaue my swete wyne, which reioyseth God and men, and go to be puft vp aboue the trees? Thē sayde all the trees vnto the thorne buszshe: Come thou, and be kynge ouer vs. And the thorne buszshe sayde vnto the trees: Yf it be true, yᵗ ye anoynte me to be kynge ouer you, thē come, and put youre trust vnder my shadowe. Yf no, then go fyre out of the thorne buszshe, & cōsume yᵉ Ceder trees of Libanō.

[C] Yf ye haue done right now and iustly, yᵗ ye haue made Abimelech to be kynge: and yf ye haue done well vnto Ierubaal and to his house, and haue done vnto him as he deserued vnto you. Which (euen my father) foughte for youre sakes, and ioperde his lyfe, to delyuer out of the Madianites hāde, euē you, which are rysen vp this daye agaynst my fathers house, & haue slaine his childrē, thre score personnes & ten vpon one stone, and haue made you a kynge (euen Abimelech the sonne of his handmaide) ouer the men at Sichem, for so moch as he is youre brother.

Yf ye haue done right now and iustly vnto Ierubaal and his house this daye, then reioyse ouer Abimelech, and let him reioyse ouer you. Yf no, then go fyre out from Abimelech, and cōsume the men of Sichem and the house of Millo: And fyre go out also frō the men of Sichem, and from the house of Millo, and consume Abimelech. And Iothā (whan he had spoken this out) fled, and gat him out of the waye, and wente vnto Ber, and dwelt there because of his brother Abimelech.

[D] Now whan Abimelech had reigned thre yeare ouer Israel, ⁽³⁾ God sent an euell mynde betwene Abimelech and the men of Sichen (for the men of Sichem despysed Abimelech, and rehearsed the wronge done to the sonnes of Ierubaal, and their bloude, and layed it vpon Abimelech their brother which slewe them, and vpon the men of Sichem that strengthed his hande therto, that he mighte slaye his brethren.

And the men of Sichem set an hynder watch vpon the toppes of the mountaynes, and spoyled all them that walked nye them by the waye, and it was tolde Abimelech. But there came Gaal the sonne of Ebed and his brethren, and entred in to Sichem, and the men of Sichem put their trust in him, and wēte out in to the felde, and gathered their vynyardes, and pressed them, and made a daunse, and wente in to their gods house, and ate and dranke, and cursed Abimelech.

And Gaal yᵉ sonne of Ebed sayde: Who [E] is Abimelech? and what is Sichem, that we shulde serue him? Is he not the sonne of Ierubaal, and hath set Sebul his seruaūt ouer the men of ⁽⁴⁾ Hemor the father of Sichem▪ Wherfore shulde we serue him? Wolde God the people were vnder my hāde, yᵗ I mighte put downe Abimelech.

And it was tolde Abimelech: Increace thine hooste, and departe. For Sebul the chefe ruler of the cite, whan he herde the wordes of Gaal yᵉ sonne of Ebed, he was wroth fully displeased, and sente message secretly to Abimelech, and caused to saye vnto him: Beholde, Gaal the sonne of Ebed and his brethren are come to Sichem, and make the cite to be agaynst the.

Arise therfore by nyght, thou and thy people that is with the, and laye wayte for thē in the felde: and tomorow whan the Sonne aryseth, get the vp soone, and fall vpon the cite: and yf he and the people that is with him come out vnto the, thē deale with him, as thyne hande fyndeth.

Abimelech stode vp by night, and all the [F] people that was with him, and layed wayte for Sichem with foure companies of men of warre. And Gaal the sonne of Ebed wē out and stode at the dore of the gate of the cite. But Abimelech gat him vp out of the hinder watch, and the people that was with him. Now whan Gaal sawe the people, he sayde vnto Sebul: Beholde, there commeth a people downe from the toppe of yᵉ mount. Sebul saide vnto him: Thou seist yᵉ shadowe of the mountaines as though they were mē. Gaal spake yet more and sayde: Beholde, there commeth a people downe from yᵉ myddes of the londe, & one bonde of men cōmeth by the waye to yᵉ witch Oke. Thē sayde Sebul: Where is now yᵉ mouth yᵗ sayde: Who is Abimelech▪ that we shulde serue him? Is not this yᵉ people, whom thou hast refused? Go forth now, and fighte with him.

[woodcut]

Gaal wente forth before the citesyns of Sichem, and foughte with Abimelech. But Abimelech chaced him, so that he fled, and there fell many slayne euen vnto the gate of the cite. And Abimelech abode at Aruma. But Sebul droue awaye Gaal and his brethren, so that they must not remayne at Sichem. Vpon the morowe wente the people forth in to yᵉ felde. Whā this was tolde Abimelech, he toke the people, and parted them in to thre bōdes of men, and wayted for thē in the felde. Now whan he sawe yᵗ the people wēte out of the cite, he rose agaynst thē, and smote them.

[G] Abimelech and yᵉ company of men that was with him, fell vpon them, and stepte vnto the dore of the porte: but the other two companies fell vpon all them that were in the felde, and slewe them. Thē foughte Abimelech agaynst the cite all yᵉ same daye, and wanne it, and slewe the people that was there in, and brake downe yᵉ cite, and sowed salt theron.

Whan all the men of the tower of Sichem herde this, they wente in to a stronge holde of yᵉ house of their God Berith. But whan Abimelech herde, that all the men of the tower of Sichem had gathered thē selues together, he wente vp vnto mount Zelmon, and all the people that was with him, and toke an axe in his hāde, and hewed downe a braunch of a tre, and toke it vp, & layed it vpon his shulder, and sayde vnto all the people that was with him:⁽⁵⁾ As ye haue sene me do, make ye haist, and do euen so as I. Then all the people hewed downe euery one a braūch, and folowed Abimelech: and they layed them to the holde, and set fyre vpon them agaynst them and the holde: and all the men of the tower of Sichem dyed thorow the smoke and fyre, vpon a thousande men and wemen.

As for Abimelech, he wēte vnto Thebetz,[H] and layed sege vnto it, and wanne it. But in the myddes of the cite, there was a stronge tower, vnto the which all the men and wemen, and all the citesyns of the cite fled, and shutt it after them, and clymmed vp to the toppe of the tower. Then came Abimelech vnto the tower, and foughte agaynst it, and came nye vnto the dore of the tower, that he might burne it with fyre. ⁽⁶⁾But a woman cast a pece of a mylstone vpon Abimelechs heade, and brake his brane panne. Then Abimelech in all the haist, called the seruaunt that bare his wapen, and sayde vnto him: Drawe out thy swerde, and kyll me,⁽⁷⁾ that it be not sayde of me: A woman hath slayne him. Then his seruaunt thrust him thorow, and he dyed. Whan the Israelites which were with him, sawe, yᵗ Abimelech was deed, they gatt them awaye euery one vnto his awne place.

Thus God recompenced Abimelech the euell that he had done vnto his father, whā he slewe his thre score and ten brethren: like wyse all the euell of the men of Sichem, dyd God rewarde them vpon their heade: and so the ⁽⁸⁾ curse of Iotham yᵉ sonne of Ierubaal came vpon them.

Notes to Chapter 9

⁽¹⁾ 2. Pa⟨illegible⟩. 21. ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ 2. Par. 25. c 4. Esd. 4. b

⁽³⁾ Esa. 45. a

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁶⁾ 2. Re. 11. c

⁽⁷⁾ 1. Reg. 11. a 1. Par. 11. a

⁽⁸⁾ Iud. 9. c

Chapter 10

AFter Abimelech there rose vp another [A] sauioure in Israel, Thola a man of Isachar, and the sonne of Pua, the sonne of Dodo. And he dwelt at Samir vpō the mount Ephraim, and iudged Israel thre and twentye yeare, and died, and was buried at Samir.

After him stode vp one Iair a Gileadite, and iudged Israel two and twentye yeare, and hath thirtie sonnes,⁽¹⁾ rydinge vpon thirtie asses foales: and had thirtie cities, whose names are Hauoth Iair (that is, the cities of Iair) vnto this daye, and lye in Gilead. And Iair dyed▪ and was buried at Camon.

But the children of Israel wrought wickednes [B] in the sighte of the LORDE, and serued Baalim and Astaroth, and the goddes of Siria, and the goddes of Sidon, and the goddes of Moab, and the goddes of yᵉ children of Ammon, and the goddes of the Philistines, and forsoke yᵉ LORDE, and serued him not. Then was yᵉ wrath of yᵉ LORDE fearce vpon Israel, and he gaue thē ouer vnder the hāde of the Philistynes, and of the children of Ammō. And they vexed and oppressed yᵉ children of Israel eightene yeare longe, all the children of Israel that were beyonde Iordane in the londe of the Moabites, which lyeth in Gilead. The children of Ammon also wente ouer Iordane, and fought agaynst Iuda, Ben Iamin, and agaynst the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was very sore troubled.

Then cryed the children of Israel vnto [C] the LORDE, and sayde: We haue synned agaynst the, for we haue forsaken oure God, & serued Baalim. But the LORDE sayde vnto the childrē of Israel: Did not the Egipciās, the Amorites, the children of Ammon, yᵉ Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalechites and Maonites oppresse you, and I helped you out of their hande, whan ye cryed vnto me? Yet haue ye forsaken me, and serued other goddes? Therfore wyll I helpe you nomore ⁽²⁾Go youre waye, and crye vpon the goddes whom ye haue chosen, let them helpe you in the tyme of youre trouble.

[D] But the childrē of Israel sayde vnto the LORDE: We haue synned, do thou vnto vs what pleaseth the, onely delyuer vs at this tyme. And they put the straunge goddes frō them, and serued the LORDE, And his soule had pytie on the mysery of Israel.

And the children of Ammon called them selues together, and pitched in Gilead: But the children of Israel gathered them selues together also, and pitched at Mispa. And yᵉ people of the chefest of Gilead sayde amōge them selues: Who so euer begynneth to fight agaynst the children of Ammon, shalbe heade ouer all them that dwell in Gilead.

Notes to Chapter 10

⁽¹⁾ Iud. 1⟨illegible⟩. c

⁽²⁾ Deut. 32. c Iere. 2. d

Chapter 11

[A] IEphthae a Gileadite was a valeaūt man of armes, but an harlottes childe. Gilead begat Iephthae. But whan the wyfe had borne children vnto Gilead, and the same wyues childrē were waxē greate, they thrust out Iephtae, and sayde vnto him: Thou shalt not be heire in oure fathers house, for thou art another womās sonne. Thē fled he from his brethrē, and dwelt in the londe of Tob. And there resorted vnto him vagabūdes, and wēte out with him. And after a certayne tyme foughte the children of Ammon with Israel.

Now whā the childrē of Ammon foughte thus with Israel, the Elders wente from Gilead to fetch Iephthae out of the londe of Tob, and sayde vnto him: Come, and be oure captayne, and fight agaynst the children of Ammon. But Iephthae sayde vnto the Eldes of Gilead: Are not ye they that hate me and haue thrust me out of my fathers house, and now come ye to me whan ye are in trouble?

The Elders of Gilead sayde: Therfore come we now againe vnto the, that thou mayest go with vs, and fighte agaynst the children of Ammon, and be oure captayne ouer all that dwell in Gilead. Iephthae sayde vnto the Elders of Gilead: Yf ye fetch me agayne to fighte agaynst the childrē of Ammon, and the LORDE delyuer them before me shal I then be youre heade? The Elders of Gilead saide vnto Iephthae: The LORDE be hearer betwene vs, yf we do not as thou hast sayde. So Iephthae wēte with the Elders of Gilead. And the people made him heade and duke ouer them. And Iephthae spake all this before the LORDE at Mispa.

Then sente Iephthae messaungers to the kynge of the children of Ammon, and caused to saye vnto him: What hast thou to do with me, that thou cōmest vnto me to fight agaynst my londe? The kynge of the childrē of Ammō answered Iephthaes messaungers Because that Israel toke awaye my londe (whan they departed out of Egipte) from Arnon vnto Iabock, and vnto Iordane: geue it me agayne now therfore peaceably.

But Iephthae sent yet mo messaungers [C] to yᵉ kynge of the children of Ammon, which sayde vnto him: Thus sayeth Iephthae: ⁽¹⁾ Israel hath taken no londe, nether from the Moabites ner from the children of Ammon: for when they departed out of Egipte, Israel walked thorow the wyldernes vnto the reed see, and came to Cades, and ⁽²⁾ sent messaungers to the kynge of the Edomites, and sayde: Let me go thorow thy londe. But the kynge of yᵉ Edomites wolde not heare thē. They sent lykewyse vnto the kynge of the Moabites, which wolde not also. Thus Israel abode in Cades, and compased the lōde of the Edomites and Moabites, and came on the eastsyde of the londe of the Moabites and pitched beyonde Arnon, and came not within the coaste of the Moabites.⁽³⁾ For Arnon is the border of the Moabites.

And Israel sent messaungers vnto Si⟨illegible⟩hon the kynge of the Amorites at Heszbon,⁽⁴⁾ and caused to saye vnto him: Let me go thorow thy londe vnto my place. Neuertheles Sihon wolde not trust Israel to go thorow the border of his londe, but gathered all his [D] people, and pitched at Iahza, and foughte with Israel. Howbeit the LORDE God of Israel gaue Sihon with all his people in to Israels hāde, so that they slewe them. Thus Israel conquered all the londe of the Amorites that dwelt in yᵉ same countre. And they toke possessiō of all the borders of the Amorites, from Arnon vnto Iabok, & from yᵉ wyldernesse vnto Iordane. So yᵉ LORDE God of Israel droue awaye the Amorites before his people of Israel, and wilt thou cōquere them? Is it not so, yf thy God Camos gaue the oughte to possesse, woldest thou not possesse it? What so euer the LORDE oure God hath geuē vs before vs to possesse, that shal we conquere and take in possession.

[E] Hast thou better right (thinkest thou) thē ⁽⁵⁾ Balac the sonne of Ziphor, the kynge of yᵉ Moabites? Dyd he euer go to lawe or fighte agaynst Israel? Though Israel haue dwelt now vpō a thre hūdreth yeare in Hesbon, and in the vyllages therof, in Aroer and in the vyllages therof, and in all the cities that lye by Arnon. Why dyd not ye rescue it at the same tyme? I haue not offended the, & thou doest me euell to fighte agaynst me? The LORDE geue sentence this daie betwene Israel and the children of Ammon.

Neuertheles the kynge of the children of Ammon wolde not heare yᵉ wordes of Iephthae, which he sent vnto him. Then came yᵉ sprete of the LORDE vpon Iephthae, and he wente thorow Gilead and Manasse, and thorow Mispa which lieth in Gilead, and fro Mispa that lieth in Gilead, vnto yᵉ children of Ammon.

[F] And Iephthae vowed a vowe vnto the LORDE, and sayde: ⁽⁶⁾ Yf thou wilt delyuer the childrē of Ammon in to my hande, what so euer commeth (first) out at the dore of my house in my waye, whan I returne agayne peaceably from the childrē of Ammon, that same shalbe the LORDES, and I wyl offre it for a burtn offerynge.

So Iephthae wente vpon the children of Ammon, to fighte against them. And yᵉ LORDE gaue them in to his hande, and he smote thē from Aroer tyll thou comest vnto Minnith, euen twentye cities, and vnto the playne of yᵉ vynyardes a very greate slaughter, and thus were the children of Ammon subdued before the children of Israel.

Now whan Iephthae came to Mispa vnto his house, beholde, his doughter wente out to mete him with tabrettes and daunces: and she was his onely childe, & he had els nether sonne ner doughter. And whan he sawe her, he rente his clothes, & sayde: Alas my doughter, thou makest my hert soroufull, and discomfortest me: for I haue opened my mouth vnto the LORDE, and can not call it agayne.

She sayde: My father, yf thou hast opened thy mouth vnto the LORDE, then do vnto me as it is proceaded out of yᵉ mouth,[G] acordinge as the LORDE hath auēged the of thyne enemies the children of Ammon. And she sayde vnto hir father: Do this for me, geue me leue to go downe vpō the mountaynes two monethes, that I maye bewepe my virginite with my playfeeres. He sayde: Go thy waye. And he let her go two monethes. Then wente she with her playefeeres, and bewayled hir mayden heade vpon the mountaynes. And after two monethes she came agayne vnto hir father. And he dyd vnto her acordinge as he had vowed. And she had neuer bene in daunger of eny man. And it was a custome in Israel, that the doughters of Israel shulde go euery yeare, and mourne for the doughter of Iephthae the Gileadite, foure dayes in the yeare.

Notes to Chapter 11

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 22. a ⟨illegible⟩. 23. a

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

Chapter 12

ANd they of Ephraim made insurreccion,[A] & wente northwarde, & sayde vnto Iephthae:⁽¹⁾ Wherfore wētest thou to the battayll agaynst the children of Ammon, & hast not called vs, that we mighte go with the? We wil burne thy house and the with fyre. Iephthae sayde vnto thē: I and my people had a greate matter with yᵉ children of Ammon, and I cried vpon you, but ye helped me not out of their handes. Now whan I sawe yᵗ there was no helper, I put ⁽²⁾ my soule in my honde, and wente agaynst the children of Ammon, and the LORDE delyuered them in to my hande. Wherfore come ye vp to me, to fighte agaynst me?

And Iephthae gathered all the men in [B] Gilead, & foughte agaynst Ephraim. And the men in Gilead smote Ephraim, because they sayde: Ye Gileadites are as they yᵗ fle awaye before Ephraim, (and dwell) amōge Ephraim & Manasse. And the Gileadites toke yᵉ ferye of Iordane from Ephraim. Now whā one of yᵉ fugityue Ephraites dyd saye: Let me go ouer, yᵉ men of Gilead sayde: Art thou an Ephraite? yf he answered: No, they bad him saye: Schiboleth, & he sayde: Siboleth, & coulde not speake it righte: then they toke him, & slew him at yᵉ ferye of Iordane, so yᵗ the same tyme there fell of Epraim two & fortye M. Iephthae iudged Israel sixe yeares. And Iephthae yᵉ Gileadite dyed, & was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

A leaf is lacking here in the copy transcribed by EEBO-TCP. The text between ⟦ and ⟧ (Judges 12:10 - 15:8) is supplied from Samuel Bagster’s 1838 page-for-page reprint of this edition, read from its OCR word by word; ⟨illegible⟩ marks a word the OCR does not give with certainty, and the marginal notes of the lost leaf are not supplied. See this room’s Supplied Readings page for how such passages were supplied.

After him iudged▪ Israel one Ebzan of [C] Bethleem, which had thirtie sonnes and as many doughters: and his thirtie doughters gaue he forth to mariage, and thirtie doughters toke he from without for his sonnes, and iudged Israel seuen yeare, and died, and ⟦was buried at Bethleem.

After him iudged Israel one Elon ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ & he iudged Israel ten yeare, & was buried at Aialon in the londe of Zabulon.

After him iudged Israel one ⟨illegible⟩ a sonne of ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ Pirgathonite, which had fortye sonnes, & thirtie ⟨illegible⟩ & which rode vpō seuentye Asses foales) and he iudged Israel eighte yeare, and dyed, ⟨illegible⟩ was buried at ⟨illegible⟩ in the londe of Ephraim vpon the mount of the Amalechites.

Notes to Chapter 12

⁽¹⁾ Iud. 8. ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ Psal. 118. ⟨illegible⟩

Chapter 13

AND the children of Israel wroughte more euell before the LORDE, the LORDE gaue them ouer in to the hādes of the Philistynes fortye yeares.

But there was a man at Zarga, of one of yᵉ kynreds of ⟨illegible⟩ Danites, named ⟨illegible⟩ and his wife was vnfrutefull & ⟨illegible⟩ him no children. And the angell of the LORDE appeared vnto yᵉ woman, & sayde vnto her: Beholde, thou art baren, bearest not: but thou shalt conceaue, & beare a sonne. Take hede therfore, ⟨illegible⟩ thou drynke no wyne ner stronge drynke, and ⟨illegible⟩ thou eate no vncleane thinge, for thou shalt conceaue, and beare a sonne, vpō whose heade there shal come no rasoure: for yᵉ childe shal be a ⟨illegible⟩ of God, euen from his mother wombe, and shall begynne to golde lyuer Israel out of the hande of the Philistynes.

Then came woman and tolde hir husbande, & sayde: There came a mā of God vnto ⟨illegible⟩ & his ⟨illegible⟩ was to loke vpon as an angell of God, very terrible, so ⟨illegible⟩ I axed him not whence he came, ⟨illegible⟩ whither he wolde: nether tolde he me his name. But he sayde vnto me: beholde, thou shalt conceaue ⟨illegible⟩ beare a sonne: drynke no wyne therfore ner strōge drynke, ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ no vncleane thinge: for the childe shal be called a ⟨illegible⟩ of God, euen frō his mother wombe vnto his death.

Then ⟨illegible⟩ prayed the LORDE, & sayde: Oh LORDE, let ⟨illegible⟩ man of God whom thou hast sent, ⟨illegible⟩ to vs agayne, ⟨illegible⟩ he maye ⟨illegible⟩ vs what we shall do vnto the childe which shalbe borne. And God herde the voyce of ⟨illegible⟩ & the angell of God came to his wife agayne. But she sat in ⟨illegible⟩ felde, and hir ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ was not with her. ⟨illegible⟩ ranne she in all the haist, ⟨illegible⟩ tolde hir huszbande, & saide vnto him: beholde, yᵉ man hath appeared vnto ⟨illegible⟩ yᵗ came to me to daye.

⟨illegible⟩ gat him vp, & wente after his wife, and came to the man, and sayde vnto him: Art thou ⟨illegible⟩ man that spake to the woman? He sayde: Yee. And ⟨illegible⟩ sayde: whā it commeth to passe that ⟨illegible⟩ hast sayde, what shal be the maner and worke of yᵉ childe? The angell of the LORDE sayde vnto ⟨illegible⟩ He shal kepe him from all that I tolde the woman: he shal not eate that which commeth of the vyne, and shal drynke no wyne ner stronge drynke, and eate no vncleane thinge: & all that I haue cōmaunded her, shal he kepe.

⟨illegible⟩ sayde vnto yᵉ angell of the LORDE: let vs holde ⟨illegible⟩ here (I praye the) we will prepare a kydd for ⟨illegible⟩ Neuertheles yᵉ angell of the LORDE answered ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ Though thou kepest me here, yet wyll I not eate of thy bred. But yf thou wilt make a ⟨illegible⟩ vnto the LORDE, thou mayest ⟨illegible⟩ it. (For ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ not that it was an angell of the LORDE.) And ⟨illegible⟩ sayde vnto the angell of the LORDE: What is ⟨illegible⟩ name, that we maye prayse yᵉ, whan it commeth now to passe, that thou hast sayde? But the angell of the LORDE sayde vnto him: Why axest thou after my name, which is wonderfull?

Then toke ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ kyd and a ⟨illegible⟩ & layed it vpō a rocke vnto the LORDE, which doth ⟨illegible⟩ wonders him selfe. But ⟨illegible⟩ and his wife behelde it. And whā the flamme wente vp from yᵉ altare towarde heauen, the angell of the LORDE ⟨illegible⟩ vp in the flamme of the altare. Whan ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ his wife sawe yᵗ, they fell downe to yᵉ earth vpō their faces. And the angell of yᵉ LORDE appeared nomore vnto ⟨illegible⟩ & his wife. ⟨illegible⟩ knewe ⟨illegible⟩ that it was an angell of the LORDE, and he sayde vnto his wife: ⟨illegible⟩ We must dye the death, because we haue sene God. But his wife answered him Yf the LORDE wolde haue slaine vs, he had not receaued the ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩ of oure handes: nether had he shewed vs all these thinges, ner letten vs heare soch as is now come to passe.

And the woman broughte forth a sonne, and called his name Samson. And the childe grewe, and the LORDE blessed him. And the sprete of the LORDE begāne to be ⟨illegible⟩ him in the tentes of Dan, betwene Zarga and Esthaol.

Chapter 14

⟨illegible⟩ wente downe vnto Thimnath, & there he sawe a woman amōge the doughters of yᵉ Philistynes. And whan he came vp, he tolde his father & his mother, & sayde: I haue sene a woman amōge the doughters of the Philistynes, I praye you ⟨illegible⟩ me the same to ⟨illegible⟩ His father & his mother sayde vnto him: Is there not a woman amonge the doughters of ⟨illegible⟩ brethren, & in all ⟨illegible⟩ people, but thou must go & ⟨illegible⟩ a wife amōge the Philistynes, which are vncircumcised? Samson sayde vnto his father: Geue me this womā, for she pleaseth myne eyes. But his father & his mother knewe not ⟨illegible⟩ it came of the LORDE, & that he soughte an occasion agaynst the Philistynes. For the Philistynes reigned ouer Israel at ⟨illegible⟩ same tyme. So Samson wente downe with his father and with his mother vnto Thimnath. And whan they came to the vynyardes of Thimnath, beholde, there came ⟨illegible⟩ yonge roaringe lyon against him. And the sprete of the LORDE came vpon him, and he rente him in peces, euen as a kydd is parted a sunder, and yet had he nothinge at all in his hāde, and he tolde it not vnto his father & his mother.

Now whan he came downe, he spake with the woman, and she pleased ⟨illegible⟩ eyes. And after certayne dayes he came agayne, to receaue her, & wente out of yᵉ waye, that he mighte se yᵉ deed ⟨illegible⟩ of the lyon: and beholde, in ⟨illegible⟩ lyons ⟨illegible⟩ there was a ⟨illegible⟩ of ⟨illegible⟩ and hony: and he toke of it in his hande, and ate therof by the waye: and wēte vnto his father and to his mother, and gaue them to eate also. But he tolde them not, that he had taken ⟨illegible⟩ hony out of the lyons ⟨illegible⟩

And whan his father came downe to the woman, Samson made a feast there, as the yonge men vsed to do. And whan they sawe him, they gaue him thirtie companyons to be with him. Samson sayde vnto them: I wil expresse ⟨illegible⟩ darke sentence vnto you, yf ye expounde ⟨illegible⟩ the same with in these seuen dayes of the feast, I wyll geue you thirtye ⟨illegible⟩ and thirtie chaunge of ⟨illegible⟩ But yf ye can not expounde it, then shall ye geue me thirtie ⟨illegible⟩ it thirtie chaunge of rayment. And they sayde vnto him: Shewe forth ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ let vs heare it. He sayde vnto them: ⟨illegible⟩ wente out from ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩ from the mightie. And in thre dayes they coulde not expounde ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩

Vpon the seuenth daye they sayde vnto ⟨illegible⟩ wife: ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ huszbāde, that he tell vs what ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ meaneth, or els we shal burne ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩ fathers house with fyre. Haue ye called vs hither, to brynge vs to pouerte? Then wepte ⟨illegible⟩ wife before him, and sayde: Thou art displeased at me, and louest me not: thou hast expressed ⟨illegible⟩ darke sentence vnto the children of my people, and hast not tolde it me.

But he sayde vnto her: Beholde, I haue not tolde it vnto my father and mother, and shulde I tell it ⟨illegible⟩ And she wepte before him those seuen dayes, whyle they had yᵉ feast. But on the seuēth daye he tolde it her, for she was so importune vpon him. And she expounded

⟨illegible⟩ darke sentence vnto the children of her people. Then sayde the men of the cite vnto him vpon the seuenth daye or euer the Sonne wente downe: What is sweter then hony? What is stronger then the lyon? But he sayde vnto ⟨illegible⟩ Yf ye had not plowed with my calfe, ye shulde not haue founde out my ⟨illegible⟩ And the sprete of yᵉ LORDE came vpon him, and he wente downe vnto Ascalon, and slewe thirtie men of them, &: toke their spoyles, and gaue chaunge of ⟨illegible⟩ vnto ⟨illegible⟩ yᵗ had expounded ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ And he was wrothfully displeased, ⟨illegible⟩ wente vp vnto his fathers house. As for ⟨illegible⟩ wife, she was geuen vnto one of his companyons, which belonged vnto him.

Chapter 15

⟨illegible⟩ fortuned after certaine daies aboute the wheate haruest tyme, ⟨illegible⟩ Samson visited his wife with a kydd. And whā he thoughte, I wyl go to my wife in to the chamber, hir father wolde not let him in, and sayde: I thoughte thou wast displeased at her, and I gaue her vnto ⟨illegible⟩ frende. But she hath yonger sister which is more ⟨illegible⟩ then she, let ⟨illegible⟩ same be thine for her. Thē sayde Samson vnto ⟨illegible⟩ I haue once gottē ⟨illegible⟩ righte occasion agaynst the Philistynes, I wyl do you displeasure.

And Samson wēte and catched thre ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ foxes, and toke fyre brandes, and festened one tayle to another, and put euer a fyre brande betwene two ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩ the same with fyre, and let them go amonge the Philistynes ⟨illegible⟩ and thus he brent ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ and the stondinge ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩ vynyardes, and the olyue trees.

Then sayde the Philistynes: Who hath done this? And they sayde: Samson ⟨illegible⟩ husbande of ⟨illegible⟩ ⟨illegible⟩ doughter, because he toke awaye his wife from him, and gaue hir vnto his frende. Then wente the Philistynes vp, and brent her and hir father also with fyre.

But Samson sayde vnto them: I can suffre you to do this, neuertheles I wyl be auēged vpon you my selfe, and then wyl I leaue of. And he smote them sore both vpō ⟨illegible⟩⟧ shulders & loynes: and wēte downe, & dwelt in the stone clyffe at Etam. Then wente the Philistynes vp, and layed sege vnto Iuda, & pitched at Lechi. But they of Iuda sayde: Wherfore are ye come vp against vs? They answered: we are come vp to bynde Samson, yᵗ we maye do vnto him, as he hath done vnto vs.

[C] Then wēte there thre M. men of Iuda downe to the stone clyffe of Etam, & sayde vnto Samson: Knowest thou not that the Philistynes raigne ouer vs? Wherfore hast thou done this then vnto vs? He sayde: As they dyd vnto me, so haue I done vnto thē agayne. They sayde vnto him: We are come downe to bynde the, & to delyuer yᵗ into the hāde of the Philistynes. Samson sayde vnto thē: Then sweare & promyse me, yᵗ ye wyll not slaye me. They answered him: We wyll not kyll the, we wil but bynde the, & delyuer the in to their hande, & wyl not slaye yᵉ. And they bounde him with two new coardes & caried him from the stone. And whan he came vnto Lechi, the Philistynes shouted, and rāne vnto him. But yᵉ sprete of yᵉ LORDE came vpon him, & the coardes aboute his armes were like thredes burnt in the fyre, so yᵗ the bondes were lowsed from his hondes.

[D] And he founde the cheke bone of a deed asse: then put he forth his hande, and toke it, & slewe a thousande men therwith: And Samson sayde: With an olde asses cheke bone, yee euē with the cheke bone of an asse haue I slayne a thousande men. And whan he had sayde yᵗ, he cast yᵉ cheke bone out of his hande, & called the place Ramath Lechi. But whā he was sore a thyrst, he called vpō the LORDE, & saide: Soch greate health hast thou geuē by the hāde of thy seruaunt, but now must I dye a thyrst, & fall in to yᵉ hande of yᵉ vncircūcised. Thē God opened a gome tothe in yᵉ cheke bone, so yᵗ water wēte out: & whan he dranke, his sprete came agayne, & he was refreszshed. Therfore vnto this daye it is yet called yᵉ well of yᵉ cheke bone of him yᵗ made intercession. And he iudged Israel in the tyme of the Philistynes twētye yeare.

Chapter 16

[A] SAmson wente vnto Gasa, & there he sawe an harlot, & laye with her. Thē was it saide vnto the Gasites: Samson is come hither. And they compased him aboute, & caused to laye wayte for him preuely, & watched all the nighte in the gate of yᵉ cite, & all that nighte they helde them styll, & sayde: Abyde, tomorow whan it is lighte, we wyll slaye him. But Samson laye vnto mydnighte, then rose he at mydnighte, & toke holde on both yᵉ syde portes of yᵉ gate of the cite, wᵗ both the postes, & lifte them out with the barres, & layed them vpon his shulders, & bare them vp to yᵉ toppe of yᵉ mount ouer agaynst Hebron.

After this he fell in to the loue of a woman by yᵉ broke of Sorek, whose name was Dalila, vnto whom the prynces of the Philistynes [B] came vp, and sayde vnto her: Persuade him, and loke wherin he hath soch greate strēgth, & how we maye ouercome him, yᵗ we mighte bynde him & subdue him, so wyll we geuethe euery man a M. and an C. syluerlinges. And Dalila sayde vnto Samson: I praye the tell me, wherin thy greate strēgth is, & how thou mightest be bounde to be subdued. Samson sayde vnto her: Yf I were bounde with seuē roapes of fresh senowes, which are not yet dryed vp, I shulde be weake, and as another man. Thē the prynces of the Philistynes broughte vp vnto her seuen new roapes, which were not yet dryed vp. And she bounde him therwith. (But there was wayte layed for him besyde her in the chamber) and she sayde vnto him: The Pilistynes vpon the Samson. Neuertheles he brake the roapes in sunder, euē as a twyned threde breaketh, whan it hath catched the heate of the fyre. And it was not knowne wherin his strength was.

Then sayde Dalila vnto Samson: beholde,[C] thou hast begyled me & dyssembled with me: tell me yet, wherwithall mayest thou be bounde? He answered her: Yf they bounde me with new coardes, wherwith no laboʳ hath bene done, I shulde be feble, & as another man. Then toke Dalila new coardes, & bounde him withall, and sayde: The Philistynes vpō the Samson (but there was wayte layed for him in the chamber.) And he brake them from his armes, euen as it had bene a threde.

Dalila sayde vnto him: Yet hast thou begyled me & dessembled wᵗ me: O tell me yet, wherwithall mightest thou be bounde? He answered her: Yf thou playtest seuē hayrie lockes of my heade together in a fyllet, and fastenest them in with a nayle (I shulde be weake.) And she saide vnto him: The Philistynes vpō the Samson. But he awaked out of his slepe, & drue out yᵉ playted hayrie lockes with the nale and the fyllet.

Thē sayde she vnto him: How cāst thou [D] saye yᵗ thou louest me, where as thine hert is not yet with me? Thre tymes hast thou disceaued me, and not tolde me wherin thy greate strength is. So whan she was euery daye importune vpon him wᵗ her wordes, & wolde not let him haue rest, his soule was faynte euen vnto the death, & he shewed her his whole hert, & sayde vnto her:⁽¹⁾ There came neuer rasoure vpon my heade, for I am a Nazaree of God fro my mothers wombe. Yf I were shauen, my strength shulde departe fro me, so that I shulde be weake, and as all other men. Now whan Dalila sawe that he had opened all his hert vnto her▪ she sent & called for the prynces of the Philistynes, & sayde: Come yet once vp, for he hath opened his whole hert vnto me.

[E] Thē came the prynces of the Philistynes vp vnto her, & broughte the money wᵗ them in their handes. And she made him to slepe vpon hir lappe, & called one which shoue of the seuē hayrie lockes of his heade. And she beganne to vexe him. Thē was his strength departed frō him. And she sayde vnto him: The Philistynes vpon the Samson. Now whā he awoke out of his slepe, he thoughte: I wil go forth as I haue done afore tyme, & ease my selfe, & knewe not yᵗ the LORDE was departed from him. But the Philistynes toke him, & put out his eyes, and broughte him downe to Gasa, & bounde him wᵗ fetters, and made him to grynde in the preson. But the heer of his heade beganne to growe agayne, where it was shauen of.

[F] Whan yᵉ prynces of the Philistynes were gathered together, to make a greate sacrifice vnto Dagon their god, and to be ioyfull, they sayde: Oure god hath delyuered Samson oʳ enemye in to oʳ hande. Like wyse whan yᵉ people sawe him, they praysed their god, & sayde: Oure god hath delyuered in to oure handes oure enemye, yᵗ destroyed oure londe, & slewe many of vs. Now whan their hert was ioyfull, they sayde: Let vs fetch Samson, that he maye make some pastyme before vs. Then fetched they Samson out of the preson, & he made pastyme before them. And they set him betwene two pilers. But Samson sayde vnto the lad yᵗ led him by the hande: Let me touche the pilers wher vpon the house stondeth, yᵗ I maye leane ther vnto. As for yᵉ house, it was full of men & wemen. All the prynces of the Philistynes were there also, and vpon the rofe were aboute a thre thousande men and wemen, which behelde what pastyme Samson made.

[G] But Samson called vpon the LORDE, & sayde: O LORDE LORDE, thynke vpon me, & strength me but this once O God I beseke the, yᵗ for both myne eyes I maye auēge me [woodcut] on the Philistynes. And he toke holde of yᵉ two mydpilers, that the house stode vpon & was holden by, the one in his righte hāde, & yᵉ other in his lefte, & saide: My soule dye wᵗ the Philistynes, & he bowed him selfe mightely. Then fell the house vpon the prynces & vpon all the people that were therin, so that there were mo of yᵉ slayne which dyed in his death, thē he slewe whyle he lyued. Then came his brethren downe and all his fathers house, and toke him, and caried him vp, and buried him in the graue of his father Manoah betwene Zarga and Esthaol. He iudged Israel twentye yeare.

Notes to Chapter 16

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 6. a ⟨illegible⟩. 1⟨illegible⟩. a

Chapter 17

THere was a man vpō mount Ephraim,[A] named Micha, which sayde vnto his mother: The thousande and hundreth syluerlinges which thou hast taken vnto the, & sworne, and spoken of before myne eares: beholde, yᵉ same money is by me, I haue taken it vnto me. Then sayde his mother: The blessinge of the LORDE haue thou my sonne. So he gaue his mother the thousande & hundreth syluerlinges agayne. And his mother saide: That money haue I sanctified vnto the LORDE wᵗ my hande for my sonne, to make a molten ymage: therfore I geue it the agayne. Neuertheles he delyuered yᵉ money agayne vnto his mother.

Then toke his mother two hundreth syluerlinges,[B] & put them forth to yᵉ goldsmyth, which made a molten ymage, yᵗ was afterwarde in Michas house. And thus the man Micha had a gods house, & made an ouerbody cote, & Idols, and fylled yᵉ handes of one of his sonnes, yᵗ he mighte be his prest. ⁽¹⁾ At yᵗ tyme was there no kynge in Israel, & euery man dyd the thinge yᵗ was righte in his awne eyes. There was a yōge man of Bethleem Iuda, amōge the kynreds of Iuda, and he was a Leuite, and was a straunger there. The same wente out of the cite of Bethleem Iuda, to walke whither he coulde.

And whā he came vp to mount Ephraim [C] vnto the house of Micha, to go on his iourney, Micha axed him: Whence cōmest thou? He answered him: I am a Leuite of Bethleem Iuda, and am walkynge where I can. Micha sayde vnto him: Tary with me, thou shalt be my father and my prest, I will geue the euery yeare ten syluerlinges and thy appoynted raymēt, and meate and drynke: and the Leuite wēte on. And the Leuite agreed to abyde with the man: and he helde the yonge mā, as one of his owne sonnes. And Micha fylled the Leuites hande, that he mighte be his prest, and so he was in Michas house. And Micha sayde: I am sure the LORDE wyll do me good now, that I haue a Leuite to my prest.

Notes to Chapter 17

⁽¹⁾ Iud. 18. ⟨illegible⟩ and ⟨illegible⟩1. d

Chapter 18

[A] AT that tyme was there no kynge in Israel. And yᵉ trybe of yᵉ Danites soughte them an enheritaunce to dwell in, ⁽¹⁾ for vnto that daie there was no enheritaunce fallen vnto them amonge the trybes of Israel. And the childrē of Dan sent out of their kynreds fyue captaynes (which were men of armes) from Zarga and Esthaol, to spye and search out the londe. And they sayde vnto them: Go youre waie, and search out the londe. And they came vp to mount Ephraim in to yᵉ house of Micha, and taried there all nighte. And whyle they were there wᵗ Michas huszsholde, they knewe yᵉ voyce of the yonge man the Leuite, and sayde vnto him: Who broughte yᵉ hither? What makest thou here? and why woldest thou come hither?

[B] He answered thē: Thus & thus hath Micha done vnto me, & hath hyred me to be his prest. They sayde vnto him: O axe at God, yᵗ we maye perceaue, whether oure iourney which we go, shal prospere well or not. The prest answered them: Go youre waye in peace, youre iourney yᵗ ye go, is before the LORDE. Then the fyue men wente their waye, & came vnto Lais, and sawe that the people which was therin, dwelt sure, euen as yᵉ Sidonians, at rest, and carelesse, and that there was no lorde in the londe to vexe them, and were farre from the Sidoniās, and had nothinge to do with eny man.

[C] And they came to their brethrē to Zarga and Esthaol. And their brethren saide vnto them: How is it wᵗ you? They sayde: Arise, let vs go vp vnto them, for we haue sene the londe, yᵗ it is a very good londe: make haist therfore, & be not slacke to go, that ye maye come to take possession of the londe. Whan ye come, ye shall come to a carelesse people, and the londe is wyde: for God hath delyuered this place in to yoʳ hande, where nothinge wanteth of all yᵗ is vpon earth.

Then wente there thence out of the kynreds of Dan from Zarga and Esthaol, sixe hundreth men ready wapened to yᵉ battayll, and wente vp, and pitched at Kiriath Iearim in Iuda: therfore called they the same place, yᵉ hoost of Dan, vnto this daye, which is behinde Kiriath Iearim.

And frō thence they wēte vp vnto moūt [D] Ephraim, and came to the house of Micha. Then answered the fyue men that wēte out to spye the londe of Lais, & sayde vnto their brethren: Knowe ye not that in these houses there is an ouerbody cote, Idols, & molten ymages? Now maye ye loke what ye haue to do. They departed thence, and came to the house of the yonge man the Leuite in Michas house, and saluted him frēdly. But the sixe hundreth men, which were of yᵉ children of Dan, stode ready harnessed before yᵉ gate. And the fyue men that were gone one to spye yᵉ londe, wēte vp, and came thither, and toke the ymage, the ouerbody cote, & the molten Idols. In the meane whyle stode yᵉ prest at the gate, with the sixe hundreth readye harnessed.

Now whā these were come in to Michas [E] house, and toke the ymage, the ouerbody cote, and the molten Idols, the prest sayde vnto them: What do ye? They answered him: Holde thy peace, and laye thine hande vpon thy mouth, and go with vs, yᵗ thou mayest be oure father & prest. Is it better for the to be prest in one mans house, then amonge a whole trybe & kynred in Israel? This pleased the prest well, & he toke both the ouerbody cote, and the Idols, and the ymage, and came in amonge the people. And whan they turned them and wente thence, they sent their children, and catell, and soch precious thynges as they had, before them.

Whan they were come farre now from [F] the house of Micha, the men yᵗ were in Michas houses gathered thē together by Michas house, & folowed yᵉ childrē of Dan, and cried vpon the childrē of Dan. They turned their faces aboute, and sayde vnto Micha: What ayleth the, yᵗ thou makest soch a crienge? He answered: Ye haue taken awaye my goddes, and the prest, & are goinge yoʳ waie, and what haue I behynde? What is here? And yet ye saye vnto me: What ayleth the? But the childrē of Dan saide vnto him: Let not thy voyce be herde amōge vs, that some wrothfull mē thrust not at the, and so yᵉ soule and the soule of yᵉ house be destroyed. So the childrē of Dan wēte on their waye. And Micha, whan he sawe yᵗ they were to stronge for him, turned backe, and came agayne to his house.

[G] But they toke that Micha had made, & the prest whom he had, & came vnto Lais, to a quyete carelesse people, and slewe them with the edge of the swerde, and burnt the cite with fyre, and there was no man to delyuer them: for they laye farre frō Sidon, and had to do with no man. And they laye in the valley, which is besyde Beth Rehob. Then buylded they the cite, & dwelt therin,⁽²⁾ & called it Dan, after name of their father Dan, whom Israel begat. And yᵉ cite was called Lais afore tyme.

And the children of Dan set vp the ymage for them, and Ionathan yᵉ sonne of Gerson the sonne of Manasse, & his sonnes were prestes amōge the trybe of yᵉ Danites,⁽³⁾ vnto the tyme yᵗ they were led awaye captyue out of the londe. And thus they set amonge thē the ymage of Micha, which he had made, as lōge as yᵉ house of God was at Silo.

Notes to Chapter 18

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩su. 19. d

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 19. d

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. 17. a

Chapter 19

[A] AT the same tyme was there no kynge in Israel, and there was a man of Leui, which was a straūger besyde moūt Ephraim, and had taken him a cōcubine of Bethleem Iuda to wife: And whā she had played the harlot besyde him, she ranne frō him to hir fathers house vnto Bethleem Iuda, & was there foure monethes longe. And hir huszbāde gat him vp, & wente after her, to speake frēdly wᵗ her, & to fetch her againe, & had a seruaunt & a couple of asses wᵗ him. And she led him in to hir fathers house. But whan the damsels father sawe him, he was glad, & receaued him: & his father in lawe, yᵗ the damsels father kepte him, so yᵗ he taried thre dayes wᵗ him: thus they ate and drōke, and remayned there all nighte.

[B] But on yᵉ fourth daye he gat him vp early, & wolde go his waye. Then sayde yᵉ damsels father vnto his sonne in lawe: ⁽¹⁾ Refresh thine hert first wᵗ a morsell of bred, and then shal ye go. And they sat them downe, & ate and dronke both together: Then sayde the damsels father vnto the man: Oh tarye all nighte, yᵗ we waie refresh thine hert. But yᵉ mā arose, & wolde nedes go. And his father in lawe constrayned him to tarye all nighte. On the fifth daye in the mornynge he gat him vp, and wolde be gone. Then sayde the damsels father: I praye the comforte thine hert, & let vs tary tyll yᵉ daye be farther past, and so they ate both together.

And the man gat him vp, and wolde go [C] with his concubyne and with his seruaunt. But his father in lawe the damsels father, saide vnto him agayne: Lo, the daye is spente, & it begynneth to be euen, tary all night: beholde, here is lodginge yet this daye, abyde here this night, it shal refresh thine hert: tomorow by times get you vp, and go youre waye vnto thy tent. Neuerttheles the man wolde not tary, but gat him vp, and wēte his waye▪ and came ouer agaynst Iebus (that is Ierusalem) and his couple of asses ladē, and his concubyne with him.

Now whan they were come nye vnto Iebus, the daye fell fast awaye. And yᵉ seruaūt saide vnto his master: I praie you go on, and let vs turne in to this cite of the Iebusites, and tarye therin allnight. Not withstondinge [D] his master sayde vnto him: I wil not turne in to yᵉ cite of the aleauntes, that are not of the children of Israel, but I wyl go ouer vnto Gibea. And he sayde vnto his seruaūt: Go thou before, that we maye come to some place, and tarye at Gibea or at Ramah allnight. And they wente on and walked, and the Sonne wente downe vpon thē harde by Gibea, which lyeth in the trybe of Ben Iamin: and they turned in there, yᵗ they mighte come in, and tarye at Gibea all nighte. But whan he came in, he sat him downe in yᵉ strete of the cite: for there was noman that wolde lodge them in his house that night.

And beholde, then came there an olde mā [E] from his worke out of the felde in the eueninge: and he was also of mount Ephraim, and a straūger at Gibea: but yᵉ mē of that place were yᵉ childrē of Iemini. And whan he lifte vp his eies, & sawe the straunger in the strete he sayde vnto him: Whither wilt thou go? & whence cōmest thou? He answered him: We are goinge on oure iourney from Betleē Iuda, vntyll we come besyde mount Ephraim, whēce I am, and wente vnto Bethleem Iuda, and now I go vnto yᵉ house of yᵉ LORDE & no mā wil harbarow me. We haue strawe and prouēder for oure asses, and bred and wyne for me and thy handmayden, and for the yonge man which is with thy seruaunt, so yᵗ we wante nothinge.

The olde man sayde: Peace be with the:[F] what soeuer thou wantest, thou findest it wᵗ me, onely tarye not in the strete all nighte. And he broughte him in to his house, and gaue the asses prouender: and they washed their fete, and ate & dronke. And whā their hert was now ioyfull, the men of the cyte, the children of Belial, came, and compased the house rounde aboute, and ruszshed at yᵉ dore, and sayde vnto yᵉ olde man, which was the good man of yᵉ house: Bringe out the mā which is come in to thy house, that we maye knowe him.

⁽²⁾But the good man of the house wente forth to them, and sayde vnto them: Oh no my brethren, do not so wickedly, consideringe this man is come in to my house: Oh do not soch folye. Beholde, I haue a doughter yet a virgin, and this man hath a cōcubine, those wil I brynge forth vnto you, that ye maye humble them, and do with them as ye lyke: but do not soch foly vnto this man. Neuertheles the men wolde not herken vnto him. Then toke yᵉ man his concubine and broughte her forth vnto them: and they knewe her, and dealte shamefully with her all yᵗ night vntill the mornynge. And whan the mornynge [G] brake on, they let her go.

Then came the woman early in the mornynge, and fell downe at the dore of the mās house that her lorde was in, and laye there tyll it was light. Now whan hir lorde rose vp in the mornynge, and opened the dore of the house, and wente forth to go on his iourney, beholde, his concubyne laye at the dore of the house, and hir handes vpon the thresholde. He saide vnto her: stonde vp, let vs go, Neuertheles she gaue him no answere. Thē toke he her vp vpon his asse, gat him vp, and wente vnto his place.

Now whan he came home, he toke a swerde, and helde his concubyne, and cut her wᵗ the bones and all in to twolue peces, and sent them in to all the coastes of Israel. Who so euer sawe it, sayde: Soch a thinge hath not bene done ner sene, sence the tyme that yᵉ children of Israel departed out of the londe of Egipte, vnto this daye. Now as concernynge this, take youre advysement, and geue yoʳ councell, and shew it forth.

Notes to Chapter 19

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩en. 18. a ⟨illegible⟩al. 105. b

⁽²⁾ Gen. 19. b

Chapter 20

[A] THen wente the children of Israel out and gathered a congregacion together as one man, frō Dan vntill Bersaba, and from the londe of Gilead vnto the LORDE to Mispa: and there came together of all the quarters of the people, and of all the trybes of Israel in to the congregacion of the people of God, foure hundreth thousande fote men that drue out yᵉ swerde. But the children of Ben Iamin herde, how that yᵉ children of Israel were gone vp vnto Mispa. And the children of Israel sayde: Tell vs, how happened this euell?

Then answered the Leuite the huszbande of the woman that was slayne, and sayde: I came to Gibea in Ben Iamin with my concubyne, to tary there allnight, then the cyt⟨illegible⟩ ▪ sins of Gibea gat them vp agaynst me, and compased me aboute in the house by night, and thoughte to slaye me, and defyled my cōcubyne, so that she dyed: then toke I my cōcubyne, and cut her in peces, and sent the peces in to euery countre of the inheritaunce of Israel: for they haue done an abhominacion and folye in Israel. Beholde, here are ye children of Israel: aduyse you well, and take this matter in hande.

So all the people gat them vp as one mā,[B] and sayde: Nomā shal go in to his tente, ner departe to his house, but this wil we do now agaynst Gibea: Let vs cast lot, and take ten men of an hundreth, and an hundreth of a thousande, and a thousande of ten thousande, out of all yᵉ trybes of Israel, yᵗ they maie take fode for yᵉ people, to come & do with Gibea Ben Iamin, acordynge to their folye which they haue done in Israel. Thus all the men of Israel beynge confederate, gathered them selues together as one man vnto the cite: and the trybes of Israel sent men vnto all the kinreds of Ben Iamin, and caused to saye vnto them: What maner of wickydnes is this, that is done amonge you? Delyuer here therfore the men the children of Belial at Gibea, that we maye put them to death, and do awaye the euell out of Israel. Neuertheles the children of Ben Iamin wolde not folowe the voyce of their brethren the children of Israel, but gathered them selues out of yᵉ cities vnto Gibea, to go forth in battayll agaynst the children of Israel.

And the same daye were there nombred [C] of the children of Ben Iamin out of the cities, sixe and twentye thousande men, that drue the swerde, beside the citesyns of Gibea of whom there were tolde seuē hundreth chosen men. And amōge all this people there were chosen out seuen hundreth men, which vsed not the right hande but the lefte, and yet wᵗ the slynge coulde they touch an heer, and not mysse. But the men of Israel, beside them of Bē Iamin, were nōbred foure hūdreth thousande, which drue the swerde, & were all men of armes. And the children of Israel arose, and wente vp to the house of God (in Silo) and axed at God, and sayde: Who shall go vp for vs to beginne the battayll with yᵉ children of Ben Iamin? The LORDE saide: Iuda shall begynne.

So the children of Israel gat thē vp in yᵉ mornīge, & pitched ouer agaīst Gibea, & euery man of Israel wēte out to fighte with Ben Iamin, and set them selues in araye to fighte agaynst Gibea. Then fell the children of Ben Iamin out of Gibea, and slewe the same daye amonge Israel two & twentye thousande to the grounde.

[woodcut]

[D] But the people of the men of Israel comforted them selues, and made them ready to fighte yet more in the same place, after they had prepared them selues the daye afore. And the children of Israel wente vp, and wepte before the LORDE vntyll the euenynge, and axed at the LORDE, & sayde: Shall we go enymore to fighte with oure brethren the children of Ben Iamin? The LORDE sayde: Go vp vnto them. And whan the children of Israel gat them vp to the childrē of Ben Iamin on yᵉ next daye, the Ben Iamites fell out of Gibea agaynst them the same daye, and slewe yet eightene thousande of yᵉ children of Israel to the grounde, which all drue the swerde.

Then wente all the children of Israel vp, and all the people, and came to the house of God, and wepte, and taried there before the LORDE, & fasted that daye vntyll the euen, and offred burnt offerynges and deed offeringes before the LORDE. And the children of Israel axed at the LORDE (the Arke of the couenaunt of God was there at that tyme, and Phineas the sonne of Eleasar the sonne of Aaron stode before him at the same tyme) & they sayde: Shal we go forth eny more to fighte with oure brethren the childrē of Ben Iamin, or shal we leaue of? The LORDE sayde: Go vp, tomorow wyll I delyuer them in to youre handes.

[E] And the children of Israel set a preuy watch agaynst Gibea rounde aboute, and so the children of Israel wente vp to the children of Ben Iamin on the thirde daye, and set them selues in araye agaynst Gibea like as the other two tymes afore. Thē came the children of Ben Iamin out agaynst the people, & brake out of the cite, & beganne to slaye certayne wounded of the people (like as the other two times afore) in the felde vpon two stretes: wherof one goeth towarde Bethel, the other vnto Gilead vpon a thirtye men in Israel. Then thought the childrē of Ben Iamin: They are smytten before vs like as afore. But the childrē of Israel sayde: Let vs flye, that we maie prouoke them out of the cite in to the hye stretes.

Then all the men of Israel gat them vp from their place, and prepared them selues vnto Baal Thamar. And the hinder watch of Israel brake out of their place, from yᵉ caue of Gaba, and came vnto Gibea, twentye thousande chosen men out of all Israel, so that it was a sore battayll: but they knewe not that the euell shulde happen vnto them. Thus the LORDE smote Ben Iamin before the children of Israel, so that the same daye the children of Israel destroyed fyue & twentye thousande and an hundreth men in Ben Iamin, which all drue the swerde.

For whan the childrē of Ben Iamin sawe that they were smitten, the men of Israel gaue [F] them rowme (to flye). For they trusted to the watch, which they had sett by Gibea. And the watch made haist also, & brake forth vnto Gibea, and wente vpon it, and smote all the cite with the edge of yᵉ swerde. They were appoynted betwene them selues the men of Israel and the hynder watch, to fall vpon them with the swerde, whan the smoke of the cite arose. Now whan the men of Israel turned them in the battayll, and Ben Iamin beganne to smyte the wounded in Israel vpon a thirtie men, and thoughte, they are smytten before vs, like as in the battayll afore, then beganne there a piler of smoke to arise vp from the cite. And Ben Iamin loked behinde them: and beholde, the flamme of yᵉ cite wente vp vnto heauen. And the men of Israel turned them, and were fearce vpon yᵉ men of Ben Iamin: for they sawe that the euell wolde happen vnto them.

And they turned them before the men of [G] Israel in the waye to the wyldernesse, but the battayll folowed vpon them. And them of the cite destroyed they amōge them. And they compased Ben Iamin rounde aboute, and folowed vpon them vnto Menuah, and trode them downe tyll afore Gibea eastwarde. And there fell of Ben Iamin eightene thousande men, which were all men of armes.

Whan the remnaunt of Ben Iamin sawe that, they turned them and fled towarde the wildernesse vnto the stonye rocke of Rimon. But in the same strete they slewe fyue thousande men, and folowed vpon them vnto Gideom, and slewe two thousande of thē: and so there fell the same daye of Ben Iamin fyue and twenty thousande men which drue yᵉ swerde, and were all mē of armes. Onely sixe hundreth men turned backe, and fled towarde the wyldernesse vnto the stonye rocke of Rimon, and abode in the rocke of Rimon foure monethes. And the men of Israel came agayne to the children of Ben Iamin, and smote them that were in the cite with yᵉ edge of the swerde, both mē and catell and all that was founde: and what soeuer was foūde in the cite, they cast it in to the fyre.

Chapter 21

[A] THe men of Israel had sworē at Mispa, and sayde: Noman shal geue his doughter to the Ben Iamites to wife. And the people came to the house of God (in Silo) & abode there before God vntill the euenynge, and lifte vp their voyce, and wepte sore, and sayde: O LORDE God of Israel, wherfore is this come to passe in Israel this daye? But on the morow the people gat thē vp early, and builded there an altare, and offred burnt offeringes and deed offerynges.

And the children of Israel sayde: Where is there eny mā of the trybes of Israel, that is not come vp with the congregacion vnto the LORDE? For there was a greate ooth made, that who so came not vp to Mispa vnto the LORDE, shulde dye the deeth. And the children of Israel were sory for Ben Iamin their brother, and sayde: This daye is there one trybe lesse in Israel. How wyll we do that the remnaunt maye haue wyues? For [B] we haue sworne by the LORDE, that we wyl not geue thē wyues of oure doughters. And they saide: Where is there eny mā of the trybes of Israel, that is not come vp to the LORDE vnto Mispa? And beholde, there was not one man of the citesyns of Iabes in Gilead.

Then sent the congregacion twolue thousande men of armes thither, and commaunded them, and sayde: Go youre waye, and smite the citesyns of Iabes in Gilead with the swerde, the wemen also and the children, but so that ye do after this maner: ⁽¹⁾ Se that ye damne all them that are males, and all the wemen that haue lyen with men. And amonge the citesins of Iabes in Gilead they foūde foure hundreth damsels, which were virgins, and had lyen with noman: those they broughte in to the hoost vnto Silo, which lyeth in the londe of Canaan.

Then sent the whole congregacion, and [C] caused to talke with the children of Ben Iamin,⁽²⁾ which were in the stonie rocke of Rimō and called vnto them frendly.⁽³⁾ So the children of Ben Iamin came agayne at the same tyme, and thy gaue them wemen which they had of the wemen of Iabes in Gilead, and founde no mo after that maner. Then were the people sory for Ben Iamin, that yᵉ LORDE had made a gappe in the trybes of Israel. And the Elders of the congregaciō sayde: What wil we do, that the remnaunt maye haue wyues also? for the wemē in Ben Iamin are destroied, and they sayde: The enheritaunce of them of Ben Iamin that are escaped, must nedes remayne, that there be not a trybe destroyed out of Israel: & we can not geue them oure doughters to wiues. For the children of Israel haue sworne and sayde: Cursed be he that geueth a wyfe to the Ben Iamites.

And they sayde: Beholde there is a yearly feast of the LORDE at Silo, which lieth on the northsyde of the Gods house, and on the eastside of the strete as a mā goeth from Bethel vnto Sichem, and lieth on the south side [D] of Libo⟨illegible⟩a. And they commaunded the children of Ben Iamin, & sayde: Go youre waye, and wayte in the vynyardes. And whan ye se that the doughters of Silo go forth by cōpanyes to daunse, get you out of the vynyardes, and euery man take him a wyfe of the doughters of Silo, and go youre waye in to the lōde of Ben Iamin. As for their fathers and brethren, whan they come to lawe with vs, we wyll saye vnto them: Be fauourable to them, for they haue not taken thē in battaill: but ye gaue thē not vnto them by time, and it is youre faute.

The children of Ben Iamin did so, and acordinge to their nombre toke them wyues from the daunse, whom they caught by violence, and wente their waye, & dwelt in their awne inheritaunce, and buylded cities and dwelt therin. The children of Israel also gat them vp from thence at the same time, euery one to his trybe and to his kinred, and departed thēce, euery man to his awne inheritaunce. ⁽⁴⁾ At yᵗ time was there no kynge in Israel, and euery man dyd yᵉ thinge yᵗ was right in his awne eies.

Notes to Chapter 21

⁽¹⁾ Num. 31. c

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

The ende of the boke of the Iudges, called Iudicum.

Colophon

This page is an archival transcription of the printed text, not a Good Works Translation. Source: Biblia the Byble, that is, the holy Scrypture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated in to Englyshe (M.D.XXXV; STC 2063.3), translated by Myles Coverdale, the copy in Cambridge University Library, keyed and encoded by the Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP Phase I, text A10349, 2005) and released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 public-domain dedication.

27 places illegible in the Cambridge copy were filled from Samuel Bagster’s 1838 page-for-page reprint of the edition (archive.org, holyscriptures00cove), only where the reprint’s reading is certain; each fill is listed on this room’s Supplied Readings page; 83 places are still marked ⟨illegible⟩ (11 in the text, 72 in the marginal notes); the supplied passage contains 134 words the reprint’s OCR does not give with certainty, marked ⟨illegible⟩.

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