only child, and he had neither son nor daughter.

And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter, how thou bendest me, and grievest me! For I have opened my mouth against the LORD, and cannot gainsay it.

And she said, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth against the LORD, do unto me as it proceeded out of thy mouth, after that the LORD smote thee upon thine enemies the children of Ammon.

And she said unto her father, Thou wilt do this unto me, that thou wilt leave me two months, that I may go down from hence into the mountains, and bewail my virginity with my companions.

And he said, Go thy way. And let her go two months. And she went with her companions, and wept for her virginity upon the mountains.

And after two months she returned unto her father. And he did unto her as he had promised: and she was never guilty of any man. And it became a custom in Israel, 40. And the daughters of Israel shall go yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
(Judges)
Chapter 12
Defeat of the Ephraimites.

And the men of Ephraim cried, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Why art thou gone to battle against the children of Ammon, and hast not called us to go with thee? We will burn your house and you with fire.

And Jephthah said unto them: I and my people had a great matter with the children of Ammon; and I cried unto you, but ye helped me not out of their hands.

And when I saw that ye would not help me, I put my soul in mine hand, and went against the children of Ammon; and the LORD delivered them into mine hand. Wherefore then come ye up unto me to fight against me?

And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Be ye Gileadites among Ephraim, and Manasseh among the fugitives of Ephraim.

And the Gileadites took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim. And when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me pass over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraite? And when he answered, No,

And they said unto him, Shiboleth; and he said, Siboleth; and could not speak it aright. And they took him, and smote him at the fords of Jordan: and in that day there fell of Ephraim forty and two thousand.

And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in the cities of Gilead.

After whom Israel judged Ebzan of Bethlehem.

He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he put forth, and thirty daughters he took from without his sons: and he judged Israel seven years.

And died, and was buried in Bethlehem.

After this Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel: and he judged Israel ten years.

And he died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

After this judged Israel Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pireathonite.

And he had forty sons, and thirty nephews, riding upon seventy asses: and he judged Israel eight years.

And he died, and was buried in Pireathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
(Judges)
Chapter 13
Simson’s conception and birth.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

Now there was a man in Zareah of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah: and his wife was barren, and bare nothing.

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

Take heed therefore that thou drink not wine, nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing.

For thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and there shall no razor come upon his head. For the child shall be the betrothed of God from his mother’s womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the woman came and told her husband, and said, There came a man of God unto me, and his form was as the appearance of an angel of God, almost terrifying, that I asked him not whence, nor whither; neither did he tell me his name.

And he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore drink no wine, nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be the betrothed of God from his mother’s womb even unto his death.

And Manoah besought the LORD, saying, O LORD, let the man of God come again unto us, whom thou hast sent, that he may teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

And God heard the voice of Manoah: and the angel of God came again to the woman. And she sat in the field, and Manoah her husband was not with her.

And she ran quickly, and told her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, which came unto me this day.

And Manoah arose, and went after his wife: and he came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that talked with the woman? And he said, Yea.

And Manoah said, When that which thou hast spoken shall come, what shall be the manner and work of the child?

And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Let him beware of all that I have said unto the woman.

He shall not eat that cometh of the vine, neither shall he drink wine or strong drink, neither shall he eat any unclean thing: all that I have commanded him shall he keep.

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, Let thee be stayed, and we will prepare thee a kid of the goats.

And the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, Though thou keep me here, yet will I not eat of thy meat. But if thou wilt offer a burnt offering unto the LORD, then thou shalt offer it.
For Manoah knew not that it was an angel of the LORD.

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name? that we may praise thee, when that which thou hast spoken shall come to pass.

And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou after my name, which is miraculous?

And Manoah took a kid of the goats, and a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the
LORD. And he made it marvelous. And Manoah and his wife looked on.

And when the flame ascended up to heaven from off the altar, the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame of the altar. And when Manoah and his wife saw it, they fell to the earth upon their faces.

And the angel of the LORD appeared no more unto Manoah, nor unto his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was an angel of the LORD.

And he said unto his wife: We must die of death, that we have seen God.

And his wife answered and said unto him, If the LORD had desired to kill us, he would not have taken the burnt offering and the meat offering from our hands, neither would he have told us all these things, nor have let us hear these things, as they are now.

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson. And the lad grew, and the LORD
blessed him.

And the Spirit of the LORD began to drive him in the camp of Dan, between Tsar and Esthaol.
(Judges)
Chapter 14
Simson’s exploit, wedding and mystery.

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

And when he was come up, he told his father and his mother, saying: I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore give me the same to wife.

And his father and his mother said unto him, Is there not then a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all thy people, that thou goest and takest a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? Then Samson said to his father, “Give me this one, for she is pleasing to my eyes.

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD: for he sought cause of the Philistines. And the Philistines reigned over Israel at that time.

So Samson went down with his father and his mother to Timnath. And when they were come to the vineyards of Timnath, behold, a young lion came roaring to meet him.

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and rent him as a kid is rent, and had nothing in his hand. And he told not his father, nor his mother, what he had done.

And when he was come down, he spake unto the woman, and she pleased Samson in his eyes.

And after some days he returned to take them, and went out of the way to see the carcase of the lion. And, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey.

And he took it in his hand, and did eat thereof by the way: and he went to his father and to his mother, and gave them to eat also. And he told them not that he had taken the honey of the lion’s nest.

And when his father was come down to the woman, Samson made a marriage there, as young men do.

And when they saw him, they gave him thirty companions to be with