Day 112 of 730

¹The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house on you with fire."

²Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not save me out of their hand.

³When I saw that you did not save me, I put my life in my own hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?"

⁴Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh."

⁵The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No";

⁶then they said to him, "Now say 'Shibboleth;'" and he said "Sibboleth"; for he couldn't manage to pronounce it right: then they seized him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.

⁷Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

⁸After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹He had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

¹²Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkey colts. And he judged Israel eight years.

¹⁵Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

¹The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

²There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and did not bear. .

³The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, "See now, you are barren, and do not bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.

⁴Now therefore please be careful and drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing.

⁵For behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

⁶Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome; and I didn't ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name,

⁷but he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.'"

⁸Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born."

⁹God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah, her husband, wasn't with her.

¹⁰The woman ran quickly, and told her husband, and said to him, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

¹¹Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" He said, "I am."

¹²Manoah said, "Now let your words happen. How shall the child be raised and what is he to do?"

¹³The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

¹⁴She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I have commanded her she is to observe."

¹⁵Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Please, stay a bit longer that we may prepare a young goat for you."

¹⁶The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I won't eat of your bread. And if you prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.

¹⁷Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, that when your words come true we may honor you?"

¹⁸And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask for my name? It is incomprehensible."

¹⁹So Manoah took the young goat and a grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, who works wonders. Then the angel did a wonderful thing as Manoah and his wife looked on.

²⁰For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹But the angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

²²Manoah said to his wife, :We shall surely die, because we have seen God."

²³But his wife said to him, "If the Lord meant to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from us, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would he have spoken to us now like this."

²⁴The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

²⁵And the Spirit of the Lord began to direct him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in his commandments.

²His seed will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed.

³Wealth and riches are in his house. His righteousness endures forever.

⁴Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.

⁵It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment.

⁶For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever.

⁷He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

⁸His heart is established, he will not be afraid until he gaze upon his adversaries.

⁹He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.

¹⁰The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.

¹Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool.

²It isn't good to have zeal without knowledge; nor being hasty with one's feet and missing the way.

³The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against the Lord.

⁴Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free.

⁶Many will entreat the favor of a ruler, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

⁷All the relatives of the poor shun him: how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.

⁸He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good.

⁹A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.

¹⁰Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool, much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

¹¹The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.

¹²The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife's quarrels are a continual dripping.

¹⁴House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

¹⁵Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.

¹⁶He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.

¹⁷He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; he will reward him.

¹⁸Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.

¹⁹A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty, for if you rescue him, you must do it again.

²⁰Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end.

²¹There are many plans in a man's heart, but the Lord's counsel will prevail.

²²That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness. A poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of the Lord leads to life, then contentment; he rests and will not be touched by trouble.

²⁴The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵Flog a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

²⁶He who robs his father and drives away his mother, is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

²⁷If you stop listening to instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A corrupt witness mocks justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity.

²⁹Penalties are prepared for scoffers, and beatings for the backs of fools.