18 weak, and be like all other men. When Dalida saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent for the chiefs of the Philistines, and said, Come up this once more, for he hath told me all his heart. So the chiefs of the Philistines went up to her, 19 and carried the money in their hands. And when Dalida had

Julled Sampson to sleep on her knees, she sent for a man, and he shaved off the seven locks of his head, and began to hum20 ble him; for his strength was gone from him. And when Dalida said, The Philistines are upon thee Sampson! He awoke from his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times heretofore, and rouse myself. He indeed did not know that the Lord 21 had departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and put out his eyes, and carried him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass, and he was kept grinding in the prison house.

22

Now when the hairs of his head began to grow as when he was shaven, the chiefs of the Philistines assembled to offer a 23 great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to rejoice. And they said; God hath delivered Sampson, our great enemy into our 24 hand. And when the people saw him, they sung praises to

their god, saying, Our god hath delivered our enemy into our hands-him who wasted our land, and multiplied the number 25 of our slain. Now when their heart was elated with joy, they said, Call Sampson from the prison, and let him make sport for us; so they called Sampson from the prison, and he made sport for them; and when they had beaten him with rods, they 26 set him between the pillars. Then Sampson said to the young

man who had hold of his hand, Let go, that I may feel the pil27 lars on which the house resteth, and lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the chiefs of the Philistines were there; and on the top of the house there were about three thousand men and women looking at Samp28 son's sports. Then Sampson wept before the Lord, and said,

O Adonaie, Lord, remember me, I beseech thee, and strengthen me yet this once more, O my God, that I may take ven29 geance on the Philistines for my two eyes. Then Sampson

took hold of the two pillars, on which the house rested, and by which it was supported. And having taken hold of one 30 with his right hand, and of the other with his left, he said, Let

me die with the Philistines, and strained with all his might,

and the house fell upon the chiefs and on all the people in it. So that those whom Sampson slew at his death were more : 31 than those whom he had slain during his life. And his brethren, and the house of his father, went down, and took him, and came up and buried him between Saraa and Esthaol in the tomb of his father Manoe. Now he had judged Israel twenty years.

The idolatry of the house of Micah and of the Danites. XVII. There was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah; and he said to his mother, With regard to the eleven hundred pieces of silver which thou hadst taken for thyself, and for which thou didst lay me under a curse, and speak in my hearing, behold the money is in my possession. I took it. 3 And his mother said, Blessed of the Lord is my son. And when he gave his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, I indeed had dedicated this money to the Lord, out of my hand, for my son to make a graven and a 4 molten image. Now therefore I will give it to thee. So when he gave his mother the money, she took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to a silver smith, and of it he made a graven and a molten image, and it was in the house of Mi5 cah. So the house of Micah was to him the house of a god.

And he made an ephod and theraphin, and consecrated one of 6 his sons, and he became his priest. Now in those days there

was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in 7 his own eyes. And there was a young man of Bethlehem, a community of Juda, but he was a Levite and sojourner there.. 8 And this man went from Bethlehem, the city of Juda, to sojourn wherever he could find a place, and came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, with a view to proceed on in 9 his journey. And Micah said to him, Whence comest thou? and he in reply, said, I am a Levite of Bethlehem Juda, and I am 10 going to sojourn wherever I can find a place. Whereupon Micah said to him, Abide with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver a year, and a 11 suit of clothes, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in and

began his abode with the man; and he treated the youth as 12 one of his sons. And when Micah had consecrated the Levite,

and he became his priest, and was in Micah's house, Micah said, Now I know that the Lord will do me good, because I have got a Levite for a priest.

XVIII.

In those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking to take possession of a lot of inheritance for themselves; for even till that day they had not got possession of the inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. 2 So the children of Dan sent from their communities five men of valour, from Saraa, and from Esthaol, to view the land and examine it thoroughly, and said to them, Go and examine the land thoroughly. And they went to mount Ephraim, to the 3 house of Micah. And when they lodged there, at the house of Micah, they perceived the voice of the young Levite, and turned aside there and said to him, Who brought thee here? and 4 what art thou doing at this place? what business hast thou here?

And he said to them, Thus and thus hath Micah done to me, 5 and hired me, and I am become his priest. Then they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether the journey in which we are engaged will be prosperous. And the 6 priest said to them, Go in peace. This journey of yours which 7 you are going is before the Lord. So the five men proceeded on and came to Laisa, and saw the people there dwelling securely. Their manner of living was tranquil like that of the Sidonians. There was none to reprove-none in the land to put them to shame for any thing. Possessing wealth they were spending it luxuriously; and they were at a great distance from 8 the Sidonians, and had no intercourse with any man. So the five men came to their brethren at Saraa, and Esthaol, and said 9 to them, Why sit ye here? Moreover they said, Arise and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold it is very good, but still you continue quiet. You should not 10 delay any longer to go and take possession of that land. And when you go, you will come upon a people living in security, though it is a large country; for God hath delivered it into your hands. It is a place where there is no want of any thing on 11 earth. Then there went up thence, of the communities of Dan, from Saraa and Esthaol, six hundred men well equipt 12 with all necessaries of war. And in going up they encamp

ed at Kariathiarim in Juda, for which cause that place is called The Camp of Dan to this day. Behold it is behind Ka13 riathiarim. And from that place they passed through mount 14 Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. And the five

men who had gone to spy the land of Laisa, addressing their brethren, said, You know that at this house there is an ephod, and a theraphin, and a graven and a molten image; 15 now consider therefore what you are to do. Upon this they

turned aside, and went to the house of the young Levite, to the 16 house of Micah, and saluted him. While the six hundred Danites, who were equipt with implements of war, stood at the gate of the city, the five men, who had gone to spy the land, 18 went up and entered the house of Micah, while the priest was standing there, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and 19 the theraphin, and the molten image. And when the priest said to them, What are you doing? they said to him, Hold thy peace. Put thy hand on thy mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be the priest of the house of one man, than to be the priest of a tribe, and of the house of a community of Israel? And the priest's heart 20 was delighted. So he took the ephod, and the theraphin, and

the graven, and the molten image, and went into the midst of 21 the people. And they turned and went away, and sent the chil22 dren, and the cattle, and the heavy baggage before them. And when they were at a considerable distance from the house of Micah, behold Micah and the men, the families adjacent to Micah's house, uttered the shout of war and overtook the Dan23 ites. Upon which the sons of Dan turned about and said to Micah, What is the matter with thee that thou hast raised the 24 shout of war? And Micah said, Because you have taken my graven image, which I made, and the priest; and have gone away. What more could have happened to me? Why then do 25 you say to me, Why dost thou shout? And the sons of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us. Should warm spirited men come to an engagement with us they will endan26 ger thy life, and the life of thy household. Then the sons of

Dan proceeded on in their march. And when Micah saw that 27 they were too strong for him, he returned to his house. So the

sons of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who was with him, and went to Laisa, to a people living at ease, and in a state of security, and smote them with the edge of the 28 sword, and burned the city with fire. There was none to deliver

them, for they were far from the Sidonians, and had no inter

course with any man. It is situate in the valley of the house of 29 Raab. And they rebuilt the city, and dwelt therein, and called the name of the city Dan after the name of their father Dan who was born to Israel. Now the name of that city formerly was 30 Oulamais. And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan, a Gersonite, son of Manasses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites, even to 31 the day of the capture of the Ark. They indeed set up for themselves the graven image which Micah made, all the time the house of God was at Selom.

The war with the tribe of Benjamin.

XIX. In those days when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite who dwelt on the side of mount Ephraim, and 2 he took him a concubine from Bethlehem Juda, and she went 3 away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem Juda. And when she had been there four months, her husband arose and went after her, with an intent to speak affectionately to her, and bring her back to him. And he had a young man with him, and a couple of asses. And when she introduced him to her father's house, and the young woman's father saw him, he 4 was rejoiced to meet him. And his father in law, the young woman's father, detained him, and he abode with him three 5 days, and they eat, and drank, and lodged there. And on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, and he got up to depart, the father of the young woman said to his son in law, Comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread, and after that 6 you shall go. So they two sat down, and eat and drank to

gether, and the father of the young woman said to the man, Come I pray thee, stay all night and let thy heart be merry. 7 And when the man arose to depart, his father in law pressed 8 him; so he sat down, and staid there that night. And he arose early in the morning of the fifth day with a view to depart; but the father of the young woman said, Comfort thy heart, I 9 pray thee; and then travel on till the close of the day. And when they two had eaten, and the man arose to depart, with his concubine and his servant, his father in law-the young wo man's father said to him, Behold the day is spent till near af ternoon, lodge here to night, and let thy heart be merry, and set out on your journey early in the morning, and thou wilt reach