He has selected the best part for himself, for the portion of the ruler ¹  is set aside ²  there; he came with the leaders ³  of the people, he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord and his ordinances with Israel.

They went ¹  to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them ²  to return. Their pursuers ³  looked all along the way but did not find them. ⁴ 

Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. ¹  They camped there before crossing the river. ² 

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away ¹  the disgrace ²  of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal ³  even to this day.

There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. ¹ 

The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ¹  Though they had subdued the land, ² 

Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.

Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine.

The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ¹  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ²  So people now call the city Hormah. ³ 

Hear ¹  the sound of those who divide the sheep ²  among the watering places; there they tell of ³  the Lord’s victorious deeds, the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁴  in Israel. Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

Between her feet he collapsed, he fell limp ¹  and was lifeless; ²  between her feet he collapsed and fell limp, in the spot where he collapsed, there he fell limp – violently murdered! ³ 

Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” ¹  To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon used all this to make ¹  an ephod, ²  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ³  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁴  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

However, she ¹  got angry at him ²  and went home ³  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.

They stopped there and decided to spend the night ¹  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ² 

The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master ¹  was staying until it became light. ² 

The Israelite army ¹  took heart ²  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

So the people came to Bethel ¹  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ² 

When he gets ready to go to sleep, ¹  take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, ²  and lie down ³  beside him. ⁴  He will tell ⁵  you what you should do.”