Then after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, ^aarose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

3 After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities ¹in the land of Gilead ^athat are called ²Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

6 Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and ^aserved the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, ^bthe gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus ^cthey forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him. 7 So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He ^asold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 And they shattered and smashed the sons of Israel ¹that year; for eighteen years they did this to all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan ²in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. 9 Then the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

10 And the ^asons of Israel cried out to Yahweh, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” 11 Then Yahweh said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you ^afrom the Egyptians, ^bthe Amorites, ^cthe sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 Also the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites ^aoppressed you. And you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hand. 13 Yet ^ayou have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 ^aGo and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned, so You, ^ado to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only please deliver us this day.” 16 ^aSo they removed the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and ^1bHe could bear the trouble of Israel no longer.

17 Then the sons of Ammon were summoned, and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in ^aMizpah. 18 And the people, the princes of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, ^arose up to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel for twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

3 After him, Jair the Gileadite rose up and judged Israel for twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities ¹in the land of Gilead ^athat are called ²Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and ^athey served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, ^bthe gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; so ^cthey abandoned the LORD and did not serve Him. 7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He ^asold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 And they ¹afflicted and oppressed the sons of Israel ²that year; for eighteen years they oppressed all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan, ³in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. 9 And the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great difficulty.

10 Then the ^asons of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.” 11 And the LORD said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you ^afrom the Egyptians, ^bthe Amorites, ^cthe sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites ^aoppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hands. 13 Yet ^ayou abandoned Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 ^aGo and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned, ^ado to us whatever ¹seems good to You; only please save us this day.” 16 ^aSo they removed the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and ^1bHe could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

17 Then the sons of Ammon were summoned, and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in ^aMizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”