1After Abimelech died Tola, the son of Puah and grandson of Dodo, came to save Israel. He was from the tribe of Issachar and lived at Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. 2He was Israels judge leader for twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. 3After Tola came Jair from Gilead. He judged led Israel for twenty-two years. 4He had thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys. They had thirty cities in the land of Gilead. They are called the villages of Jair. 5Jair died and was buried at Kamon. 6Once again the Israelites did evil against Jehovah by worshiping the Baals and the Astartes. They also worshiped the gods of Syria, of Sidon, of Moab, of Ammon, and of the Philistines. They abandoned Jehovah and stopped worshiping him. 7The anger of Jehovah burned against Israel. So he allowed the Philistines and the Ammonites to conquer them. 8They afflicted and oppressed the sons of Israel. For eighteen years they lived in Amorite country east of the Jordan River in Gilead. 9The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel was greatly distressed. 10The children of Israel cried out to Jehovah: »We sinned against you. We left our God and served the Baals.« 11Jehovah answered: »Did I free you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines? 12»Did I save you from the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? They oppressed you and you cried out to me. 13»You still left me and worshiped other gods. I am not going to rescue you again. 14»Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them save you in your time of trouble.« 15But the people of Israel said to Jehovah: »We have sinned. Do to us what seems best to you, only please, save us today!« 16So they removed the foreign gods and worshiped Jehovah. He could bear the distress of Israel no longer. 17Then the Ammonite army prepared camped in Gilead. They prepared for battle. The people of Israel gathered and camped at Mizpah in Gilead. 18There the people and the leaders of Gilead asked one another: »Who is the man to lead the fight against the Ammonites? Whoever does will be the leader of everyone in Gilead.«