So Joshua died, and we buried Joseph’s bones We are Israelites, set to clear out a home For ourselves In a land of goats and bees, filled with filthy travellers That crawled out of the sea And God said: “Kill them all, wipe the hills clean. They’re filthy travellers, that crawled out of the sea” So we captured a king, cut off his toes and thumbs And he died by the time that we burned Jerusalem We took for ourselves, this promised land We took what the Lord gave by the sword in his hand And God said: “Kill them all, wipe the hills clean. They’re filthy travellers, that crawled out of the sea” And there’s mountains of blood, and fields full of dead But my sword bearing hand, regrets what it’s bled I start to look them in the eyes right before I make them die And I see that they’re scared Well isn’t God merciful…and is He fair? So we stopped what we were doing, didn’t cast them all out In favour of neighbours and tributary towns And I fell. Into the hole, we were digging Here come the judges…

I’ve been feeling left-handed, I left all my rights My family has sworn that I’m for the other side It’s been 18 years since Eglon, the fat of Jericho My family’s in a cave, they make me deliver him our gold And i’m sick of being outcast, and hiding in these rocks Paying rent on the land that was given to us You know one of these days, i’m going to crawl out of our hideouts Oh one of these days Send me God, I’ll do whatever it takes Make us your children again, oh in spite of our mistakes Whatever it takes I’ve been looking at the king, sizing him up I’ve been making a dagger, as deep as his gut I’ve been practicing my message, so I don’t forget the words Believing my left hand, is more than just a curse I remember in the days before my people went astray Oh my mother looked at me and said “Ehud your name is praise” So I’ve been feeling left-handed, but i’m giving thanks for it I’m fed up enough with losing Lord it’s time you make us win (It’s time) Send me God, I’ll do whatever it takes So I killed him in the bathroom til the dirt came out his stomach. Cause I know sin, isn’t pretty.

When locks are loosed, in Israel When the people volunteer themselves Bless the Lord Bless the Lord Hear O Kings! Your ears, princes I, I will sing, to the Lord, praises The God of Israel The God of Israel In the days of Shamgar, no! The days of Jael The highways were all deserted The travellers snuck, across secret paths All the villages quiet for the echoes castles But my heart is with, the rulers of Israel Who volunteer, themselves for the people When they’ve chosen new gods, We still bless the Lord Though there’s war in the gates My name’s still Deborah Speak you who ride on white donkeys and wear Judges’ attire as you walk on the road Far from the noise of the archers at water holes Tell all the righteousness of our Lord And the the people of the Lord will go down to the gates and Awake! Awake! Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song Arise lightning, lead your captives away! Son of Abinoam Father of pleasantness Well the Lord took the battle, away from those men Who were, little of faith, but much in their head And the evil king escaped to the tent Of a woman named Joel, the most blessed of the earth He asked him for water, and she gave him milk She brought out cream in a lordly bowl She pounded the king, she pierced his head She split and struck through his temple And at her feet, he sank, he lay still He fell at her feet Where he sank, there he fell, dead. Awake! Awake! Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song Arise lightning, lead your captives away! A woman today was the Lord’s honeycomb The fruit of the stings and the bees in the blooms So let those who love Him, be like the sun When it comes out like the bridegroom

Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why, tarries the clatter of his horses? Are they not finding and dividing? Are they not finding and dividing? To every man a girl or two To every man a girl or two For my son, plunder of dyed garments Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed Two pieces of dyed embroidery For the neck of the looter

(threshing) Hid. Hiding in a wine press Threshing wheat for my starving family We’ve been disobedient again So now the Midianites come And they burn down all our fields Shine. What is that’s shining in? From underneath the Terebinth tree And have I blown my cover? And have I been discovered? As one who looks like a Lord of Men approaches me… And he says: “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valour” And it’s hard to believe when I’m still Hiding like a coward But if the Lord is with us Then why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our fathers spoke of? Something about Egypt And a sea that They walked across on dry land But tell me: What do you do when God’s forgotten about you? What do you do when God’s forgotten about you? But then, as if he didn’t understand My heart-felt sentiments He commanded me To go out in a might I didn’t quite comprehend And he said, “Have I not sent you? The one to deliver Israel though you don’t believe it yourself” But no, I’m not saving anyone We’re the weakest clan in Manasseh I’m the least in my father’s house You’ll have to send somebody else But what if I’m with you, Gideon? What if I’m with you, Gideon? Show. Show me who really are. I’ll bring a goat and some flour For you as an offering Fire. Coming up out of the rocks Burning up the bread and the broth As the Lord disappears from sight And I have the seen the angel of the Lord But now I’m terrified the more Oh God now that I believe, Would you then take my life from me? “Peace be with you, do not fear, you’re not gonna die” “Peace be with you, do not fear, you’re not gonna die” So I took ten men And we pulled down the sins Of our fathers under cover of darkness And we rose in the morning as the town was beginning To wonder what happened to their gods they said: “Who killed them in the night? Oh bring him out so he may die You tore our altar down now our god demands a sacrifice” But wait, My father says: “And would you plead for a god who’s dead? And if he’s worth the worshipping then let him raise himself again And what if all the stories of our fathers were the truth? And Gideon i’m sorry now what has God told you to do?” He says: “Go. I’m with you all the way. You’re not afraid anymore. And you. I’ll clothe my spirit with. And we’ll deliver Israel Sound the trumpets cause evil fell”

And so I was your god. And you chased me out of your houses You chased me out of your arms. So I sold you like slaves Into the hands who laid claim To the lands that i’d given to you. Until the day that you called And said, “We’ve forsaken you, But we need you to deliver us again” And I wondered why you didn’t cry to my replacements Who let you do what pleased you most But couldn’t save you from its ends But my soul could not endure The misery of Israel Anymore And so you put your gods in your closets To let me in your homes And I know it’s temporary But I love you so much that i’d rather believe that we were in love than the sad, sad story of how i wasn’t enough for you And I was Jephthah A might man of valour Who God sent to open the way But I was bastard And my mother a harlot My step brothers chased me away So I fled to a far land Bitter and cold Passing time, raiding passersbys on the road Til the day that you called And said: “We chased you away. But please we’ll take you back if you Deliver us we pray” And so you put your hate in your closet And let me come home And it feels temporary But I’ll give it a go Cause I’d rather believe You were taking me back Cause you were sorry to me Not just under attack And God it’s Jephthah I’ve made a terrible mistake And it seems as if I’ve promised you What I’d like you not to take And God I know you’re just… Just please don’t take my little girl away She dances beautifully I spoke too soon, now what have I said? God, were you just using me? The way my family used me too The way my people were using you… Or should I put my pride in my closet To let you in my home If this is not temporary then I’ll do what I told you Cause I’d rather believe that I loved you Than the sad, sad story of how I failed you too So dance on the mountaintops Dance on the mountaintops Little girl, dance on the mountaintops This is where my rebellion stops.

(chains rattle) An angel, an altar And fire, they were terrified A childbirth, a promise And the Lord blessed, the Spirit moved Samson, set apart No wine, but rebellion in his heart Oh when a lion leaps, the spirit speaks The Lord gives strength, make a body a home for bees At his wedding feast, tell the riddle of the beast Under threats of fire and hatred, for the first time, you caved in Then the spirit of the Lord Came upon to liberate, the land And God had a plan For this angry, angry man A harlot, and a one night stand Delilah, a demon dancing in the wind Betrayed for greed, three times Some bowstrings, new ropes, and a broken loom Three lies “But you say I love you But your heart is not with me And you’ve made a fool of me Before all the Philistines” Samson, set apart Long hair, but rebellion in his heart So he told her, how he never cut his hair And she smiled, and she whispered him to sleep So they came at night, and they cut off all his hair And she tormented him, because the Lord had left him there And so they bored out his eyes and the placed him in chains and for once in their lives their false gods could be praised but the hair on his head it began to grow again So when your promise is dead God can make it again So they called him out, for a laughing stock He performed, while the crowd mocked In the middle, of the temple crowd Felt a pillar with each hand, and he cried out “Lord I’m Samson, I’ve been set apart No eyes, but a healed obedient heart” (collapse)

Mother do you remember the mass of money that has been missing, To your constant consternation as of late? Well let me face your cursing questions with confession, that I did take this sum, Supposing since it was willed towards me I may make my use thereof Of what? Gods. I will mold and make, to sculpt saviours and lawgivers To whom I may deliver my worship and praise Now ephod and seraphim line the inside of my home for Lord knows I am prone to religion And I’ve made my son priest, by the authority vested in Me. Unsurprised, For there’s no king in Israel And this seems right in my eyes. And lately, I’ve been looking for a Levite To bless my ministry, to be a father and a priest So at least the Lord will look on me with love. Driving a spy march we started searching for Dan For we are Danites and we proceed through the promised land as Joshuas and Calebs With less faith and more greed Heeding the accent of an apostate Levite, a priest in the hills of Ephraim We intend plans to send men to put to the sword A quiet and peaceful place Taking the Levite to war To ensure our battle is blessed of the Lord And I recall the look of the Levit’s patron as he pursued our caravan of military men And the pathetic pride in his eyes As he realized We were strong Yet questioned why we had done him this wrong And he said: “You have taken away the gods which I made, and the priest who I paid” And it sticks in my spirit That gods who can be stolen, must permit stealing For they favour their owners as healing favours faith And I consider why then, we worship our slave? Then a Levite, came walking from a distance Mind on his concubine who’d play the harlot But her father, oh he was so persistent Oh he insisted, that he rest for several days (in spite of his dislike for delays) But God said: “I just wanted you to stand Yeah I just wanted you to stand And don’t just do something when you’re living without land I’ve asked you not to move until I’ve spoken to you And I’m not speaking yet… You may have to wait a little longer”

Benjaminites We almost destroyed them When we got in the mail The pieces of a woman And she had been raped Left on a doorstep to die For a Levite to save his skin He’d offered his concubine And how could this be? It’s a catastrophe. And what has become of the promised land? Well it seems its inhabitants didn’t believe What they’d heard from above Lost in their outrage that God was just They forgot that God was also love God is a judge and a lover too God is a judge and a lover too God is a judge and a lover too God is a judge and a lover too So what’s the solution, Israelites? Should we continue kidnapping girls for wives? Cause I’ve got a feeling What seems right in my eyes is usually wrong We need a king We need a king (Come on, kingdom come) (Come, kingdom come)

And you have not obeyed my voice, but I’ll save you anyways And you don’t deserve a thing, but i’ll give you everything And you hate the things I do, but i’ll love you as if that weren’t true And you hate the things I do, but i’ll love you as if that weren’t true What’s a judge to judge, when the people just won’t budge? And what’s a God to do, to finally get through? When you hate the things I do, well I’ll love you as if that weren’t true And even if it’s true I’ll still love you And I’ll save you And deliver you I’ll set you free From yourselves Eventually