1. After Abimelech died, another judge came to save the people of Israel. He was Tola son of Puah. (Puah was the son of Dodo.) Tola was from the people of Issachar. He lived in the city of Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim.
2. Tola was a judge for Israel for 23 years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.
3. After Tola died, Jair became judge. He lived in the region of Gilead. He was a judge for Israel for 22 years.
4. Jair had 30 sons, who rode 30 donkeys. These 30 sons controlled 30 towns in Gilead. These towns are called the Towns of Jair to this day.
5. Jair died and was buried in the city of Kamon.
6. Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They worshiped the Baal and Ashtoreth idols. They also worshiped the gods of the peoples of Aram, Sidon, Moab and Ammon. And they worshiped the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites left the Lord and stopped serving him.
7. So the Lord became angry with them. He allowed the Philistines and the Ammonites to defeat them.
8. In the same year those people destroyed the Israelites who lived east of the Jordan River. This is in the region of Gilead, where the Amorites lived. The Israelites suffered for 18 years.
9. The Ammonites then crossed the Jordan River to fight the people of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. The Ammonites caused much trouble to the people of Israel.