8. So the same year that Jair died, Israel's army was crushed by these two nations. For eighteen years, Ammon was cruel to the Israelites who lived in Gilead, the region east of the River Jordan that had once belonged to the Amorites.
9. Then the Ammonites began crossing the Jordan and attacking the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Life was miserable for the Israelites.
10. They begged the Lord for help and confessed, “We were unfaithful to you, our Lord. We stopped worshipping you and started worshipping idols of Baal.”
15. “We have been unfaithful,” the Israelites admitted. “If we must be punished, do it yourself, but please rescue us from the Ammonites.”
16. Then the Israelites got rid of the idols of the foreign gods, and they began worshipping only the Lord. Finally, there came a time when the Lord could no longer stand to see them suffer.
17. The rulers of Ammon called their soldiers together and led them to Gilead, where they set up camp.The Israelites gathered at Mizpah and set up camp there.
18. The leaders of Gilead asked each other, “Who can lead an attack on the Ammonites?” Then they agreed, “If we can find someone who can lead the attack, we'll make him the ruler of Gilead.”