Midian Oppresses Israel

6 ^kThe people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of ^lMidian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and ^mthe caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and ⁿthe Amalekites and ^othe people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them ^pand devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come ^qlike locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel ^rcried out for help to the Lord.

7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^sI led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and ^tdrove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; ^uyou shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash ^vthe Abiezrite, while his son ^wGideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And ^xthe angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ^y“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are ^zall his wonderful deeds ^athat our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord¹ turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; ^bdo not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, ^c“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, ^dmy clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, ^e“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, ^f“If now I have found favor in your eyes, then ^gshow me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please ^hdo not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

19 So Gideon went into his house ⁱand prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah² of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them ^jon this rock, and ^kpour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. ^lAnd fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, ^m“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, ⁿ“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, ^oThe Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at ^pOphrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down ^qthe Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the ^rstronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon³ was called ^sJerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

33 Now ^tall the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in ^uthe Valley of Jezreel. 34 But ^vthe Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, ^wand he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 ^xAnd he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. ^xAnd he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

36 ^yThen Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, ^z“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Gideon’s Three Hundred Men

7 Then ^aJerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside ^bthe spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, ^cby the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, ^dlest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ^e‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, ^f“With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him ^gin the valley.

9 That same ^hnight the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, ⁱfor I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 ^jAnd you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” ^kThen he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and ^lall the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, ^mas the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with ⁿtorches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ^o‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

Gideon Defeats Midian

19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. ^oAnd they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, ^pand all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 ^qWhen they blew the 300 trumpets, ^rthe Lord set ^severy man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,¹ as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.

24 ^tGideon sent messengers throughout ^uall the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as ^vBeth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured ^wthe two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb ^xat the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon ^yacross the Jordan.

Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna

8 ^zThen the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not ^athe gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 ^bGod has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” ^cThen their anger¹ against him subsided when he said this.

4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and ^dthe 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of ^eSuccoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, ^f“Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, ^gthat we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, ^hI will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to ⁱPenuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, ^j“When I come again in peace, ^kI will break down this tower.”

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of ^lthe people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men ^mwho drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of ⁿNobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt ^osecure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them ^pand captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ^q‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 ^rAnd he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at ^sTabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. ^tAs the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and ^ukilled Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took ^vthe crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon’s Ephod

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; ^wthe Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, ^xbecause they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels² of gold, besides ^ythe crescent ornaments and ^zthe pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon ^amade an ephod of it and put it in his city, ^bin Ophrah. And all Israel ^cwhored after it there, and it became a ^dsnare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. ^eAnd the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

The Death of Gideon

29 ^fJerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had ^gseventy sons, his own offspring,³ for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine ^hwho was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died ⁱin a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, ^jat Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 ^kAs soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and ^lwhored after the Baals and made ^mBaal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel ⁿdid not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35 ^oand they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

9 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to ^phis mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, 2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all ^qseventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that ^pI am ^ryour bone and your flesh.”

3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ^s“He is our brother.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of ^tBaal-berith with which Abimelech hired ^uworthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5 And he went to his father’s house at ^vOphrah ^wand killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all ^xBeth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of ^yMount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 ^zThe trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ^a‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that ^bcheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and ^ctake refuge in my shade, but if not, ^dlet fire come out of the bramble and devour ^ethe cedars of Lebanon.’