Judges:1-7
Seeker Overlay ON
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Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass ,
that the children of Israel asked the LORD ,
saying ,
Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first ,
to fight against them ?
*
And the LORD said ,
Judah shall go up :
behold ,
I have delivered the land into his hand .
*
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother ,
Come up with me into my lot ,
that we may fight against the Canaanites ;
and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot .
So Simeon went with him .
*
And Judah went up ;
and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand :
and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men .
*
And they found Adonibezek in Bezek :
and they fought against him ,
and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites .
*
But Adonibezek fled ;
and they pursued after him ,
and caught him ,
and cut off his thumbs and his great toes .
*
And Adonibezek said ,
Threescore and ten kings ,
having their thumbs and their great toes cut off ,
gathered their meat under my table :
as I have done ,
so God hath requited me .
And they brought him to Jerusalem ,
and there he died .
*
Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem ,
and had taken it ,
and smitten it with the edge of the sword ,
and set the city on fire .
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And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites ,
that dwelt in the mountain ,
and in the south ,
and in the valley .
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And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron : (
now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba :)
and they slew Sheshai ,
and Ahiman ,
and Talmai .
*
And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir :
and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher :
*
And Caleb said ,
He that smiteth Kirjathsepher ,
and taketh it ,
to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife .
*
And Othniel the son of Kenaz ,
Caleb '
s younger brother ,
took it :
and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife .
*
And it came to pass ,
when she came to him ,
that she moved him to ask of her father a field :
and she lighted from off her ass ;
and Caleb said unto her ,
What wilt thou ?
*
And she said unto him ,
Give me a blessing :
for thou hast given me a south land ;
give me also springs of water .
And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs .
*
And the children of the Kenite ,
Moses '
father in law ,
went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah ,
which lieth in the south of Arad ;
and they went and dwelt among the people .
*
And Judah went with Simeon his brother ,
and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath ,
and utterly destroyed it .
And the name of the city was called Hormah .
*
Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof ,
and Askelon with the coast thereof ,
and Ekron with the coast thereof .
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And the LORD was with Judah ;
and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain ;
but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley ,
because they had chariots of iron .
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And they gave Hebron unto Caleb ,
as Moses said :
and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak .
*
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem ;
but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day .
*
And the house of Joseph ,
they also went up against Bethel :
and the LORD was with them .
*
And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel . (
Now the name of the city before was Luz .)
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And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city ,
and they said unto him ,
Shew us ,
we pray thee ,
the entrance into the city ,
and we will shew thee mercy .
*
And when he shewed them the entrance into the city ,
they smote the city with the edge of the sword ;
but they let go the man and all his family .
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And the man went into the land of the Hittites ,
and built a city ,
and called the name thereof Luz :
which is the name thereof unto this day .
*
Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns ,
nor Taanach and her towns ,
nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns ,
nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns ,
nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns :
but the Canaanites would dwell in that land .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Israel was strong ,
that they put the Canaanites to tribute ,
and did not utterly drive them out .
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Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer ;
but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them .
*
Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron ,
nor the inhabitants of Nahalol ;
but the Canaanites dwelt among them ,
and became tributaries .
*
Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho ,
nor the inhabitants of Zidon ,
nor of Ahlab ,
nor of Achzib ,
nor of Helbah ,
nor of Aphik ,
nor of Rehob :
*
But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites ,
the inhabitants of the land :
for they did not drive them out .
*
Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh ,
nor the inhabitants of Bethanath ;
but he dwelt among the Canaanites ,
the inhabitants of the land :
nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them .
*
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain :
for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley :
*
But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon ,
and in Shaalbim :
yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed ,
so that they became tributaries .
*
And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim ,
from the rock ,
and upward .
*
And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim ,
and said ,
I made you to go up out of Egypt ,
and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers ;
and I said ,
I will never break my covenant with you .
*
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land ;
ye shall throw down their altars :
but ye have not obeyed my voice :
why have ye done this ?
*
Wherefore I also said ,
I will not drive them out from before you ;
but they shall be as thorns in your sides ,
and their gods shall be a snare unto you .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel ,
that the people lifted up their voice ,
and wept .
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And they called the name of that place Bochim :
and they sacrificed there unto the LORD .
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And when Joshua had let the people go ,
the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land .
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And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua ,
and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua ,
who had seen all the great works of the LORD ,
that he did for Israel .
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And Joshua the son of Nun ,
the servant of the LORD ,
died ,
being an hundred and ten years old .
*
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres ,
in the mount of Ephraim ,
on the north side of the hill Gaash .
*
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers :
and there arose another generation after them ,
which knew not the LORD ,
nor yet the works which he had done for Israel .
*
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
and served Baalim :
*
And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers ,
which brought them out of the land of Egypt ,
and followed other gods ,
of the gods of the people that were round about them ,
and bowed themselves unto them ,
and provoked the LORD to anger .
*
And they forsook the LORD ,
and served Baal and Ashtaroth .
*
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel ,
and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them ,
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about ,
so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies .
*
Whithersoever they went out ,
the hand of the LORD was against them for evil ,
as the LORD had said ,
and as the LORD had sworn unto them :
and they were greatly distressed .
*
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges ,
which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them .
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And yet they would not hearken unto their judges ,
but they went a whoring after other gods ,
and bowed themselves unto them :
they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in ,
obeying the commandments of the LORD ;
but they did not so .
*
And when the LORD raised them up judges ,
then the LORD was with the judge ,
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge :
for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the judge was dead ,
that they returned ,
and corrupted themselves more than their fathers ,
in following other gods to serve them ,
and to bow down unto them ;
they ceased not from their own doings ,
nor from their stubborn way .
*
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel ;
and he said ,
Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers ,
and have not hearkened unto my voice ;
*
I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died :
*
That through them I may prove Israel ,
whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein ,
as their fathers did keep it ,
or not .
*
Therefore the LORD left those nations ,
without driving them out hastily ;
neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua .
*
Now these are the nations which the LORD left ,
to prove Israel by them ,
even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan ;
*
Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know ,
to teach them war ,
at the least such as before knew nothing thereof ;
*
Namely ,
five lords of the Philistines ,
and all the Canaanites ,
and the Sidonians ,
and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon ,
from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath .
*
And they were to prove Israel by them ,
to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD ,
which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses .
*
And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites ,
Hittites ,
and Amorites ,
and Perizzites ,
and Hivites ,
and Jebusites :
*
And they took their daughters to be their wives ,
and gave their daughters to their sons ,
and served their gods .
*
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
and forgat the LORD their God ,
and served Baalim and the groves .
*
Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel ,
and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia :
and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years .
*
And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD ,
the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel ,
who delivered them ,
even Othniel the son of Kenaz ,
Caleb '
s younger brother .
*
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him ,
and he judged Israel ,
and went out to war :
and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand ;
and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim .
*
And the land had rest forty years .
And Othniel the son of Kenaz died .
*
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD :
and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel ,
because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD .
*
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek ,
and went and smote Israel ,
and possessed the city of palm trees .
*
So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years .
*
But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD ,
the LORD raised them up a deliverer ,
Ehud the son of Gera ,
a Benjamite ,
a man lefthanded :
and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab .
*
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges ,
of a cubit length ;
and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh .
*
And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab :
and Eglon was a very fat man .
*
And when he had made an end to offer the present ,
he sent away the people that bare the present .
*
But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal ,
and said ,
I have a secret errand unto thee ,
O king :
who said ,
Keep silence .
And all that stood by him went out from him .
*
And Ehud came unto him ;
and he was sitting in a summer parlour ,
which he had for himself alone .
And Ehud said ,
I have a message from God unto thee .
And he arose out of his seat .
*
And Ehud put forth his left hand ,
and took the dagger from his right thigh ,
and thrust it into his belly :
*
And the haft also went in after the blade ;
and the fat closed upon the blade ,
so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly ;
and the dirt came out .
*
Then Ehud went forth through the porch ,
and shut the doors of the parlour upon him ,
and locked them .
*
When he was gone out ,
his servants came ;
and when they saw that ,
behold ,
the doors of the parlour were locked ,
they said ,
Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber .
*
And they tarried till they were ashamed :
and ,
behold ,
he opened not the doors of the parlour ;
therefore they took a key ,
and opened them :
and ,
behold ,
their lord was fallen down dead on the earth .
*
And Ehud escaped while they tarried ,
and passed beyond the quarries ,
and escaped unto Seirath .
*
And it came to pass ,
when he was come ,
that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim ,
and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount ,
and he before them .
*
And he said unto them ,
Follow after me :
for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand .
And they went down after him ,
and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab ,
and suffered not a man to pass over .
*
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men ,
all lusty ,
and all men of valour ;
and there escaped not a man .
*
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel .
And the land had rest fourscore years .
*
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath ,
which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad :
and he also delivered Israel .
*
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
when Ehud was dead .
*
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan ,
that reigned in Hazor ;
the captain of whose host was Sisera ,
which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles .
*
And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD :
for he had nine hundred chariots of iron ;
and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel .
*
And Deborah ,
a prophetess ,
the wife of Lapidoth ,
she judged Israel at that time .
*
And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim :
and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment .
*
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali ,
and said unto him ,
Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded ,
saying ,
Go and draw toward mount Tabor ,
and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun ?
*
And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera ,
the captain of Jabin '
s army ,
with his chariots and his multitude ;
and I will deliver him into thine hand .
*
And Barak said unto her ,
If thou wilt go with me ,
then I will go :
but if thou wilt not go with me ,
then I will not go .
*
And she said ,
I will surely go with thee :
notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour ;
for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman .
And Deborah arose ,
and went with Barak to Kedesh .
*
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh ;
and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet :
and Deborah went up with him .
*
Now Heber the Kenite ,
which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses ,
had severed himself from the Kenites ,
and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim ,
which is by Kedesh .
*
And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor .
*
And Sisera gathered together all his chariots ,
even nine hundred chariots of iron ,
and all the people that were with him ,
from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon .
*
And Deborah said unto Barak ,
Up ;
for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand :
is not the LORD gone out before thee ?
So Barak went down from mount Tabor ,
and ten thousand men after him .
*
And the LORD discomfited Sisera ,
and all his chariots ,
and all his host ,
with the edge of the sword before Barak ;
so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot ,
and fled away on his feet .
*
But Barak pursued after the chariots ,
and after the host ,
unto Harosheth of the Gentiles :
and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword ;
and there was not a man left .
*
Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite :
for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite .
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And Jael went out to meet Sisera ,
and said unto him ,
Turn in ,
my lord ,
turn in to me ;
fear not .
And when he had turned in unto her into the tent ,
she covered him with a mantle .
*
And he said unto her ,
Give me ,
I pray thee ,
a little water to drink ;
for I am thirsty .
And she opened a bottle of milk ,
and gave him drink ,
and covered him .
*
Again he said unto her ,
Stand in the door of the tent ,
and it shall be ,
when any man doth come and enquire of thee ,
and say ,
Is there any man here ?
that thou shalt say ,
No .
*
Then Jael Heber '
s wife took a nail of the tent ,
and took an hammer in her hand ,
and went softly unto him ,
and smote the nail into his temples ,
and fastened it into the ground :
for he was fast asleep and weary .
So he died .
*
And ,
behold ,
as Barak pursued Sisera ,
Jael came out to meet him ,
and said unto him ,
Come ,
and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest .
And when he came into her tent ,
behold ,
Sisera lay dead ,
and the nail was in his temples .
*
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel .
*
And the hand of the children of Israel prospered ,
and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan ,
until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan .
*
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day ,
saying ,
*
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel ,
when the people willingly offered themselves .
*
Hear ,
O ye kings ;
give ear ,
O ye princes ;
I ,
even I ,
will sing unto the LORD ;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel .
*
LORD ,
when thou wentest out of Seir ,
when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom ,
the earth trembled ,
and the heavens dropped ,
the clouds also dropped water .
*
The mountains melted from before the LORD ,
even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel .
*
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath ,
in the days of Jael ,
the highways were unoccupied ,
and the travellers walked through byways .
*
The inhabitants of the villages ceased ,
they ceased in Israel ,
until that I Deborah arose ,
that I arose a mother in Israel .
*
They chose new gods ;
then was war in the gates :
was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel ?
*
My heart is toward the governors of Israel ,
that offered themselves willingly among the people .
Bless ye the LORD .
*
Speak ,
ye that ride on white asses ,
ye that sit in judgment ,
and walk by the way .
*
They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water ,
there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD ,
even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel :
then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates .
*
Awake ,
awake ,
Deborah :
awake ,
awake ,
utter a song :
arise ,
Barak ,
and lead thy captivity captive ,
thou son of Abinoam .
*
Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people :
the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty .
*
Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek ;
after thee ,
Benjamin ,
among thy people ;
out of Machir came down governors ,
and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer .
*
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah ;
even Issachar ,
and also Barak :
he was sent on foot into the valley .
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart .
*
Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds ,
to hear the bleatings of the flocks ?
For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart .
*
Gilead abode beyond Jordan :
and why did Dan remain in ships ?
Asher continued on the sea shore ,
and abode in his breaches .
*
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field .
*
The kings came and fought ,
then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo ;
they took no gain of money .
*
They fought from heaven ;
the stars in their courses fought against Sisera .
*
The river of Kishon swept them away ,
that ancient river ,
the river Kishon .
O my soul ,
thou hast trodden down strength .
*
Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings ,
the pransings of their mighty ones .
*
Curse ye Meroz ,
said the angel of the LORD ,
curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof ;
because they came not to the help of the LORD ,
to the help of the LORD against the mighty .
*
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be ,
blessed shall she be above women in the tent .
*
He asked water ,
and she gave him milk ;
she brought forth butter in a lordly dish .
*
She put her hand to the nail ,
and her right hand to the workmen '
s hammer ;
and with the hammer she smote Sisera ,
she smote off his head ,
when she had pierced and stricken through his temples .
*
At her feet he bowed ,
he fell ,
he lay down :
at her feet he bowed ,
he fell :
where he bowed ,
there he fell down dead .
*
The mother of Sisera looked out at a window ,
and cried through the lattice ,
Why is his chariot so long in coming ?
why tarry the wheels of his chariots ?
*
Her wise ladies answered her ,
yea ,
she returned answer to herself ,
*
Have they not sped ?
have they not divided the prey ;
to every man a damsel or two ;
to Sisera a prey of divers colours ,
a prey of divers colours of needlework ,
of divers colours of needlework on both sides ,
meet for the necks of them that take the spoil ?
*
So let all thine enemies perish ,
O LORD :
but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might .
And the land had rest forty years .
*
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD :
and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years .
*
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel :
and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains ,
and caves ,
and strong holds .
*
And so it was ,
when Israel had sown ,
that the Midianites came up ,
and the Amalekites ,
and the children of the east ,
even they came up against them ;
*
And they encamped against them ,
and destroyed the increase of the earth ,
till thou come unto Gaza ,
and left no sustenance for Israel ,
neither sheep ,
nor ox ,
nor ass .
*
For they came up with their cattle and their tents ,
and they came as grasshoppers for multitude ;
for both they and their camels were without number :
and they entered into the land to destroy it .
*
And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites ;
and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites ,
*
That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel ,
which said unto them ,
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel ,
I brought you up from Egypt ,
and brought you forth out of the house of bondage ;
*
And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians ,
and out of the hand of all that oppressed you ,
and drave them out from before you ,
and gave you their land ;
*
And I said unto you ,
I am the LORD your God ;
fear not the gods of the Amorites ,
in whose land ye dwell :
but ye have not obeyed my voice .
*
And there came an angel of the LORD ,
and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah ,
that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite :
and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress ,
to hide it from the Midianites .
*
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him ,
and said unto him ,
The LORD is with thee ,
thou mighty man of valour .
*
And Gideon said unto him ,
Oh my Lord ,
if the LORD be with us ,
why then is all this befallen us ?
and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of ,
saying ,
Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt ?
but now the LORD hath forsaken us ,
and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites .
*
And the LORD looked upon him ,
and said ,
Go in this thy might ,
and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites :
have not I sent thee ?
*
And he said unto him ,
Oh my Lord ,
wherewith shall I save Israel ?
behold ,
my family is poor in Manasseh ,
and I am the least in my father '
s house .
*
And the LORD said unto him ,
Surely I will be with thee ,
and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man .
*
And he said unto him ,
If now I have found grace in thy sight ,
then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me .
*
Depart not hence ,
I pray thee ,
until I come unto thee ,
and bring forth my present ,
and set it before thee .
And he said ,
I will tarry until thou come again .
*
And Gideon went in ,
and made ready a kid ,
and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour :
the flesh he put in a basket ,
and he put the broth in a pot ,
and brought it out unto him under the oak ,
and presented it .
*
And the angel of God said unto him ,
Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes ,
and lay them upon this rock ,
and pour out the broth .
And he did so .
*
Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand ,
and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes ;
and there rose up fire out of the rock ,
and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes .
Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight .
*
And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD ,
Gideon said ,
Alas ,
O Lord GOD !
for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face .
*
And the LORD said unto him ,
Peace be unto thee ;
fear not :
thou shalt not die .
*
Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD ,
and called it Jehovahshalom :
unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites .
*
And it came to pass the same night ,
that the LORD said unto him ,
Take thy father '
s young bullock ,
even the second bullock of seven years old ,
and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath ,
and cut down the grove that is by it :
*
And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock ,
in the ordered place ,
and take the second bullock ,
and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down .
*
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants ,
and did as the LORD had said unto him :
and so it was ,
because he feared his father '
s household ,
and the men of the city ,
that he could not do it by day ,
that he did it by night .
*
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning ,
behold ,
the altar of Baal was cast down ,
and the grove was cut down that was by it ,
and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built .
*
And they said one to another ,
Who hath done this thing ?
And when they enquired and asked ,
they said ,
Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing .
*
Then the men of the city said unto Joash ,
Bring out thy son ,
that he may die :
because he hath cast down the altar of Baal ,
and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it .
*
And Joash said unto all that stood against him ,
Will ye plead for Baal ?
will ye save him ?
he that will plead for him ,
let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning :
if he be a god ,
let him plead for himself ,
because one hath cast down his altar .
*
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal ,
saying ,
Let Baal plead against him ,
because he hath thrown down his altar .
*
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together ,
and went over ,
and pitched in the valley of Jezreel .
*
But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon ,
and he blew a trumpet ;
and Abiezer was gathered after him .
*
And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh ;
who also was gathered after him :
and he sent messengers unto Asher ,
and unto Zebulun ,
and unto Naphtali ;
and they came up to meet them .
*
And Gideon said unto God ,
If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand ,
as thou hast said ,
*
Behold ,
I will put a fleece of wool in the floor ;
and if the dew be on the fleece only ,
and it be dry upon all the earth beside ,
then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand ,
as thou hast said .
*
And it was so :
for he rose up early on the morrow ,
and thrust the fleece together ,
and wringed the dew out of the fleece ,
a bowl full of water .
*
And Gideon said unto God ,
Let not thine anger be hot against me ,
and I will speak but this once :
let me prove ,
I pray thee ,
but this once with the fleece ;
let it now be dry only upon the fleece ,
and upon all the ground let there be dew .
*
And God did so that night :
for it was dry upon the fleece only ,
and there was dew on all the ground .
*
Then Jerubbaal ,
who is Gideon ,
and all the people that were with him ,
rose up early ,
and pitched beside the well of Harod :
so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them ,
by the hill of Moreh ,
in the valley .
*
And the LORD said unto Gideon ,
The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands ,
lest Israel vaunt themselves against me ,
saying ,
Mine own hand hath saved me .
*
Now therefore go to ,
proclaim in the ears of the people ,
saying ,
Whosoever is fearful and afraid ,
let him return and depart early from mount Gilead .
And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand ;
and there remained ten thousand .
*
And the LORD said unto Gideon ,
The people are yet too many ;
bring them down unto the water ,
and I will try them for thee there :
and it shall be ,
that of whom I say unto thee ,
This shall go with thee ,
the same shall go with thee ;
and of whomsoever I say unto thee ,
This shall not go with thee ,
the same shall not go .
*
So he brought down the people unto the water :
and the LORD said unto Gideon ,
Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue ,
as a dog lappeth ,
him shalt thou set by himself ;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink .
*
And the number of them that lapped ,
putting their hand to their mouth ,
were three hundred men :
but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water .
*
And the LORD said unto Gideon ,
By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you ,
and deliver the Midianites into thine hand :
and let all the other people go every man unto his place .
*
So the people took victuals in their hand ,
and their trumpets :
and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent ,
and retained those three hundred men :
and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley .
*
And it came to pass the same night ,
that the LORD said unto him ,
Arise ,
get thee down unto the host ;
for I have delivered it into thine hand .
*
But if thou fear to go down ,
go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host :
*
And thou shalt hear what they say ;
and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host .
Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host .
*
And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude ;
and their camels were without number ,
as the sand by the sea side for multitude .
*
And when Gideon was come ,
behold ,
there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow ,
and said ,
Behold ,
I dreamed a dream ,
and ,
lo ,
a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian ,
and came unto a tent ,
and smote it that it fell ,
and overturned it ,
that the tent lay along .
*
And his fellow answered and said ,
This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash ,
a man of Israel :
for into his hand hath God delivered Midian ,
and all the host .
*
And it was so ,
when Gideon heard the telling of the dream ,
and the interpretation thereof ,
that he worshipped ,
and returned into the host of Israel ,
and said ,
Arise ;
for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian .
*
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies ,
and he put a trumpet in every man '
s hand ,
with empty pitchers ,
and lamps within the pitchers .
*
And he said unto them ,
Look on me ,
and do likewise :
and ,
behold ,
when I come to the outside of the camp ,
it shall be that ,
as I do ,
so shall ye do .
*
When I blow with a trumpet ,
I and all that are with me ,
then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp ,
and say ,
The sword of the LORD ,
and of Gideon .
*
So Gideon ,
and the hundred men that were with him ,
came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch ;
and they had but newly set the watch :
and they blew the trumpets ,
and brake the pitchers that were in their hands .
*
And the three companies blew the trumpets ,
and brake the pitchers ,
and held the lamps in their left hands ,
and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal :
and they cried ,
The sword of the LORD ,
and of Gideon .
*
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp :
and all the host ran ,
and cried ,
and fled .
*
And the three hundred blew the trumpets ,
and the LORD set every man '
s sword against his fellow ,
even throughout all the host :
and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath ,
and to the border of Abelmeholah ,
unto Tabbath .
*
And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali ,
and out of Asher ,
and out of all Manasseh ,
and pursued after the Midianites .
*
And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim ,
saying ,
Come down against the Midianites ,
and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan .
Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together ,
and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan .
*
And they took two princes of the Midianites ,
Oreb and Zeeb ;
and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb ,
and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb ,
and pursued Midian ,
and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan .
*
And the men of Ephraim said unto him ,
Why hast thou served us thus ,
that thou calledst us not ,
when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites ?
And they did chide with him sharply .
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