Judges:6-8
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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 .
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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 .
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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 ;
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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 .
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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 .
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And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites ;
and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD .
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And it came to pass ,
when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites ,
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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 ;
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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 ;
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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 .
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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 .
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And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him ,
and said unto him ,
The LORD is with thee ,
thou mighty man of valour .
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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 .
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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 ?
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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 .
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And the LORD said unto him ,
Surely I will be with thee ,
and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man .
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And he said unto him ,
If now I have found grace in thy sight ,
then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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And the LORD said unto him ,
Peace be unto thee ;
fear not :
thou shalt not die .
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Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD ,
and called it Jehovahshalom :
unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites .
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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 :
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal ,
saying ,
Let Baal plead against him ,
because he hath thrown down his altar .
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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 .
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But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon ,
and he blew a trumpet ;
and Abiezer was gathered after him .
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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 .
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And Gideon said unto God ,
If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand ,
as thou hast said ,
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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And God did so that night :
for it was dry upon the fleece only ,
and there was dew on all the ground .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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But if thou fear to go down ,
go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host :
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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And they stood every man in his place round about the camp :
and all the host ran ,
and cried ,
and fled .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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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And he said unto them ,
What have I done now in comparison of you ?
Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer ?
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God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian ,
Oreb and Zeeb :
and what was I able to do in comparison of you ?
Then their anger was abated toward him ,
when he had said that .
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And Gideon came to Jordan ,
and passed over ,
he ,
and the three hundred men that were with him ,
faint ,
yet pursuing them .
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And he said unto the men of Succoth ,
Give ,
I pray you ,
loaves of bread unto the people that follow me ;
for they be faint ,
and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna ,
kings of Midian .
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And the princes of Succoth said ,
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand ,
that we should give bread unto thine army ?
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And Gideon said ,
Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand ,
then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers .
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And he went up thence to Penuel ,
and spake unto them likewise :
and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him .
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And he spake also unto the men of Penuel ,
saying ,
When I come again in peace ,
I will break down this tower .
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Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor ,
and their hosts with them ,
about fifteen thousand men ,
all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east :
for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword .
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And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah ,
and smote the host :
for the host was secure .
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And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled ,
he pursued after them ,
and took the two kings of Midian ,
Zebah and Zalmunna ,
and discomfited all the host .
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And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up ,
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And caught a young man of the men of Succoth ,
and enquired of him :
and he described unto him the princes of Succoth ,
and the elders thereof ,
even threescore and seventeen men .
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And he came unto the men of Succoth ,
and said ,
Behold Zebah and Zalmunna ,
with whom ye did upbraid me ,
saying ,
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand ,
that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary ?
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And he took the elders of the city ,
and thorns of the wilderness and briers ,
and with them he taught the men of Succoth .
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And he beat down the tower of Penuel ,
and slew the men of the city .
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Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna ,
What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor ?
And they answered ,
As thou art ,
so were they ;
each one resembled the children of a king .
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And he said ,
They were my brethren ,
even the sons of my mother :
as the LORD liveth ,
if ye had saved them alive ,
I would not slay you .
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And he said unto Jether his firstborn ,
Up ,
and slay them .
But the youth drew not his sword :
for he feared ,
because he was yet a youth .
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Then Zebah and Zalmunna said ,
Rise thou ,
and fall upon us :
for as the man is ,
so is his strength .
And Gideon arose ,
and slew Zebah and Zalmunna ,
and took away the ornaments that were on their camels '
necks .
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Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon ,
Rule thou over us ,
both thou ,
and thy son ,
and thy son '
s son also :
for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian .
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And Gideon said unto them ,
I will not rule over you ,
neither shall my son rule over you :
the LORD shall rule over you .
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And Gideon said unto them ,
I would desire a request of you ,
that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey . (
For they had golden earrings ,
because they were Ishmaelites .)
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And they answered ,
We will willingly give them .
And they spread a garment ,
and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey .
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And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold ;
beside ornaments ,
and collars ,
and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian ,
and beside the chains that were about their camels '
necks .
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And Gideon made an ephod thereof ,
and put it in his city ,
even in Ophrah :
and all Israel went thither a whoring after it :
which thing became a snare unto Gideon ,
and to his house .
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Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel ,
so that they lifted up their heads no more .
And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon .
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And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house .
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And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten :
for he had many wives .
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And his concubine that was in Shechem ,
she also bare him a son ,
whose name he called Abimelech .
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And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age ,
and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father ,
in Ophrah of the Abiezrites .
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And it came to pass ,
as soon as Gideon was dead ,
that the children of Israel turned again ,
and went a whoring after Baalim ,
and made Baalberith their god .
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And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God ,
who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side :
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Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal ,
namely ,
Gideon ,
according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel .
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And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother '
s brethren ,
and communed with them ,
and with all the family of the house of his mother '
s father ,
saying ,
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