King James Version
1 ¶ 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?
2
And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have
delivered the land into his hand.
3
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.
4
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.
5
And they found Adonibezek in
Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the
Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6
But Adonibezek fled; and they
pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
7
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.
8
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.
9 ¶ 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.
10 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.
11
And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir:
and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:
12
And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother,
took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14
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?
15
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.
16
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.
17
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.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with the
coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast
thereof.
19
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.
20 And they gave Hebron unto
Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
21 ¶ 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.
22 And the house of Joseph, they
also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
23
And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the
name of the city before was Luz.)
24
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.
25
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.
26
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.
27 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.
28
And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put
the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them
out.
29
Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in
Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30
Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron,
nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites
dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31 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:
32
But the Asherites dwelt among
the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
33
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.
34
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to
the valley:
35
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.
36
And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to
Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
1 ¶ 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.
2
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?
3
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.
4
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.
5 And they called the name of
that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the
LORD.
6 ¶ And when Joshua had let the people go, the children
of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7
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.
8
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died,
being an hundred and ten years old.
9
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.
10
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.
11
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim:
12 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.
13
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14
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.
15
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.
16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up
judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
17
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.
18
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.
19 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.
20
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;
21
I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them
of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
22
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.
23
Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving
them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
1 ¶ 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;
2
Only that the generations of the children of Israel might
know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;
3
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.
4
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.
5
And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites,
Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and
Jebusites:
6
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave
their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7
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.
8 ¶ 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.
9
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.
10
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.
11
And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of
Kenaz died.
12 ¶ 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.
13
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek,
and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
14 So the children of Israel
served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15
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.
16
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.
17
And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and
Eglon was a very fat man.
18
And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent
away the people that bare the present.
19 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.
20
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.
21
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from
his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
22
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.
23 Then Ehud went forth through
the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon
him, and locked them.
24
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.
25 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.
26
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the
quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
27 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.
28
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.
29
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.
30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And
the land had rest fourscore years.
31 ¶ 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.
1 ¶ And the children of Israel again did evil in the
sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
2 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.
3
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.
4 ¶ And Deborah, a prophetess, the
wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5
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.
6
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?
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10 ¶ 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.
11
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.
12
And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was
gone up to mount Tabor.
13
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.
14
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.
15
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.
16 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.
17 ¶ 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.
18
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.
19
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.
20
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.
21
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.
22
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.
23 So God subdued on that day
Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24
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.
1 ¶ Then sang Deborah and Barak the
son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the
people willingly offered themselves.
3
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.
4 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.
5
The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai
from before the LORD God of Israel.
6 ¶ In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days
of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
7
The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in
Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
8
They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there
a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the
governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless
ye the LORD.
10
Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in
judgment, and walk by the way.
11
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.
12 ¶ Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song:
arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
13
Then he made him that remaineth
have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD
made me have dominion over the mighty.
14
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.
15
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.
16
Why abodest thou among the
sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
17
Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in
ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches.
18
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their
lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
19
The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan
in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
20 They fought from heaven; the
stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21
The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river,
the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
22
Then were the horsehoofs broken
by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
23 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.
24 ¶ Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the
Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, and she gave
him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
26
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.
27 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.
28
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?
29
Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to
herself,
30 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?
31
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.
1 ¶ 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.
2
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.
3
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;
4
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.
5
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.
6 And Israel was greatly
impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto
the LORD.
7 ¶ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel
cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8
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;
9
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;
10
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.
11 ¶ 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.
12
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto
him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13
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.
14 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?
15
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.
16
And the LORD said unto him, Surely
I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as
one man.
17
And he said unto him, If now I
have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18
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.
19 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.
20
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.
21 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.
22
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.
23
And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not:
thou shalt not die.
24
Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called
it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah
of the Abiezrites.
25 ¶ 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:
26
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.
27 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.
28
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.
29
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.
30
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.
31
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.
32
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let
Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his
altar.
33 ¶ 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.
34
But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a
trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
35 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.
36
And Gideon said unto God, If thou
wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 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.
38
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.
39 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.
40
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece
only, and there was dew on all the ground.
1 ¶ 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.
2
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.
3
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.
4 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.
5
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.
6
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.
7 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.
8
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.
9 ¶ 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.
10
But if thou fear to go down, go thou
with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
11
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.
12
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.
13 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.
14
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.
15
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.
16 ¶ 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.
17
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.
18
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.
19
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.
20 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.
21
And they stood every man in his place round about the
camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
22 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.
23 ¶ 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.
24 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.
25
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.