Judges 5-8

Judges 5

¹Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

²For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the people offered themselves willingly, bless ye the LORD.

³Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁴LORD, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, yea, the clouds dropped water.

⁵The mountains flowed down at the presence of the LORD, even yon Sinai at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁶In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

⁷The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

⁸They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

⁹My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people: bless ye the LORD.

¹⁰Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit on rich carpets, and ye that walk by the way.

¹¹Far 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 of his rule in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.

¹²Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

¹³Then came down a remnant of the nobles and the people; the LORD came down for me against the mighty.

¹⁴Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal’s staff.

¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; as was Issachar, so was Barak; into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben there were great resolves of heart.

¹⁶Why satest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the pipings for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

¹⁷Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, and abode by his creeks.

¹⁸Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death, and Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

¹⁹The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan; in Taanach by the waters of Meggido: they took no gain of money.

²⁰They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

²¹The river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.

²²Then did the horsehoofs stamp by reason of the pransings, the pransings of their strong ones.

²³Curse 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.

²⁴Blessed above women shall Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

²⁵He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought him butter in a lordly dish.

²⁶She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head, yea, she pierced and struck through his temples.

²⁷At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

²⁸Through the window she looked forth, and cried, the mother of Sisera cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

²⁹Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

³⁰Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? a damsel, two damsels to every man; to Sisera a spoil of divers colours, a spoil of divers colours of embroidery, of divers colours of embroidery on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?

³¹So 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.

Judges 6

¹And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

²And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strong holds.

³And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;

⁴and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

⁵For they came up with their cattle and their tents, they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.

⁶And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

⁷And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of Midian,

⁸that the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

⁹and 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;

¹⁰and I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

¹¹And the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹²And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

¹³And 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 wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

¹⁴And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?

¹⁵And he said unto him, Oh Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

¹⁶And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

¹⁷And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me.

¹⁸Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

¹⁹And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: 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.

²⁰And 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.

²¹Then 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 went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

²²And Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.

²³And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

²⁴Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it:

²⁶and build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this strong hold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.

²⁷Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

²⁸And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

²⁹And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

³⁰Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was by it.

³¹And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? or 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 broken down his altar.

³²Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.

³³Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel

³⁴But the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.

³⁵And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

³⁶And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken,

³⁷behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken.

³⁸And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

³⁹And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled 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.

⁴⁰And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Judges 7

¹Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

²And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

³Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

⁴And 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.

⁵So 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.

⁶And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

⁷And 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 people go every man unto his place.

⁸So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the men of Israel every man unto his tent, but retained the three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

⁹And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down into the camp; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

¹⁰But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant down to the camp:

¹¹and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down into the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant unto the outermost part of the armed men that were in the camp.

¹²And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is upon the sea shore for multitude.

¹³And 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 camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, that the tent lay along.

¹⁴And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God hath delivered Midian, and all the host.

¹⁵And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.

¹⁷And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

¹⁸When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For the LORD and for Gideon.

¹⁹So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the torches 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.

²¹And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.

²²And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, and against all the host: and the host fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

²³And the men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.

²⁴And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth-barah, even Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, even Jordan.

²⁵And they took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond Jordan.

Judges 8

¹And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.

²And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

³God hath delivered into your hand 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.

⁴And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.

⁵And 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, the kings of Midian.

⁶And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

⁷And 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.

⁸And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them in like manner: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

¹¹And 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.

¹²And Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

¹³And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.

¹⁴And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men.

¹⁵And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

¹⁶And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

¹⁷And he brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

¹⁸Then 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.

¹⁹And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

²⁰And 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.

²¹Then 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 the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.

²²Then 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 saved us out of the hand of Midian.

²³And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

²⁴And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

²⁵And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil.

²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

²⁷And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went a whoring after it there: and it became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

²⁸So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

³⁰And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

³¹And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

³²And 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.

³³And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.

³⁴And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side:

³⁵neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.