Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)

The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)

The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM) 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

The angel of the Lord(BP) went up from Gilgal(BQ) to Bokim(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(BU) and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(BV) but you shall break down their altars.(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed(BX) me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(BY) they will become traps(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares(CA) to you.’”

When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(CB) and they called that place Bokim.[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(CD)

After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(CE)

Joshua son of Nun,(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(CH) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(CI) in the eyes of the Lord(CJ) and served the Baals.(CK) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(CL) of the peoples around them.(CM) They aroused(CN) the Lord’s anger(CO) 13 because they forsook(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(CQ) 14 In his anger(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(CS) of raiders who plundered(CT) them. He sold them(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(CV) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(CX)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[h](CY) who saved(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(DA) themselves to other gods(DB) and worshiped them.(DC) They quickly turned(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(DE) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(DG) because of their groaning(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted(DI) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(DJ) than those of their ancestors,(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(DM) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(DR)

These are the nations the Lord left to test(DS) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five(DT) rulers of the Philistines,(DU) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites(DV) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon(DW) to Lebo Hamath.(DX) They were left to test(DY) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

The Israelites lived(DZ) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,(EA) Hivites and Jebusites.(EB) They took their daughters(EC) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.(ED)

Othniel

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord(EE) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.(EF) The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold(EG) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim(EH) king of Aram Naharaim,[i](EI) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out(EJ) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,(EK) Othniel(EL) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him,(EM) so that he became Israel’s judge[j] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim(EN) king of Aram(EO) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace(EP) for forty years,(EQ) until Othniel son of Kenaz(ER) died.

Ehud

12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(ES) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab(ET) power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites(EU) and Amalekites(EV) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[k](EW) 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab(EX) for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer(EY)—Ehud(EZ), a left-handed(FA) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute(FB) to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud(FC) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[l] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute(FD) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.(FE) 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[m](FF) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(FG) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(FH) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[n]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself(FI) in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment,(FJ) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet(FK) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,(FL) your enemy, into your hands.(FM)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan(FN) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab(FO) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace(FP) for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,(FQ) who struck down six hundred(FR) Philistines(FS) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

Again the Israelites did evil(FT) in the eyes of the Lord,(FU) now that Ehud(FV) was dead. So the Lord sold them(FW) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.(FX) Sisera,(FY) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron(FZ) and had cruelly oppressed(GA) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

Now Deborah,(GB) a prophet,(GC) the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[o] Israel at that time. She held court(GD) under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah(GE) and Bethel(GF) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoam(GG) from Kedesh(GH) in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali(GI) and Zebulun(GJ) and lead them up to Mount Tabor.(GK) I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s(GL) army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River(GM) and give him into your hands.(GN)’”

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.(GO) 10 There Barak summoned(GP) Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites,(GQ) the descendants of Hobab,(GR) Moses’ brother-in-law,[p] and pitched his tent by the great tree(GS) in Zaanannim(GT) near Kedesh.

12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,(GU) 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River(GV) all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.(GW)

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.(GX) Has not the Lord gone ahead(GY) of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed(GZ) Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.(HA) 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael,(HB) the wife of Heber the Kenite,(HC) because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor(HD) and the family of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael(HE) went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk,(HF) gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

21 But Jael,(HG) Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep,(HH) exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.(HI)

22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael(HJ) went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.(HK)

23 On that day God subdued(HL) Jabin(HM) king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.(HN)

The Song of Deborah

On that day Deborah(HO) and Barak son of Abinoam(HP) sang this song:(HQ)

“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer(HR) themselves—
    praise the Lord!(HS)

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to[q] the Lord;(HT)
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(HU)

“When you, Lord, went out(HV) from Seir,(HW)
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(HX) the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.(HY)
The mountains quaked(HZ) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(IA)
    in the days of Jael,(IB) the highways(IC) were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.(ID)
Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah,(IE) arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
God chose new leaders(IF)
    when war came to the city gates,(IG)
but not a shield or spear(IH) was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers(II) among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(IJ)
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers[r] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories(IK) of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.(IL)
12 ‘Wake up,(IM) wake up, Deborah!(IN)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(IO)
    Take captive your captives,(IP) son of Abinoam.’

13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(IQ) whose roots were in Amalek;(IR)
    Benjamin(IS) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(IT) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[s] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(IU) were with Deborah;(IV)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,(IW)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[t](IX)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?(IY)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(IZ) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(JA) remained on the coast(JB)
    and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(JC) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(JD) on the terraced fields.(JE)

19 “Kings came(JF), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(JG)
    they took no plunder of silver.(JH)
20 From the heavens(JI) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(JJ) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!(JK)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(JL)
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

24 “Most blessed of women(JM) be Jael,(JN)
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,(JO)
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(JP)
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.(JQ)
27 At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead(JR).

28 “Through the window(JS) peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,(JT)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:(JU)
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(JV) for my neck—
    all this as plunder?(JW)

31 “So may all your enemies perish,(JX) Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun(JY)
    when it rises in its strength.”(JZ)

Then the land had peace(KA) forty years.

Gideon

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(KB) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(KC) Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(KD) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(KE) and strongholds.(KF) Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites(KG) and other eastern peoples(KH) invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops(KI) all the way to Gaza(KJ) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.(KK) It was impossible to count them or their camels;(KL) they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out(KM) to the Lord for help.

When the Israelites cried out(KN) to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet,(KO) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,(KP) out of the land of slavery.(KQ) I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;(KR) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.(KS) 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship(KT) the gods of the Amorites,(KU) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

11 The angel of the Lord(KV) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah(KW) that belonged to Joash(KX) the Abiezrite,(KY) where his son Gideon(KZ) was threshing(LA) wheat in a winepress(LB) to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,(LC) mighty warrior.(LD)

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders(LE) that our ancestors told(LF) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned(LG) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have(LH) and save(LI) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan(LJ) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.(LK)

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you(LL), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign(LM) that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,(LN) and from an ephah[u](LO) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.(LP)

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,(LQ) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread(LR) with the tip of the staff(LS) that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized(LT) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”(LU)

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.(LV) You are not going to die.”(LW)

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called(LX) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah(LY) of the Abiezrites.

25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.[v] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole[w](LZ) beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of[x] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second[y] bull as a burnt offering.(MA)

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar,(MB) demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

29 They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash(MC) did it.”

30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar(MD) and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause?(ME) Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” 32 So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal[z](MF) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites(MG) and other eastern peoples(MH) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.(MI) 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on(MJ) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,(MK) summoning the Abiezrites(ML) to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,(MM) Zebulun and Naphtali,(MN) so that they too went up to meet them.(MO)

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save(MP) Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece(MQ) on the threshing floor.(MR) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know(MS) that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.(MT) Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.(MU)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  6. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  7. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  8. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
  9. Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  10. Judges 3:10 Or leader
  11. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
  12. Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  13. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
  14. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  15. Judges 4:4 Traditionally judging
  16. Judges 4:11 Or father-in-law
  17. Judges 5:3 Or of
  18. Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  19. Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  20. Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  21. Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  22. Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
  23. Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
  24. Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
  25. Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
  26. Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.

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