Font Size
Judges 5-8
English Standard Version
Judges 5-8
English Standard Version
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 (A)Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
that (B)the people offered themselves willingly,
bless the Lord!
3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing;
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 “Lord, (C)when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
(D)the earth trembled
and the heavens dropped,
yes, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains (E)quaked before the Lord,
(F)even Sinai before the Lord,[a] the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (G)Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of (H)Jael, (I)the highways were abandoned,
and travelers kept to the byways.
7 The villagers ceased in Israel;
they ceased to be until I arose;
I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
8 (J)When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
(K)Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who (L)offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.
10 “Tell of it, (M)you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpets[b]
and you who walk by the way.
11 To the sound of musicians[c] at the watering places,
there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord,
the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.
“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.
12 (N)“Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, break out in a song!
Arise, Barak, (O)lead away your captives,
O son of Abinoam.
13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty.
14 From (P)Ephraim their root (Q)they marched down into the valley,[d]
following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
from (R)Machir marched down the commanders,
and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's[e] staff;
15 the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,
and Issachar faithful to (S)Barak;
into the valley they rushed at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
16 Why did you sit still (T)among the sheepfolds,
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
17 (U)Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
(V)and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?
(W)Asher sat still (X)at the coast of the sea,
staying by his landings.
18 (Y)Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;
(Z)Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.
19 “The kings came, they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at (AA)Taanach, by the waters of (AB)Megiddo;
(AC)they got no spoils of silver.
20 (AD)From heaven the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 (AE)The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!
22 “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs
with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,
curse its inhabitants thoroughly,
(AF)because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
24 “Most blessed of women be (AG)Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
25 (AH)He asked for water and she gave him milk;
she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
26 (AI)She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;
she struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet
he sank, he fell, he lay still;
between her feet
he sank, he fell;
where he sank,
there he fell—dead.
28 (AJ)“Out of the window she peered,
the mother of Sisera wailed through (AK)the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest princesses answer,
indeed, she answers herself,
30 ‘Have they not found and (AL)divided the spoil?—
A womb or two for every man;
spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’
31 (AM)“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
But your friends be (AN)like the sun (AO)as he rises in his might.”
(AP)And the land had rest for forty years.
Midian Oppresses Israel
6 (AQ)The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of (AR)Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and (AS)the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and (AT)the Amalekites and (AU)the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them (AV)and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come (AW)like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel (AX)cried out for help to the Lord.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (AY)I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and (AZ)drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; (BA)you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”
The Call of Gideon
11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (BB)the Abiezrite, while his son (BC)Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And (BD)the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, (BE)“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are (BF)all his wonderful deeds (BG)that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord[f] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; (BH)do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, (BI)“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, (BJ)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, (BK)“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, (BL)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, then (BM)show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please (BN)do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
19 So Gideon went into his house (BO)and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah[g] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them (BP)on this rock, and (BQ)pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. (BR)And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, (BS)“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, (BT)“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, (BU)The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at (BV)Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down (BW)the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the (BX)stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon[h] was called (BY)Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
33 Now (BZ)all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in (CA)the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But (CB)the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, (CC)and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 (CD)And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. (CE)And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
The Sign of the Fleece
36 (CF)Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, (CG)“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Gideon's Three Hundred Men
7 Then (CH)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside (CI)the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, (CJ)by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, (CK)lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, (CL)‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, (CM)“With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him (CN)in the valley.
9 That same (CO)night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, (CP)for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 (CQ)And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” (CR)Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and (CS)all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, (CT)as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”
15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with (CU)torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, (CV)‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
Gideon Defeats Midian
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. (CW)And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, (CX)and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 (CY)When they blew the 300 trumpets, (CZ)the Lord set (DA)every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,[i] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24 (DB)Gideon sent messengers throughout (DC)all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as (DD)Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured (DE)the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb (DF)at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon (DG)across the Jordan.
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
8 (DH)Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not (DI)the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 (DJ)God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” (DK)Then their anger[j] against him subsided when he said this.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and (DL)the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of (DM)Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, (DN)“Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, (DO)that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, (DP)I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to (DQ)Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, (DR)“When I come again in peace, (DS)I will break down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of (DT)the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men (DU)who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of (DV)Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt (DW)secure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them (DX)and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, (DY)‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 (DZ)And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at (EA)Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. (EB)As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and (EC)killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took (ED)the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon's Ephod
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; (EE)the Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, (EF)because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels[k] of gold, besides (EG)the crescent ornaments and (EH)the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon (EI)made an ephod of it and put it in his city, (EJ)in Ophrah. And all Israel (EK)whored after it there, and it became a (EL)snare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. (EM)And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
The Death of Gideon
29 (EN)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had (EO)seventy sons, his own offspring,[l] for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine (EP)who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died (EQ)in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, (ER)at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 (ES)As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and (ET)whored after the Baals and made (EU)Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel (EV)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35 (EW)and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord
- Judges 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets
- Judges 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Judges 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek
- Judges 5:14 Hebrew commander's
- Judges 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16
- Judges 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Judges 6:32 Hebrew he
- Judges 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah
- Judges 8:3 Hebrew their spirit
- Judges 8:26 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Judges 8:30 Hebrew who came from his own loins
Judges 5-8
New International Version
Judges 5-8
New International Version
The Song of Deborah
5 On that day Deborah(A) and Barak son of Abinoam(B) sang this song:(C)
2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer(D) themselves—
praise the Lord!(E)
3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I, even I, will sing to[a] the Lord;(F)
I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(G)
4 “When you, Lord, went out(H) from Seir,(I)
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(J) the heavens poured,
the clouds poured down water.(K)
5 The mountains quaked(L) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(M)
in the days of Jael,(N) the highways(O) were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.(P)
7 Villagers in Israel would not fight;
they held back until I, Deborah,(Q) arose,
until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders(R)
when war came to the city gates,(S)
but not a shield or spear(T) was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with Israel’s princes,
with the willing volunteers(U) among the people.
Praise the Lord!
10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(V)
sitting on your saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers[b] at the watering places.
They recite the victories(W) of the Lord,
the victories of his villagers in Israel.
“Then the people of the Lord
went down to the city gates.(X)
12 ‘Wake up,(Y) wake up, Deborah!(Z)
Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(AA)
Take captive your captives,(AB) 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,(AC) whose roots were in Amalek;(AD)
Benjamin(AE) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(AF) captains came down,
from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[c] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(AG) were with Deborah;(AH)
yes, Issachar was with Barak,(AI)
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[d](AJ)
to hear the whistling for the flocks?(AK)
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(AL) stayed beyond the Jordan.
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(AM) remained on the coast(AN)
and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(AO) risked their very lives;
so did Naphtali(AP) on the terraced fields.(AQ)
19 “Kings came(AR), they fought,
the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(AS)
they took no plunder of silver.(AT)
20 From the heavens(AU) the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(AV) swept them away,
the age-old river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul; be strong!(AW)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(AX)
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(AY) be Jael,(AZ)
the wife of Heber the Kenite,(BA)
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(BB)
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.(BC)
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(BD).
28 “Through the window(BE) peered Sisera’s mother;
behind the lattice she cried out,(BF)
‘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:(BG)
a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(BH) for my neck—
all this as plunder?(BI)’
31 “So may all your enemies perish,(BJ) Lord!
But may all who love you be like the sun(BK)
when it rises in its strength.”(BL)
Then the land had peace(BM) forty years.
Gideon
6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(BN) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(BO) 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(BP) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(BQ) and strongholds.(BR) 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites(BS) and other eastern peoples(BT) invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops(BU) all the way to Gaza(BV) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.(BW) It was impossible to count them or their camels;(BX) they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out(BY) to the Lord for help.
7 When the Israelites cried out(BZ) to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet,(CA) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,(CB) out of the land of slavery.(CC) 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;(CD) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.(CE) 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship(CF) the gods of the Amorites,(CG) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”
11 The angel of the Lord(CH) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah(CI) that belonged to Joash(CJ) the Abiezrite,(CK) where his son Gideon(CL) was threshing(CM) wheat in a winepress(CN) to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,(CO) mighty warrior.(CP)”
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(CQ) that our ancestors told(CR) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned(CS) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have(CT) and save(CU) 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(CV) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.(CW)”
16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you(CX), 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(CY) 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,(CZ) and from an ephah[e](DA) 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.(DB)
20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,(DC) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread(DD) with the tip of the staff(DE) 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(DF) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”(DG)
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.(DH) You are not going to die.”(DI)
24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called(DJ) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah(DK) 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.[f] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole[g](DL) beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of[h] 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[i] bull as a burnt offering.(DM)”
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,(DN) 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(DO) 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(DP) 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?(DQ) 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[j](DR) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”
33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites(DS) and other eastern peoples(DT) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.(DU) 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on(DV) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,(DW) summoning the Abiezrites(DX) to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,(DY) Zebulun and Naphtali,(DZ) so that they too went up to meet them.(EA)
36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save(EB) Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece(EC) on the threshing floor.(ED) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know(EE) 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.(EF) 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.(EG)
Gideon Defeats the Midianites
7 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal(EH) (that is, Gideon(EI)) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod.(EJ) The camp of Midian(EK) was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.(EL) 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength(EM) has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.(EN)’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many(EO) men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them(EP) drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.(EQ) Let all the others go home.”(ER) 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.(ES) 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites(ET) and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts.(EU) Their camels(EV) could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.(EW)
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash,(EX) the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped.(EY) He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”(EZ) 16 Dividing the three hundred men(FA) into three companies,(FB) he placed trumpets(FC) and empty jars(FD) in the hands of all of them, with torches(FE) inside.
17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets,(FF) then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars(FG) that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches(FH) in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword(FI) for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.(FJ)
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded,(FK) the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other(FL) with their swords.(FM) The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah(FN) near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher(FO) and all Manasseh were called out,(FP) and they pursued the Midianites.(FQ) 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan(FR) ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb(FS). They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb,(FT) and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites(FU) and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.(FV)
Zebah and Zalmunna
8 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon,(FW) “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?(FX)”(FY) And they challenged him vigorously.(FZ)
2 But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?(GA) 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb,(GB) the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.
4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan(GC) and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth,(GD) “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out,(GE) and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,(GF) the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth(GG) said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread(GH) to your troops?”(GI)
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna(GJ) into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel[k](GK) and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”(GL)
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.(GM) 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah(GN) and Jogbehah(GO) and attacked the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
13 Gideon son of Joash(GP) then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.(GQ) 14 He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth,(GR) the elders(GS) of the town. 15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?(GT)’” 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson(GU) by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel(GV) and killed the men of the town.(GW)
18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?(GX)”
“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives,(GY) if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments(GZ) off their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule(HA) over you.” 24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring(HB) from your share of the plunder.(HC)” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites(HD) to wear gold earrings.)
25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,[l] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains(HE) that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod,(HF) which he placed in Ophrah,(HG) his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare(HH) to Gideon and his family.(HI)
Gideon’s Death
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head(HJ) again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace(HK) forty years.
29 Jerub-Baal(HL) son of Joash(HM) went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons(HN) of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine,(HO) who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.(HP) 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age(HQ) and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.(HR) They set up Baal-Berith(HS) as their god(HT) 34 and did not remember(HU) the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal(HV) (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.(HW)
Footnotes
- Judges 5:3 Or of
- Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
- Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
- Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
- Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
- Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.
- Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
- Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.