Old/New Testament
Gideon Reduces the Ranks
7 Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men[a] got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod.[b] The Midianites[c] were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you.[d] Israel might brag,[e] ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’[f] 3 Now, announce to the men,[g] ‘Whoever is shaking with fear[h] may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’”[i] 22,000 men[j] went home;[k] 10,000 remained. 4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men.[l] Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more.[m] When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go;[n] when I say,[o] ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.”[p] 5 So he brought the men[q] down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.”[r] 6 Only 300 men lapped with their hands to their mouths;[s] the rest of the men[t] kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will deliver the whole army[u] and I will hand Midian over to you.[v] The rest of the men should go home.”[w] 8 The men[x] who were chosen[y] took supplies[z] and their trumpets. Gideon[aa] sent all the men of Israel back to their homes;[ab] he kept only 300 men. Now the Midianites[ac] were camped down below[ad] in the valley.
Gideon Reassured of Victory
9 That night the Lord said to Gideon,[ae] “Get up! Attack[af] the camp, for I am handing it over to you.[ag] 10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant 11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave[ah] and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp.[ai] 12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts.[aj] Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had.[ak] The man[al] said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw[am] a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.”[an] 14 The other man said,[ao] “Without a doubt this symbolizes[ap] the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”
Gideon Routs the Enemy
15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God.[aq] Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 16 He divided the 300 men into three units.[ar] He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.[as] 17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely![at] I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
19 Gideon took 100 men to the edge of the camp[au] at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.[av] 20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right.[aw] Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 They stood in order[ax] all around the camp. The whole Midianite[ay] army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away.[az] 22 When the 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords[ba] throughout[bb] the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went[bc] to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites.[bd]
Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites
24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites.[be] Take control of the fords of the streams[bf] all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.”[bg] When all the Ephraimites had assembled,[bh] they took control of the fords[bi] all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb.[bj] They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb[bk] in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites[bl] and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.[bm]
8 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us[bn] when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him. 2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes[bo] are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest![bp] 3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?”[bq] When he said this, they calmed down.[br]
Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings
4 Now Gideon and his 300 men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.[bs] 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give[bt] some loaves of bread to the men[bu] who are following me,[bv] because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 The officials of Sukkoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give[bw] bread to your army?”[bx] 7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help,[by] after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh[bz] your skin[ca] with[cb] desert thorns and briers.” 8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request.[cc] The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Sukkoth had.[cd] 9 He also threatened[ce] the men of Penuel, warning,[cf] “When I return victoriously,[cg] I will tear down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about 15,000 survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; 120,000 sword-wielding soldiers had been killed.[ch] 11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads[ci] east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army.[cj] 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon[ck] chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised[cl] their entire army.
13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass[cm] of Heres. 14 He captured a young man from Sukkoth[cn] and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Sukkoth’s officials and city leaders—seventy-seven men in all.[co] 15 He approached the men of Sukkoth and said, “Look what I have![cp] Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’”[cq] 16 He seized the leaders[cr] of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Sukkoth with them.[cs] 17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.
18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me[ct] the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”[cu] 19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear,[cv] as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on![cw] Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword,[cx] because he was still young. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon,[cy] “Come on,[cz] you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.”[da] So Gideon killed[db] Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod
22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.”[dc] 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 24 Gideon continued,[dd] “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.”[de] (The Midianites[df] had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.”[dg] So they[dh] spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to 1,700 gold shekels.[di] This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry,[dj] purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels.[dk] 27 Gideon used all this to make[dl] an ephod,[dm] which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites[dn] prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it[do] there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Gideon’s Story Ends
28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken.[dp] The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time.[dq] 29 Then Jerub Baal son of Joash went home and settled down.[dr] 30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives.[ds] 31 His concubine,[dt] who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech.[du] 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very[dv] old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Israel Returns to Baal Worship
33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal Berith[dw] their god. 34 The Israelites did not remain true[dx] to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 35 They did not treat[dy] the family of Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.
The Call of the Disciples
5 Now[a] Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[b] and the crowd was pressing around him[c] to hear the word of God. 2 He[d] saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into[e] one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then[f] Jesus[g] sat down[h] and taught the crowds from the boat.[i] 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower[j] your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon[k] answered,[l] “Master,[m] we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word[n] I will lower[o] the nets.” 6 When[p] they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.[q] 7 So[r] they motioned[s] to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.[t] 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord,[u] for I am a sinful man!”[v] 9 For[w] Peter[x] and all who were with him were astonished[y] at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners.[z] Then[aa] Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on[ab] you will be catching people!”[ac] 11 So[ad] when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed[ae] him.
Healing a Leper
12 While[af] Jesus[ag] was in one of the towns,[ah] a man came[ai] to him who was covered with[aj] leprosy.[ak] When[al] he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground[am] and begged him,[an] “Lord, if[ao] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 So[ap] he stretched out his hand and touched[aq] him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then[ar] he ordered the man[as] to tell no one,[at] but commanded him,[au] “Go[av] and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering[aw] for your cleansing, as Moses commanded,[ax] as a testimony to them.”[ay] 15 But the news about him spread even more,[az] and large crowds were gathering together to hear him[ba] and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself[bb] frequently withdrew[bc] to the wilderness[bd] and prayed.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.