4 *And athe children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2 And the Lord bsold them into the hand of cJabin king of Canaan, that reigned in cHazor; the captain of whose host was ||Sisera, which dwelt in dHarosheth of the Gentiles. 3 And the children of Israel ecried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred fchariots of iron; and twenty years ghe mightily oppressed the children of Israel. 4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between hRamah and Beth-el in imount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 *And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of kKedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount lTabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw unto thee to the mriver Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and nI will deliver him into thine hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, oIf thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall psell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called qZebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men rat his feet: and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber sthe Kenite, which was of the children of tHobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto uthe plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount lTabor. 13 And Sisera †gathered together all his fchariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which nthe Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: wis not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount lTabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And the Lord xdiscomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not †a man left. 17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a ||mantle. 19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle yof milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took za nail of the tent, and †took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. 23 So aGod subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel †prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

5 Then asang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

2  Praise ye the Lord for the bavenging of Israel,

cWhen the people willingly offered themselves.

3  Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye dprinces;

I, even I, will sing unto the Lord;

I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

4  Lord, eWhen thou wentest out of Seir,

fWhen thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,

gThe earth trembled, and the heavens dropped,

The clouds also dropped water.

5  hThe mountains †melted from before the Lord,

Even that iSinai from before the Lord God of Israel.

6  In the days of jShamgar the son of Anath,

In the days of kJael, lthe highways were unoccupied,

And the †travellers walked through †byways.

7  The inhabitants of the mvillages ceased, they ceased in Israel,

Until that I Deborah arose,

That I arose a mother in Israel.

8  They nchose new gods;

Then was war in the gates:

oWas there a shield or spear seen

Among forty thousand in Israel?

9  My heart is toward the governors of Israel,

That poffered themselves willingly among the people.

Bless ye the Lord.

10  ||Speak, ye qthat ride on white asses,

rYe that sit in judgment,

And walk by the way.

11  They that are delivered from the noise of archers in sthe places of drawing water,

There shall they rehearse the †righteous acts of the Lord,

Even the †righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his mvillages in Israel:

Then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

12  tAwake, awake, Deborah:

Awake, awake, utter a song:

Arise, Barak,

And ulead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

13  Then he made him that remaineth xhave dominion over the nobles among the people:

The Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.

14  Out of yEphraim was there a root of them against zAmalek;

After thee, Benjamin, among thy people;

Out of aMachir came down bgovernors,

And out of Zebulun they that †handle the pen of the writer.

15  And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;

Even Issachar, and also cBarak:

He was sent on †foot into the valley.

||For the divisions of Reuben there were great †thoughts of heart.

16  Why abodest thou among the dsheepfolds,

To hear the ebleatings of fthe flocks?

||For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

17  gGilead abode beyond Jordan:

And why did hDan remain in ships?

iAsher continued on the sea ||shore,

And abode in his ||breaches.

18  jZebulun and Naphtali were a people that †jeoparded their lives unto the death

In the high places of the field.

19  The kings came and fought,

Then fought the kings of Canaan

In kTaanach by the waters of lMegiddo;

mThey took no gain of money.

20  They fought from heaven;

The stars in their †courses fought against Sisera.

21  The nriver of Kishon swept them away,

That ancient river, the river Kishon.

O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

22  Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the ||pransings,

The pransings of their omighty ones.

23  Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord,

Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof;

pBecause they came not qto the help of the Lord,

To the help of the Lord against the mighty.

24  Blessed above women shall rJael the wife of Heber the Kenite be,

Blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

25  sHe asked water, and she gave him milk;

She brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

26  tShe put her hand to the nail,

And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;

And †with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head,

When she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

27  †At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down:

†At her feet he bowed, he fell:

Where he bowed, there he fell down †dead.

28  The mother of Sisera ulooked out at a window,

And cried wthrough the lattice,

Why is his chariot so xlong in coming?

Why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

29  Her wise ladies answered her,

Yea, she returned †answer to herself,

30  Have they not sped? have they not ydivided the prey;

†To every man a damsel or two;

To Sisera a prey of divers colours,

A prey of divers colours of needlework,

Of divers colours of needlework on both sides,

Meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

31  zSo let all thine enemies perish, O Lord:

But let them that love him be aas the sun bwhen he goeth forth in his might.

And cthe land had rest forty years.

6 *And the children of Israel adid evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand bof Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian †prevailed against Israel: and because of the bMidianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and ccaves, and strong holds. 3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the bMidianites came up, and dthe Amalekites, eand the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4 And they encamped against them, and fdestroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto gGaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither ||sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came has grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. 6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel icried unto the Lord. 7 *And it came to pass, when the children of Israel icried unto the Lord because of the bMidianites, 8 That the Lord sent †a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, jI brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; 9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and jdrave them out from before you, and gave you their land; 10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not kthe gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash lthe Abi-ezrite: and his son *Gideon mthreshed wheat by the winepress, †to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the nangel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is owith thee, thou mighty man of valour. 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this pbefallen us? and qwhere be all his miracles rwhich our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the bMidianites. 14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, sGo in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the bMidianites: thave not I sent thee? 15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, u||my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And the Lord said unto him, wSurely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the bMidianites as one man. 17 And he said unto him, If now xI have found grace in thy sight, then yshew me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18 zDepart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my ||present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

19 aAnd Gideon went in, and made ready †a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. 20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and blay them upon this rock, and cpour out the broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and dthere rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 22 And when Gideon eperceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! ffor because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 23 And the Lord said unto him, gPeace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it ||Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in hOphrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, ||even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and icut down the grove that is by it: 26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this †rock, ||in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. 29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 32 Therefore on that day he called him ||Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

33 Then all lthe Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in mthe valley of Jezreel. 34 *But nthe Spirit of the Lord †came upon Gideon, and he oblew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer †was gathered after him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also †was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37 pBehold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a qbowl full of water. 39 And Gideon said unto God, rLet not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

7 Then aJerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside bthe well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of cMoreh, bin the valley. 2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel dvaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, eWhosoever is fearful and bafraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. 4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I fwill try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, gBy the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. 8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him hin the valley.

9 And it came to pass the same inight, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for jI have delivered it into thine hand. 10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11 And thou shalt khear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the ||armed men that were in the host. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and lall the children of the east lay along hin the valley llike grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, mas the sand by the sea side for multitude. 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. 15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and †the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put †a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and ||lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, nThe sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. 19 So Gideon, and othe hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. 21 And they pstood every man qin his place round about the camp: and rall the host ran, and cried, and fled. 22 And the three hundred sblew the trumpets, and tthe Lord set uevery man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah ||in wZererath, and to the †border of xAbel-meholah, unto Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel ygathered themselves together zout of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all amount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim ygathered themselves together, and btook the waters unto cBeth-barah and Jordan. 25 And they took dtwo princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon ethe rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

8 And athe men of Ephraim said unto him, †Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him †sharply. 2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not bthe gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 cGod hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their †danger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

4 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and ethe three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. 5 And he said unto the men of fSuccoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people gthat follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. 6 And the princes of Succoth said, hAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army? 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, ithen I will †tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. 8 And he went up thence to jPenuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him. 9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, kWhen I come again in peace, lI will break down this tower. 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of mall the hosts of nthe children of the east: for there fell ||an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of oNobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was psecure. 12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and qtook the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and †discomfited all the host.

13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, 14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he †described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. 15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, rAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? 16 rAnd he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he †taught the men of Succoth. 17 sAnd he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. 18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at tTabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one †resembled the children of a king. 19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: uas the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 20 And 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. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and vslew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ||ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

22 Then 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 delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: wthe Lord shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the xearrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, ybecause they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside zornaments, and ||collars, and apurple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the bchains that were about their camels’ necks. 27 And Gideon made an cephod thereof, and put it in his city, even din Ophrah: and all Israel ewent thither a whoring after it: which thing became fa snare unto Gideon, and to his house. 28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. gAnd the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. 30 And Gideon had hthreescore and ten sons †of his body begotten: for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine that was in iShechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he †called Abimelech. 32 *And Gideon the son of Joash died jin a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, kin Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 33 And it came to pass, las soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and mwent a whoring after Baalim, and made nBaal-berith their god. 34 And the children of Israel oremembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: 35 pNeither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.