May 3rd

And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel honor themselves, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

So now, come, call out in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.

Then Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it will be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

So he brought the people down to the water. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set him aside by himself, and so also everyone who kneels to drink.”

Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water.

And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will save you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his place.”

So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Now it happened the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands.

But if you are afraid to go down, then both you and Purah your young man, go down to the camp,

and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened, that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his young man down to the outskirts of the armed men that were in the camp.

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

Then Gideon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.”

And his friend answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.”

Now it happened that when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”

And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, I will come to the outskirts of the camp, and it will be that just as I do so you do likewise.

And I and all who are with me will blow the trumpet. Then you also shall blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon.’ ”

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 up the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.

Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and called out, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!”

And each stood in his place around the camp. Then all of the camp ran, and they made a loud shout and fled.

So they blew 300 trumpets. And Yahweh set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole camp. And the camp fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

And the men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

Now Gideon had sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Midian and capture the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

Then they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they strongly contended with him.

But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

God has given the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he spoke this word.

Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing.

And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

But the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?”

And Gideon said, “Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

So he went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.

So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire camp of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 men who drew the sword.

And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the camp when the camp was unsuspecting.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw the whole camp into utter fright.

Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

And he captured a youth from the men of Succoth and questioned him. So the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you reproached me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’ ”

Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson.

And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.”

And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Yahweh shall rule over you.”

Yet Gideon said to them, “I would make one request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

And they said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil.

And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks.

Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.

And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

Then Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Then it happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel turned back and played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

Thus the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;

nor did they show lovingkindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.

And when the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.

And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.

For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table.

For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

And they began to argue among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.

And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’

But not so with you; rather the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.

“Now you are those who have stood by Me in My trials,

and I grant you a kingdom, just as My Father granted one to Me,

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat.

But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”

But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”

And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Not a thing.”

And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword should sell his garment and buy one.

For I tell you that this which is written must be completed in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its completion.”

And they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”