Day 160 of 365

¹Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

²The Lord said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'

³Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.' There returned of the people twenty-two thousand; but ten thousand remained.

⁴The Lord said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.

⁵So he brought down the people to the water: and the Lord said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him you shall set by himself; likewise everyone who kneels down on his knees to drink."

⁶The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people kneeled down on their knees to drink water.

⁷The Lord said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his home."

⁸So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. And the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

⁹It happened the same night, that the Lord said to him, "Arise, get down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.

¹⁰But if you fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp:

¹¹and you shall hear what they say; and afterward will your hands be strengthened to go down into the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.

¹²The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand which is on the seashore.

¹³When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his friend; and he said, "Behold, I had 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 collapsed."

¹⁴His friend answered, "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the army."

¹⁵It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped, and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, "Get up, for the Lord has delivered into your hand the army of Midian."

¹⁶He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.

¹⁷He said to them, "Look at me, and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do.

¹⁸When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, "For the Lord and for Gideon."

¹⁹So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they called out, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.'"

²¹They each stood in his place every man around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.

²²They blew the three hundred trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

²³The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.

²⁴Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against Midian, and capture the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and seized the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.

²⁵They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

¹The men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you done such a thing to us, not calling us when you went to fight with Midian?" And they argued with him fiercely.

²He said to them, "What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

³God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger subsided toward him, when he had said that.

⁴Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted, yet pursuing.

⁵He said to the men of 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. "

⁶The princes of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?"

⁷Gideon said, "Therefore when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."

⁸He went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.

¹¹And Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army, when the army was unsuspecting.

¹²Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the entire army.

¹³Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.

¹⁴He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men.

¹⁵He came to the men of Succoth, and said, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?"

¹⁶He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he disciplined the men of Succoth.

¹⁷He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king."

¹⁹He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you."

²⁰He said to Jether his firstborn, "Get up, and kill them." But the youth did not draw his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise up yourself, and kill us, for a man is judged by his strength." Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

²²Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

²³Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you."

²⁴Gideon said to them, "I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings from his plunder." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

²⁵They answered, "We will willingly give them." They spread a garment, and every one of them threw an earring from his plunder.

²⁶The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred pieces of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.

²⁷Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel prostituted themselves after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

²⁸So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and did not become a threat again. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

³⁰Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives.

³¹His concubine who was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

³²Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³It happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and played the prostitute after the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.

³⁴The children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;

³⁵neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

¹Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

²"Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, 'Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?' Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.'"

³His mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, "He is our brother."

⁴They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.

⁵He went to his father's house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.

⁶All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.

⁷When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

⁸The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, 'Reign you over us.'

⁹"But the olive tree said to them, 'Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?'

¹⁰"The trees said to the fig tree, 'Come, and reign over us.'

¹¹"But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?'

¹²"The trees said to the vine, 'Come, and reign over us.'

¹³"The vine said to them, 'Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?'

¹⁴"Then all the trees said to the bramble, 'Come, and reign over us.'

¹⁵"The bramble said to the trees, 'If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

¹⁶"Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands

¹⁷(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

¹⁸and you are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother).

¹⁹If you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice you in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:

²⁰but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech."

²¹And Jotham escaped and fled and went to Beer and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

²²Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.

²³God sent a spirit of hostility between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

²⁴that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

²⁵The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them. And it was told to Abimelech.

²⁶Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.

²⁷They went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. But why should we serve him?

²⁹Would that this people were under my hand! Then would I remove Abimelech." He said to Abimelech, "Increase your army, and come out."

³⁰When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

³¹He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, "Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers are come to Shechem; and behold, they constrain the city to take part against you.

³²Now therefore, rise up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.

³³And it shall be that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and rush on the city. And behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then do whatever you can to them."

³⁴Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.

³⁶When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Behold, there are people coming down from the tops of the mountains." Zebul said to him, "You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men."

³⁷Gaal spoke again and said, "Behold, there are people coming down by the central part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim."

³⁸Then Zebul said to him, "Where is now your mouth, that you said, 'Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?' Is not this the people that you have despised? Please go out now and fight with them."

³⁹Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

⁴⁰Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.

⁴¹Abimelech lived at Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

⁴²It happened on the next day, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.

⁴³He took the people, and divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the field; and he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city. He rose up against them, and struck them.

⁴⁴Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed against all who were in the field, and struck them.

⁴⁵Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were in it. And he destroyed the city, and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶When all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of El Berith.

⁴⁷It was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

⁴⁸Abimelech got him up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a branch from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the people who were with him, "What you have seen me do, do quickly, and do as I have done."

⁴⁹All the people likewise cut down his branch and followed Abimelech, and put them on the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the men of the Tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women fled, and all those of the city, and shut themselves in, and got them up to the roof of the tower.

⁵²Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

⁵³A certain woman threw down an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.

⁵⁴Then he called quickly to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man thrust him through, and he died.

⁵⁵When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.

⁵⁶Thus God requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in killing his seventy brothers;

⁵⁷and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God return on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

¹Why do you stand far off, Lord? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

²In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

³For the wicked boasts of his heart's cravings. He blesses the greedy, and condemns the Lord.

⁴The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.

⁵His ways are prosperous at all times. Your judgments are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.

⁶He says in his heart, "I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble."

⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

⁸He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

⁹He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.

¹⁰The helpless are crushed. They collapse. They fall under his strength.

¹¹He says in his heart, "God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it."

¹²Arise, Lord! God, lift up your hand! Do not forget the helpless.

¹³Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, "God won't call me into account?"

¹⁴But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land.

¹⁷Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,

¹⁸to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

²that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

⁷Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Remove your way far from her. Do not come near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.

¹¹You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

¹³neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer- let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. He examines all his paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²³He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.