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. ^(A)And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ Every man stood in his place around the camp, ^(B)and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. ^22 (C)When they blew the 300 trumpets, ^(D)the Lord set ^(E)every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,^[a] 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 (F)Gideon sent messengers throughout ^(G)all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as ^(H)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 ^(I)the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb ^(J)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 ^(K)across the Jordan.

Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna

8 ^(L)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 ^(M)the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? ^3 (N)God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” ^(O)Then their anger^[b] against him subsided when he said this.

⁴ And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and ^(P)the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. ⁵ So he said to the men of ^(Q)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, ^(R)“Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, ^(S)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, ^(T)I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” ⁸ And from there he went up to ^(U)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, ^(V)“When I come again in peace, ^(W)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 ^(X)the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men ^(Y)who drew the sword. ¹¹ And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of ^(Z)Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt ^(AA)secure. ¹² And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them ^(AB)and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

¹² And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ^13 (A)The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^(B)the God of our fathers, ^(C)glorified his servant^[a] Jesus, whom ^(D)you delivered over and ^(E)denied in the presence of Pilate, ^(F)when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you denied ^(G)the Holy and ^(H)Righteous One, and ^(I)asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and you killed ^(J)the Author of life, ^(K)whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And ^(L)his name—by ^(M)faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is ^(N)through Jesus^[b] has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that ^(O)you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But what God ^(P)foretold ^(Q)by the mouth of all the prophets, that ^(R)his Christ would ^(S)suffer, he thus fulfilled. ^19 (T)Repent therefore, and ^(U)turn back, that ^(V)your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ ^(W)appointed for you, Jesus, ^21 (X)whom heaven must receive until the time for ^(Y)restoring all the things about which ^(Z)God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^(AA)a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^(AB)to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^(AC)shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And ^(AD)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ^25 (AE)You are the sons of the prophets and of ^(AF)the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ^(AG)‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ^26 (AH)God, ^(AI)having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, ^(AJ)to bless you ^(AK)by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Behold, the Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, ^(A)the Lamb of God, who ^(B)takes away the sin ^(C)of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ^(D)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but ^(E)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John ^(F)bore witness: ^(G)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and ^(H)it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but ^(I)he who sent me to baptize ^(J)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, ^(K)this is he who baptizes ^(L)with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son^[a] of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ^(M)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ^(N)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, ^(O)“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.^{[b] 40 (P)}One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus^[c] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found ^(Q)the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^(R)John. You shall be called ^(S)Cephas” (which means ^(T)Peter^[d]).