Midianites Oppress Israel

6 Then the children of Israel did ^(A)evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of ^(B)Midian for seven years, ² and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, ^(C)the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. ³ So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the ^(D)people of the East would come up against them. ⁴ Then they would encamp against them and ^(E)destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor ^(F)donkey. ⁵ For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were ^[a]without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. ⁶ So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel ^(G)cried out to the Lord.

⁷ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, ⁸ that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the ^(H)house of ^[b]bondage; ⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and ^(I)drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; ^(J)do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My ^(K)voice.’ ”

Gideon

¹¹ Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash ^(L)the Abiezrite, while his son ^(M)Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² And the ^(N)Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is ^(O)with you, you mighty man of valor!”

¹³ Gideon said to Him, “O ^[c]my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And ^(P)where are all His miracles ^(Q)which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has ^(R)forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ^(S)“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. ^(T)Have I not sent you?”

¹⁵ So he said to Him, “O ^[d]my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed ^(U)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

¹⁶ And the Lord said to him, ^(V)“Surely I will be with you, and you shall ^[e]defeat the Midianites as one man.”

¹⁷ Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then ^(W)show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. ^18 (X)Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”

^19 (Y)So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. ²⁰ The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and ^(Z)lay them on this rock, and ^(AA)pour out the broth.” And he did so.

²¹ Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and ^(AB)fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

²² Now Gideon ^(AC)perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! ^(AD)For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”

²³ Then the Lord said to him, ^(AE)“Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” ²⁴ So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it ^[f]The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still ^(AF)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and ^(AG)tear down the altar of ^(AH)Baal that your father has, and ^(AI)cut down the ^[g]wooden image that is beside it; ²⁶ and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this ^[h]rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” ²⁷ So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

²⁸ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. ²⁹ So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” ³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”

³¹ But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you ^[i]plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” ³² Therefore on that day he called him ^(AJ)Jerubbaal,^[j] saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

³³ Then all ^(AK)the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in ^(AL)the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But ^(AM)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he ^(AN)blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. ³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to ^(AO)Asher, ^(AP)Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

³⁶ So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— ^37 (AQ)look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” ³⁸ And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, ^(AR)“Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰ And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred

7 Then ^(AS)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

² And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel ^(AT)claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ ³ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ^(AU)‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

⁴ But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” ⁵ So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” ⁶ And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. ⁷ Then the Lord said to Gideon, ^(AV)“By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his ^[k]place.” ⁸ So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁹ It happened on the same ^(AW)night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, ¹¹ and you shall ^(AX)hear what they say; and afterward ^[l]your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. ¹² Now the Midianites and Amalekites, ^(AY)all the people of the East, were lying in the valley ^(AZ)as numerous as locusts; and their camels were ^[m]without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

¹³ And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”

¹⁴ Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand ^(BA)God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”

¹⁵ And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” ¹⁶ Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: ¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’ ”

¹⁹ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. ²⁰ Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” ²¹ And ^(BB)every man stood in his place all around the camp; ^(BC)and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. ²² When the three hundred ^(BD)blew the trumpets, ^(BE)the Lord set ^(BF)every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to ^[n]Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of ^(BG)Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

²³ And the men of Israel gathered together from ^(BH)Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

²⁴ Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the ^(BI)mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and ^(BJ)seized the watering places as far as ^(BK)Beth Barah and the Jordan. ²⁵ And they captured ^(BL)two princes of the Midianites, ^(BM)Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the ^(BN)other side of the Jordan.

The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A ^[a]Contemplation of David ^(A)when Doeg the Edomite went and ^(B)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

Prophecy and Tongues

14 Pursue love, and ^(A)desire spiritual gifts, ^(B)but especially that you may prophesy. ² For he who ^(C)speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ³ But he who prophesies speaks ^(D)edification and ^(E)exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; ^[a]for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

Tongues Must Be Interpreted

⁶ But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by ^(F)revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? ⁷ Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? ⁸ For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? ⁹ So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without ^[b]significance. ¹¹ Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a ^[c]foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. ¹² Even so you, since you are ^[d]zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the ^[e]edification of the church that you seek to excel.

¹³ Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may ^(G)interpret. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. ^(H)I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing ^(I)with the understanding. ¹⁶ Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” ^(J)at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? ¹⁷ For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

¹⁸ I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; ¹⁹ yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Tongues a Sign to Unbelievers

²⁰ Brethren, ^(K)do not be children in understanding; however, in malice ^(L)be babes, but in understanding be mature.

^21 (M)In the law it is written:

says the Lord.

²² Therefore tongues are for a ^(O)sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. ²³ Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, ^(P)will they not say that you are ^[f]out of your mind? ²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. ^25 [g]And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report ^(Q)that God is truly among you.

Order in Church Meetings

²⁶ How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, ^(R)has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. ^(S)Let all things be done for ^[h]edification. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and ^(T)let the others judge. ³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, ^(U)let the first keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. ³² And ^(V)the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. ³³ For God is not the author of ^[i]confusion but of peace, ^(W)as in all the churches of the saints.

^34 (X)Let ^[j]your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the ^(Y)law also says. ³⁵ And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

³⁶ Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached? ^37 (Z)If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. ³⁸ But ^[k]if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

³⁹ Therefore, brethren, ^(AA)desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. ^40 (AB)Let all things be done decently and in order.