Midianites Oppress Israel

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, 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. 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. 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. 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. So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel (G)cried out to the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:5 innumerable

Gideon

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(A) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(B) Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(C) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(D) and strongholds.(E) Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites(F) and other eastern peoples(G) invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops(H) all the way to Gaza(I) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.(J) It was impossible to count them or their camels;(K) they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out(L) to the Lord for help.

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