The Midianite Oppression

6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.^{(A) 2} The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel, and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. ³ For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them.^{(B) 4} They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, nor any sheep or ox or donkey.^{(C) 5} For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted, so they wasted the land as they came in.^{(D) 6} Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.^(E)

[[⁷ When the Israelites cried to the Lord on account of the Midianites, ⁸ the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery,^{(F) 9} and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you and drove them out before you and gave you their land,^{(G) 10} and I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice.”^[a]]]