Gideon Defeats Midian

7 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops with him got up early and camped above En Harod. Midian’s camp was north of him at the hill of Moreh in the valley.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men with you for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag and say, ‘We saved ourselves.’ ³ Announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is scared or frightened should leave Mount Gilead and go back home.’ ” So 22,000 men went back home, and 10,000 were left.

⁴ The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he must go with you. And if I say to you, ‘This one won’t go with you,’ he must not go.”

⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. The Lord said to him, “Separate those who lap water with their tongues like dogs from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred men lapped water with their hands to their mouths. All the rest of the men knelt down to drink water. ⁷ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped water I will save you and hand Midian over to you. All the other men should go home.” ⁸ So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home, but the 300 men who stayed kept all the supplies and rams’ horns.

The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁷ Our bodies are made of clay, yet we have the treasure of the Good News in them. This shows that the superior power of this treasure belongs to God and doesn’t come from us. ⁸ In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up. ⁹ We’re persecuted, but we’re not abandoned. We’re captured, but we’re not killed. ¹⁰ We always carry around the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our bodies. ¹¹ While we are alive, we are constantly handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our mortal nature. ¹² Death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ The following is written, “I believed; therefore, I spoke.” We have that same spirit of faith. We also believe; therefore, we also speak. ¹⁴ We know that the one who brought the Lord Jesus back to life will also bring us back to life through Jesus. He will present us to God together with you.

¹⁵ All this is for your sake so that, as God’s kindness ^[a] overflows in the lives of many people, it will produce even more thanksgiving to the glory of God.

Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand^(A)

6 Jesus later crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or the Sea of Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed him because they saw the miracles that he performed for the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat with his disciples. ⁴ The time for the Jewish Passover festival was near.

⁵ As Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus asked this question to test him. He already knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered, “We would need about a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

⁸ One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, ⁹ “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.)

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted.

¹² When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” ¹³ The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets.

¹⁴ When the people saw the miracle Jesus performed, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet who is to come into the world.”