7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose up early and camped beside En-harod, while the camp of Midian was north of them, by Gibeath-moreh, in the valley.

² But Adonai said to Gideon, “Too many are the people who are with you, for Me to give the Midianites into their hand. Otherwise Israel would glorify itself against Me saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ ^{[a] 3} So now, make proclamation in the ears of the people saying, ‘Whoever is afraid or anxious may turn back and leave from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people turned back, while ten thousand remained.

⁴ But Adonai said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Now it will be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This will go with you,’ he will go with you, but anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ he will not go.” ⁵ So he brought the troops down to the water, and Adonai said to Gideon, “You are to set apart everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, and everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.” ⁶ Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water. ⁷ Then Adonai said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will deliver you and give the Midianites into your hand. So let all the other people go, every man to his place.” ⁸ So the 300 took provisions and their shofarot in their hands. He sent all the other men of Israel each to his tent, but he kept the 300 men.

Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. ⁹ It came to pass the same night that Adonai said to him, “Arise, get down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, first go down to the camp with your attendant Purah. ¹¹ Then you will hear what they are saying, and after that your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went down with his attendant Purah to an outpost of the army that was in camp.

¹² Now the Midianites, the Amalekites and all the people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were countless, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. ¹³ Yet when Gideon came, behold, there was a man relating a dream to his fellow, saying, “Listen, I just now had a dream: there was a loaf of barley bread that came tumbling into the camp of Midian, came up to a tent and struck it so it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”

¹⁴ His companion answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel—God has delivered Midian and all the camp into his hand!”

¹⁵ Now when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise! For Adonai has given into your hand the camp of Midian.” ¹⁶ Then he divided the 300 men into three columns, and he put into the hands of all of them shofarot and empty pitchers, with torches inside the pitchers. ¹⁷ Then he said to them, “Watch me and do likewise. So behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do just as I do. ¹⁸ When I and all that are with me blow the shofar, then you also blow the shofarot all around the camp, and say, ‘For Adonai and for Gideon!’”

¹⁹ So Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came up to the outermost part of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch. Then they blew the shofarot and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. ²⁰ When the three columns blew the shofarot and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the shofarot in their right hands to blow, and they shouted, “A sword for Adonai and for Gideon!” ²¹ Each one stood in his place around the camp, and then the entire army ran, shouting as they fled. ²² Now when they blew the 300 shofarot, Adonai set every man’s sword against his fellow throughout the entire army. So the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

²³ Then men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. ²⁴ Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim saying, “Come down against Midian and seize the waters down to Beth-barah, all along the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and took control of the waterside as far as Beth-barah by the Jordan. ²⁵ Then they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they slew Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and they slew Zeeb at the Winepress of Zeeb. They kept pursuing Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

Gideon’s Victories, Ephod and Death

8 Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” So they criticized him sharply.

² But he said to them, “What have I now done compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? ³ God has given into your hand the princes of Midian—Oreb and Zeeb—so what was I able to do compared to you?” Their anger with him subsided after he said this.

⁴ Then Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed over. He and the 300 men with him were exhausted, yet still pursuing. ⁵ He said to the men of Succoth, “Please, give loaves of bread to the people on foot with me, for they are exhausted, and I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶ But the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand? So why we should give bread to your army?”

⁷ Gideon replied, “Therefore when Adonai delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and briers.” ⁸ From there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them similarly, but the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. ⁹ So he spoke also to the men of Penuel saying, “When I come back safely, I will tear down this tower.”

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them their armies of about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the east—the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. ¹¹ Now Gideon went up by the road of the tent dwellers on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and ambushed the camp when it was off guard. ¹² When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

¹³ Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ He captured a boy from the people of Succoth and questioned him, so he wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders—77 men. ¹⁵ When he came to the men of Succoth, he said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna—about whom you mocked me saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ¹⁶ Then he seized the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he punished the men of Succoth. ¹⁷ He also tore down the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city.

Pilate’s Decree

¹³ Now Pilate called together the ruling kohanim, the leaders, and the people. ¹⁴ And he said to them, “You brought this Man to me as one who incites the people to revolt. But having examined Him in your presence, I have found no case against this Man regarding what you accuse Him of doing. ¹⁵ Nor did Herod, for he sent Him back to us. Indeed, He has done nothing that is worthy of death. ¹⁶ Therefore I will scourge Him and release Him.” (¹⁷ )^[a]

¹⁸ But they shouted out all together, saying, “Take this fellow away! Release to us Bar-Abba!” ^{[b] 19} (He was someone who had been thrown into prison for a rebellion in the city and murder.)

²⁰ Again Pilate addressed them, wanting to release Yeshua; ²¹ but they kept shouting out, saying, “Execute, execute Him!”

²² And a third time he spoke to them, “Why? What evil has this One done? I have found in Him no fault deserving of death. Therefore, I will scourge and release Him.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts that He be executed. And their voices prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decreed that their demand be put into effect. ²⁵ And He released the one they were asking for, the one thrown in jail for insurrection and murder. But he handed over Yeshua to their will.

Executed on the Stake

²⁶ As they led Him away, they grabbed a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the countryside. They placed on him the cross-beam,^[c] to carry behind Yeshua.

²⁷ Now a great multitude of people was following Him, including women who were mourning and singing dirges for Him. ²⁸ But Yeshua, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but for yourselves and your children. ²⁹ For indeed, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are barren, and the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that did not feed.’

³¹ “For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Others, two evildoers, were also led away to be put to death with Him. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the evildoers, one on His right and the other on His left.

³⁴ But Yeshua was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Then they cast lots, dividing up His clothing.^[e]

³⁵ The people stood there watching. And even the leaders were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Messiah of God, the Chosen One!”^[f]

³⁶ The soldiers likewise mocked Him, coming up and bringing Him sour wine, ^{[g] 37} and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

³⁸ Now there was also an inscription over Him:^[h] THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁹ One of the evildoers hanging there was jeering at Him, saying, “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself—and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other one, rebuking him, replied, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We’re getting what we deserve for our actions, and rightly so—but this One has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Yeshua, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ Yeshua said to him, “Amen, I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Exalted Above All Gods

Psalm 97

Creation Rejoices in His Salvation

Psalm 98