Chronological
The Midianites Attack Israel
6 Again the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So for seven years the Lord ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] Midian. 2 Because the ·Midianites were very powerful and were cruel to [L hand of Midian was so strong/oppressive against] Israel, the Israelites made ·hiding places [shelters; dens] in the mountains, in caves, and in ·safe places [strongholds]. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other ·peoples [L sons] from the east would come and attack them. 4 They ·camped in the land [L encamped against them] and destroyed the crops that the Israelites had planted as far away as Gaza. They left ·nothing [no sustenance/living thing] for Israel to eat, and no sheep, cattle, or donkeys. 5 The Midianites came with their tents and their ·animals [livestock] ·like swarms of [as numerous as] locusts to ·ruin [ravage; lay waste] the land. There were so many people and camels they could not be counted. 6 Israel ·became very poor [or was weakened; L was brought low] because of the Midianites, so they cried out to the Lord.
7 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] cried out to the Lord ·against [or because of] the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to them. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you out of Egypt, the ·land [L house] of slavery. 9 I ·saved [rescued; T delivered] you from the [L hand of the] Egyptians and from all those who ·were against [oppressed] you. I ·forced [drove] ·the Canaanites [L them] out of their land and gave it to you. 10 Then I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. Do not ·worship [fear; reverence] the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you did not ·obey me [L listen to my voice].”
The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon
11 The angel of the Lord [C angelic spokesperson for God, sometimes identified with the Lord himself; 2:1; Gen. 16:7; Ex. 14:19; 23:20] came and sat down under the oak tree at Ophrah that belonged to Joash, ·one of the Abiezrite people [L the Abiezrite]. Gideon, Joash’s son, was ·separating some wheat from the chaff [threshing/L beating out wheat] in a winepress to keep the wheat from the Midianites [C in a pit hidden from sight]. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, ·mighty [courageous] warrior!”
13 Then Gideon said, “·Sir [My lord], if the Lord is with us, why ·are we having so much trouble [L has all this happened to us]? Where are the ·miracles [wonderful deeds] our ancestors told us about? They said, “Didn’t the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has ·left [abandoned] us and has ·handed us over to the Midianites [L given us into the hand of Midian].”
14 The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and ·save [rescue; T deliver] Israel from the ·Midianites [L hand of Midian]. ·I am the one who is sending you. [L Am I not sending you?]”
15 But Gideon answered, “Lord, how can I ·save [rescue; T deliver] Israel? My ·family group [clan] is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the ·least important [or youngest] member of my family.”
16 The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. ·It will seem as if the Midianites you are fighting are only one man [or You will strike down the whole Midian army; L You will strike/defeat Midian as one man].”
17 Then Gideon said to the Lord, “If ·you are pleased with me [L I have found favor in your eyes], give me ·proof [a sign] that it is really you talking with me. 18 Please ·wait here [L do not leave] until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it in front of you.”
And the Lord said, “I will ·wait [stay] until you return.”
19 So Gideon went in and ·cooked [prepared] a young goat, and with ·twenty quarts [L an ephah] of flour, made ·bread without yeast [unleavened bread]. Then he put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot. He brought them out and ·gave [presented; offered] them to ·the angel [L him] under the oak tree.
20 The angel of God [6:11] said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the ·bread without yeast [unleavened bread] on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on them.” And Gideon did as he was told. 21 The angel of the Lord touched the meat and the bread with the end of ·the stick that was in his hand [L his staff]. Then fire jumped up from the rock and completely burned up the meat and the bread! And the angel of the Lord disappeared! 22 Then Gideon ·understood [realized; saw] he had been talking to the angel of the Lord. So Gideon cried out, “[Oh no; Alas; L Aha] ·Lord God [Sovereign Lord]! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 But the Lord said to Gideon, “·Calm down [L Peace to you]! Don’t be afraid! You will not die!”
24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord Is Peace. ·It still [L To this day it] stands at Ophrah, ·where the Abiezrites live [L of the Abiezrite].
Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal
25 That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the bull that belongs to your father and a second bull seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the ·Asherah idol [or Asherah pole; L Asherah; C a Canaanite fertility goddess; 3:7] beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God ·with its stones in the right order [or in the proper manner] on this ·high ground [stronghold]. ·Kill and burn a [Sacrifice as a burnt offering the] second bull on this altar, using the wood from the Asherah idol.”
27 So Gideon got ten of his servants and did what the Lord had told him to do. But Gideon was afraid that his family and the men of the city might see him, so he did it at night, not in the daytime.
28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, ·they saw that [L look; T behold] the altar for Baal ·had been destroyed [L was cut down] and that the ·Asherah idol [Asherah pole; L Asherah; v. 25] beside it had been cut down! They also saw the altar Gideon had built and the second bull that had been sacrificed on it. 29 The men of the city asked each other, “Who did this?”
After they ·asked many questions [made a careful investigation], someone told them, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”
30 So the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring your son out. He has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the ·Asherah idol [Asherah pole; L Asherah] beside it. He must die!”
31 But Joash said to ·the angry crowd around [L all those who stood against] him, “·Are you going to take Baal’s side [or Are you pleading Baal’s case; or Does Baal need you to defend him]? Are you going to ·defend [save; rescue; T deliver] him? Anyone who ·takes Baal’s side [or pleads his case; or thinks Baal needs defending] will be killed by morning! If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself. It’s his altar that has been pulled down.” 32 So on that day Gideon got the name Jerub-Baal, which means “let Baal ·fight against him [or plead his own case; or defend himself],” because Gideon pulled down Baal’s altar.
Gideon Defeats Midian
33 All the Midianites, the Amalekites, and other ·peoples from [L sons of] the east ·joined together [assembled; formed an alliance] and came across the Jordan River and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the Lord ·entered [empowered; came upon; clothed] Gideon, and he blew a trumpet to call the Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers to all of Manasseh, calling them to follow him. He also sent messengers to the people of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. So they also went up to meet Gideon and his men.
36 Then Gideon said to God, “·You said you would help me save Israel [L If you are about to deliver Israel by my hand, as you said…]. 37 [L Look; T Behold] I will put ·some wool [a wool fleece] on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the ·wool [fleece] but all of the ground is dry, then I will know that you will ·use me to save Israel [L save Israel by my hand], as you said.” 38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the ·wool [fleece], he got a full bowl of water from it.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t ·be angry with [L let your anger burn against] me if I ask just one more thing. Please let me make one more test. Let only the ·wool [fleece] be dry while the ground around it gets wet with dew.” 40 That night God did that very thing. Just the ·wool [fleece] was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.
7 Early in the morning Jerub-Baal (also called Gideon) and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod [C at the foot of Mount Gilboa]. The Midianites were camped north of them in the valley [C of Jezreel] at the bottom of the hill called Moreh. 2 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men ·to defeat the Midianites [L for me to give Midian into your hand]. I don’t want the Israelites to brag ·that they saved themselves [L saying, “My own hand has saved/T delivered me”]. 3 So now, ·announce to [L call into the ears of] the ·people [nation; army], ‘Anyone who is ·afraid [L fearful and trembling] may leave Mount Gilead [C probably another name for Gilboa] and go back home.’” So twenty-two thousand men returned home, but ten thousand remained.
4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take the men down to the water, and I will ·test [sort; sift out] them for you there. If I say, ‘This man will go with you,’ he will go. But if I say, ‘That one will not go with you,’ he will not go.”
5 So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, “Separate them into those who drink water by lapping it up like a dog [C with cupped hand making a bowl] and those who ·bend down [kneel] to drink [C with faces in the water].” 6 There were three hundred men who used their hands to bring water to their mouths, ·lapping it as a dog does [L lapping]. All the rest ·got down on their knees [kneeled] to drink.
7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Using the three hundred men who lapped the water, I will save you and ·hand Midian over to you [L give the Midianites into your hand]. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of Israel ·to their homes [L each to his tent]. But he kept three hundred men and took the ·jars [provisions] and the trumpets of those who left.
Now the camp of Midian was in the valley below Gideon. 9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up. Go down and attack the camp of the Midianites, because I will give ·them to you [L it into your hands]. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, take your servant Purah with you. 11 When you come to the camp of Midian, you will hear what they are saying. Then ·you will not be afraid [L your hands will be strengthened] to attack the camp.”
Gideon Is Encouraged
So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the ·edge [outposts; guardposts] of the enemy camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the ·peoples from [L sons of] the east were camped in that valley. ·There were so many of them they seemed like locusts [L …like locusts in numbers/greatness]. Their camels could not be counted because they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore!
13 When Gideon came to the enemy camp, he heard a man telling his friend about a dream. He was saying, “[L Look; T Behold] I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into the camp of Midian. It hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat!”
14 The man’s friend said, “·Your dream is about [L This can be nothing except] the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. God ·will hand [L has given into his hand] Midian and the whole army over to him!”
15 When Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he ·worshiped God [L bowed in worship]. Then Gideon went back to the camp of Israel and called out to them, “Get up! The Lord has handed the army of Midian ·over to you [L into your hand]!” 16 Gideon divided the three hundred men into three ·groups [companies; divisions]. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a burning torch inside.
17 Gideon told the men, “Watch me and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do what I do. 18 Surround the enemy camp. When I and everyone with me blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets, too. Then shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
Midian Is Defeated
19 So Gideon and the one hundred men with him came to the edge of the enemy camp at the beginning of the middle watch of the night, just after they had ·changed guards [posted sentries; set the watch]. Then Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. 20 All three groups of Gideon’s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. Then they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each of Gideon’s men ·stayed [stood] in his place around the camp, but the Midianites began shouting and running to escape.
22 When Gideon’s three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord ·made all the Midianites fight each other with their swords [L set the sword of a man against his companion]! The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah toward Zererah. They ran as far as the border of Abel Meholah, near the city of Tabbath [C toward the southeast]. 23 Then men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh were called out to chase the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers through all the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, saying, “Come down and attack the Midianites. Take control of the ·Jordan River [L waters; C the shallow crossing points] as far as Beth Barah before the Midianites can get to it.”
So they called out all the men of Ephraim, who took control of the ·Jordan River [waters of the Jordan ahead of them; 3:28] as far as Beth Barah. 25 The men of Ephraim captured two ·princes [leaders; commanders] of Midian named Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, and they continued chasing the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, ·who was east of [or who was beside/across; L from beyond] the Jordan River.
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