GIDEON

JDG 6:11  And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which 
was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon 
threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

14  And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou 
shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? 
behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's 
house.

16  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt 
smite the Midianites as one man.

21  Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in 
his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up 
fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then 
the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

22  And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon 
said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face 
to face.

23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt 
not die.

24  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it 
Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take 
thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and 
throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove 
that is by it:

26  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in 
the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice 
with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

27  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said 
unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the 
men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

33  Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east 
were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of 
Jezreel.

34  But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and 
Abiezer was gathered after him.

35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered 
after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto 
Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as 
thou hast said,

37  Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on 
the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know 
that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

38  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the 
fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of 
water.

39  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I 
will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the 
fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let 
there be dew.

40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and 
there was dew on all the ground.

7:1  Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, 
rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of 
the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the 
valley.

2  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too 
many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt 
themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 
Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount 
Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there 
remained ten thousand.

4  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them 
down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, 
that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go 
with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, 
the same shall not go.

5  So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto 
Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog 
lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down 
upon his knees to drink.

6  And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, 
were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon 
their knees to drink water.

7  And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will 
I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the 
other people go every man unto his place.

8  So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he 
sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those 
three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

9  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, 
get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

10  But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to 
the host:

11  And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be 
strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his 
servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

12  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east 
lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels 
were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

13  And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream 
unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of 
barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and 
smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

14  And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword 
of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God 
delivered Midian, and all the host.

15  And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the 
interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of 
Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the 
host of Midian.

16  And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a 
trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the 
pitchers.

17  And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I 
come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

18  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye 
the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the 
LORD, and of Gideon.

19  So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the 
outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but 
newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers 
that were in their hands.

20  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and 
held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands 
to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

21  And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the 
host ran, and cried, and fled.

22  And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's 
sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled 
to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

23  And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and 
out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

24  And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come 
down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah 
and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and 
took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

25  And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they 
slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, 
and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the 
other side Jordan.

8:1  And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, 
that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? 
And they did chide with him sharply.

2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not 
the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: 
and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated 
toward him, when he had said that.

4  And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred 
men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.

5  And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread 
unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after 
Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

6  And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now 
in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

7  And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and 
Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the 
wilderness and with briers.

8  And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the 
men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

9  And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in 
peace, I will break down this tower.

10  Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about 
fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children 
of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew 
sword.

11  And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east 
of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.

12  And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the 
two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

14  And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and 
he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even 
threescore and seventeen men.

15  And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and 
Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and 
Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are 
weary?

16  And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and 
briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

17  And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, 
and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the 
hand of Midian.

23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my 
son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye 
would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden 
earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25  And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a 
garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand 
and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and 
purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that 
were about their camels' necks.

27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in 
Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became 
a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

30  And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had 
many wives.

32  And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in 
the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

HEB 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of 
Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and 
Samuel, and of the prophets:

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