O my soul, march on with strength. 70 Then did the horsehoofs stamp With the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah, Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; Because they came not to the help of Jehovah, 75 To the help of Jehovah against the mighty. The wife of Heber the Kenite be, Blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; 80 She brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, And her right hand to the workmen's hammer; And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, Yea, she pierced and struck through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down : At her feet he bowed, he fell : Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. 85 The mother of Sisera looked out at the window, and cried 90 Through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots ? Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she returned answer to herself, Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; To every man a damsel or two; To Sisera a prey of divers colours, A prey of divers colours of needlework, 95 Of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the 100 necks of them that take the spoil? So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah : But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. JUNIOR K 5 LESSON XXXV GIDEON JUDGES 6.1 to 8.28 6.1. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel : and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou 10 come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished 15 because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah. 6.11. And there came the angel of Jehovah, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, 20 to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, 25 saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And Jehovah 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? And he said unto him, 30 Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, 35 I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto 40 him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened 45 cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was the angel of Jehovah, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face. And 50 Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it 1Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 6,33. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the 55 children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh ; who also was gathered after him and he sent 60 messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 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 65 earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 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. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, 70 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 1 Jehovah is peace. fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and 75 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 2 Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And Jehovah 80 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. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early 85 from the hill country of 3 Gilboa. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. And Jehovah 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 90 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. So he brought down the people unto the water and Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou 95 set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 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. And Jehovah said unto Gideon, By the three hundred 100 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. 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 105 host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. 7.9. And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host and thou 3 The text gives Gilead, which cannot be right, as Gilead is east of the Jordan. shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be 110 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. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the 115 sand by the sea side for multitude. 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 the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 120 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. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the 125 host of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do like- 130 wise and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 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, For Jehovah and for Gideon. 135 7.19. 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. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake 140 the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, For Jehovah and for Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and 145 Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host and the host fled to Beth-shittah to Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath. 4 Probably means the general's tent. And the |