The Judges & Ruth

And Joash saith to all who have stood against him, `Ye, do ye plead for Baal? ye--do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him is put to death during the morning; if he is a god he himself doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'

And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, `The Baal doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'

And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the valley of Jezreel,

and the Spirit of Jehovah hath clothed Gideon, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;

and messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them.

And Gideon saith unto God, `If Thou art Saviour of Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken,

lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought--then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;'

and it is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece--the fulness of the bowl, of water.

And Gideon saith unto God, `Let not Thine anger burn against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray Thee, only this time with the fleece--let there be, I pray Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth let there be dew.'

And God doth so on that night, and there is drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth there hath been dew.

And Jerubbaal (he is Gideon) riseth early, and all the people who are with him, and they encamp by the well of Harod, and the camp of Midian hath been on the south of him, on the height of Moreh, in the valley.

And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Too many are the people who are with thee for My giving Midian into their hand, lest Israel beautify itself against Me, saying, My hand hath given salvation to me;

and now, call, I pray thee, in the ears of the people, saying, Whoso is afraid and trembling, let him turn back and go early from mount Gilead;' and there turn back of the people twenty and two thousand, and ten thousand have been left.

And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Yet are the people too many; bring them down unto the water, and I refine it for thee there; and it hath been, he of whom I say unto thee, This doth go with thee--he doth go with thee; and any of whom I say unto thee, This doth not go with thee--he doth not go.'

And he bringeth down the people unto the water, and Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Every one who lappeth with his tongue of the water as the dog lappeth--thou dost set him apart; also every one who boweth on his knees to drink.'

And the number of those lapping with their hand unto their mouth is three hundred men, and all the rest of the people have bowed down on their knees to drink water.

And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `By the three hundred men who are lapping I save you, and have given Midian into thy hand, and all the people go, each to his place.'

And the people take the provision in their hand, and their trumpets, and every man of Israel he hath sent away, each to his tents; and on the three hundred men he hath kept hold, and the camp of Midian hath been by him at the lower part of the valley.

And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith unto him, `Rise, go down into the camp, for I have given it into thy hand;

and if thou art afraid to go down--go down, thou and Phurah thy young man, unto the camp,

and thou hast heard what they speak, and afterwards are thy hands strengthened, and thou hast gone down against the camp.' And he goeth down, he and Phurah his young man, unto the extremity of the fifties who are in the camp;

and Midian and Amalek, and all the sons of the east are lying in the valley, as the locust for multitude, and of their camels there is no number, as sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude.

And Gideon cometh in, and lo, a man is recounting to his companion a dream, and saith, `Lo, a dream I have dreamed, and lo, a cake of barley-bread is turning itself over into the camp of Midian, and it cometh in unto the tent, and smiteth it, and it falleth, and turneth it upwards, and the tent hath fallen.'

And his companion answereth and saith, `This is nothing save the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; God hath given into his hand Midian and all the camp.'

And it cometh to pass, when Gideon heareth the narration of the dream and its interpretation, that he boweth himself, and turneth back unto the camp of Israel, and saith, `Rise ye, for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.'