Gideon

11Then an angel of the LORD came. He sat down under an oak tree in the town of Ophrah. The tree belonged to Joash, a man from the family of Abiezer. His son Gideon was beating wheat down inside a winepress. He was hiding it from the Midianites.

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.

NoteAn angel is a messenger sent from God. Wheat is beaten to knock the seeds loose from the dry stalks. People usually did that outside, on a windy hill. A winepress was a pit cut down into rock for squashing grapes. Gideon worked down inside it so nobody could see him.

12The angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. He said, "The LORD is with you, you brave and strong man."

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

13Gideon said, "Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Our fathers told us about the wonderful things he did. They said the LORD brought us up out of Egypt. But now he has left us. He has handed us over to Midian."

And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

Note"Our fathers" means grandparents and great-grandparents from long ago.

14The LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have. Save Israel from Midian. I am the one sending you."

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?

15Gideon said, "Please, sir, how can I save Israel? My family is the weakest one in the tribe of Manasseh. And I am the youngest in my family."

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.

NoteIsrael was made of big family groups called tribes. Manasseh was the name of one of them.

16The LORD said to him, "I will be with you. You will beat the Midianites as easily as beating one man."

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

17Gideon said, "If you are pleased with me, show me a sign. Then I will know it is really you talking with me."

And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

NoteA sign was something you could see that proved a promise was real.

18"Please do not go away until I come back. I want to bring you a gift and set it in front of you." The LORD said, "I will wait until you come back."

Depart not hence, 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.

NoteBringing food to an important guest was a way to show honor.

19Gideon went inside and cooked a young goat. He made flat bread with no yeast from a big sack of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought it all out to the angel under the oak tree and set it down.

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 him under the oak, and presented it.

NoteYeast makes bread puff up. Bread with no yeast stays flat and is quick to make. The King James says "an ephah of flour." That was about twenty pounds, enough bread for many people. Broth is the water the meat cooked in, like soup.

20The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the bread. Put them on this rock. Then pour out the broth." Gideon did 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.

21The angel held out the walking stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the tip. Fire jumped up out of the rock and burned it all up. Then the angel of the LORD was gone.

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.

NoteA staff is a long walking stick. Shepherds and travelers carried one everywhere.

22Now Gideon knew that he had seen the angel of the LORD. He said, "Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

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.

NotePeople back then believed that seeing God close up would kill them. That is why Gideon was so afraid.

23But the LORD said to him, "Peace to you. Do not be afraid. You will not die."

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

Note"Peace be unto thee" was a kind, everyday greeting. It meant "may all be well with you."

24So Gideon built an altar there for the LORD. He named it Jehovah-shalom, which means "The LORD is peace." It still stands in Ophrah today, in the land of the family of Abiezer.

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

NoteAn altar was a table built of stones. People burned gifts on it for God. Back then people often gave a place a name that told what happened there.

25That same night the LORD said to Gideon, "Take your father's young bull, and the second bull that is seven years old. Pull down your father's altar to the god Baal. Cut down the tall wooden pole beside it."

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:

NoteBaal was a god that the peoples around Israel prayed to. They believed he sent rain to make their crops grow. The tall wooden pole stood for a goddess named Asherah. Poles like that were often set up beside Baal's altar.

26"Then build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this stronghold, a strong safe place. Build it the right way. Take the second bull and burn it there as a gift. Use the wood from the pole you cut down."

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.

NoteBurning an animal on an altar was the usual way to give God a gift. The smoke rose up, and the gift belonged to God.

27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the LORD said. But he was afraid of his family and the men of the town. So he did it at night instead of in the daytime.

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.

NoteServants were workers who lived and worked in a rich family's house.

28The men of the town got up early in the morning. They saw that Baal's altar was pulled down. The pole beside it was cut down. The second bull had been burned on a new altar.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

29They asked each other, "Who did this?" They asked around carefully. Then they said, "Gideon, the son of Joash, did it."

And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

30Then the men of the town said to Joash, "Bring your son out here. He must die. He pulled down Baal's altar and cut down the pole beside it."

Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

31Joash said to the angry crowd, "Are you going to argue for Baal? Are you going to rescue him? Anyone who argues for him will be put to death this morning. If Baal is really a god, let him argue for himself. It was his own altar that was pulled down."

And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.

NoteTo "plead" means to speak up for someone, the way a lawyer does. Joash is saying Baal should stick up for himself.

32So that day they gave Gideon the name Jerubbaal. It means "Let Baal argue with him." They said this because Gideon pulled down Baal's altar.

Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

33Then all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people from the east came together. They crossed the river and camped in the valley of Jezreel.

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.

NoteThe valley of Jezreel is wide and flat, with good farm land. Armies liked to camp and fight there. The river they crossed was the Jordan.

34But the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon. He blew a horn to call people to fight. The men of Abiezer came and followed him.

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

NoteThe horn was a ram's horn, blown like a trumpet. Its loud sound told men to grab their weapons and come. When God's Spirit came on someone, it meant God gave that person power and courage.

35He sent messengers all through Manasseh, and those men followed him too. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. They came up to join him.

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.

NoteAsher, Zebulun, and Naphtali were other tribes, other big family groups of Israel.

36Gideon said to God, "If you are going to save Israel through me, as you said,"

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

37"Look, I will lay a piece of sheep's wool on the ground where grain is beaten. Let the wool get wet with dew in the night. Let all the ground around it stay dry. Then I will know you will save Israel through me, just as you 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 earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

NoteA fleece is the woolly coat cut off a sheep in one piece. Dew is water that quietly wets the ground during the night. Grain was beaten on a flat, hard patch of ground called a threshing floor.

38And that is what happened. Gideon got up early the next morning. He squeezed the wool together. He wrung enough water out of it to fill a bowl.

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.

39Gideon said to God, "Please do not be angry with me. Let me speak just one more time. Let me test the wool once more. This time let the wool be dry. Let dew cover all the ground."

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.

NoteThe King James says "let not thine anger be hot against me." That is a polite way of saying, please do not be angry with me.

40That night God did it. Only the wool was dry, and dew covered all the ground.

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

1Gideon, who was also called Jerubbaal, got up early. All his men came with him. They set up camp beside the spring of Harod. The army of Midian camped north of them, in the valley by the hill of Moreh.

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.

NoteGideon had two names. Jerubbaal was the second one, like a nickname. Midian was a people who kept raiding Israel and taking their food. A spring is a place where fresh water comes up out of the ground.

2The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men. If I let this many win, Israel will brag. They will say, 'We saved ourselves by our own strength.'

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.

NoteWhen you see LORD in big letters, it stands for God's own special name. Israel is the name of God's people, and also of their whole land.

3So tell the men this: 'Anyone who is scared and shaking may go home now. Leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men went home. Ten thousand stayed.

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.

NoteTwenty-two thousand is a very big crowd of men. Only ten thousand were left, and that is still a lot. Mount Gilead was a hill nearby.

4Then the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water. I will sort them out for you there. If I say a man should go with you, he goes. If I say a man should not go, he stays."

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.

5So Gideon brought the men down to the water. The LORD said to him, "Watch how each man drinks. Some will lap the water with their tongue, like a dog. Put those men in one group. Put the men who kneel down to drink in another group."

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.

6Three hundred men lapped the water from their hands. All the rest knelt down 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.

7The LORD said to Gideon, "I will save you with these three hundred men who lapped. I will hand Midian over to you. Send all the other men home."

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.

8So the three hundred men took the food and the horns. Gideon sent all the other men of Israel home to their tents. He kept the three hundred with him. The camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

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.

NoteThe horns were made from the horns of rams, which are male sheep. Blowing one made a loud sound, like a trumpet. Soldiers slept in tents, so going 'home to their tents' means going back to their families.

9That same night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up. Go down to the enemy camp. I have handed it over to you.

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.

10But if you are afraid to go, take your servant Purah with you.

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

NoteA servant was a helper who worked for someone every day.

11Listen to what they are saying there. Then you will feel brave enough to attack." So Gideon and Purah went down to the edge of the camp, where armed guards stood.

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.

12The men of Midian and Amalek and other peoples from the east filled the valley. There were as many of them as locusts. Their camels could not be counted, like sand on the seashore.

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.

NoteAmalek was another people who fought against Israel. Locusts are bugs like grasshoppers. They come in huge swarms, too many to count. Camels are big animals people rode and packed things on.

13When Gideon got there, a man was telling his friend a dream. He said, "Listen, I had a dream. A round loaf of barley bread came rolling into our camp. It hit a tent so hard that the tent flipped over and fell flat."

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.

NoteBarley is a grain, like wheat. Barley bread was the cheap kind that poor people ate. Long ago, people believed a dream could tell what would happen next.

14His friend answered, "That can only mean one thing. It is the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the man from Israel. God has handed Midian and our whole army over to him."

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.

Note'The sword of Gideon' means Gideon and his fighting men. Naming a sword was a way of talking about a whole army.

15When Gideon heard the dream and what it meant, he bowed down and worshiped God. He went back to the camp of Israel and said, "Get up! The LORD has handed the army of Midian over to you."

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.

NoteTo worship means to bow down and tell God how great he is.

16He split the three hundred men into three groups. He gave each man a horn to blow. He also gave each man an empty clay jar with a torch inside it.

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.

NoteA torch is a stick with fire burning on one end. The clay jars were like big pots. Putting a torch inside a jar hid its light until the jar broke.

17He told them, "Watch me and do what I do. When I reach the edge of their camp, copy me.

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.

18When my group and I blow our horns, you blow yours too. Do it all around the camp. Then shout, 'A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!'"

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.

NoteA shout like this was a war cry. Armies yelled together before a fight so their enemies would hear them.

19Gideon and his hundred men reached the edge of the camp late at night. The guards had just changed places. Gideon's men blew their horns and smashed the jars in their hands.

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.

NoteThe night was split into parts called watches. Guards took turns staying awake for each part. This was the middle part, near the middle of the night.

20All three groups blew their horns and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands. They held the horns in their right hands to blow. And they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

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.

21Each man stood still in his own spot around the camp. The whole enemy army ran, shouting as they fled.

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

22As the three hundred horns blew, the LORD made the enemy soldiers turn their swords on each other. That happened all through the camp. The army ran away toward Beth-shittah, toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

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.

NoteBeth-shittah, Zererah, Abel-meholah, and Tabbath are all names of places. The army ran past them trying to escape.

23Then men of Israel were called out from the families of Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh. They chased after the men of Midian.

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.

NoteNaphtali, Asher, and Manasseh are names of big family groups in Israel. Each one came from one of Jacob's sons long before.

24Gideon sent messengers all through the hills of Ephraim. He said, "Come down and fight Midian. Get to the river crossings before they do, all the way to Beth-barah." So all the men of Ephraim came and took the crossings of the Jordan River, as far as Beth-barah.

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.

NoteEphraim was another big family group in Israel. A river crossing is a shallow place where people can walk across. The Jordan was the big river running down the land.

25They caught Oreb and Zeeb, the two leaders of Midian. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. They killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They kept chasing Midian. Then they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan River.

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.

NoteA winepress was a place where people squashed grapes to make juice. Bringing the heads back proved these two leaders were really beaten. Soldiers long ago did that to show they had won.

1The men of Ephraim, one of Israel's family groups, came to Gideon. They said, "Why did you treat us this way? You went to fight Midian and never called us." They argued with him angrily.

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.

NoteMidian was a desert people who kept raiding Israel's farms. Ephraim was angry at being left out of the fight. Sharing in a victory meant sharing in the food and treasure taken.

2Gideon said, "What I did is small next to what you did. Your family picked up the last few grapes. That was better than my whole family's grape harvest."

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?

NoteWhen grapes were picked, poor people came after and took what was left. Those leftovers were called gleanings. Gideon says Ephraim's leftovers beat his family's whole harvest. It was a polite way to say their part was bigger.

3"God handed you Oreb and Zeeb, the two leaders of Midian. What could I do next to that?" When he said this, their anger cooled down.

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.

NoteOreb and Zeeb were two Midianite leaders. The men of Ephraim had caught them in the story just before this one.

4Gideon came to the Jordan River and crossed it. His three hundred men crossed with him. They were worn out, but they kept chasing the enemy.

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

NoteThe Jordan is the big river running down the middle of the land. Crossing it took Gideon away from home and out into wild country.

5He said to the men of the town of Succoth, "Please give my men some bread. They are worn out. I am still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

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.

NoteSuccoth was a town of Israelites, Gideon's own people. That is why he expected them to hand over bread without arguing.

6But the leaders of Succoth said, "Have you caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet? Why should we give bread to your army?"

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?

NoteThe King James says, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand." To have someone's hand meant to have caught him. The men are asking, have you won yet? They did not want to help unless Gideon was sure to win.

7Gideon said, "Then when the LORD hands Zebah and Zalmunna to me, I will come back. I will tear your skin with sharp desert thorns and prickly branches."

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.

8From there he went up to the town of Penuel and asked for the same help. The men of Penuel answered him just like the men of Succoth had.

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.

9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, "When I come back safe, I will knock down this tower."

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

NoteA town built one tall stone tower as a safe place. People ran inside it when enemies came. Knocking the tower down left the town wide open.

10Zebah and Zalmunna were at a place called Karkor with their army. About fifteen thousand men were left. They were all that remained of the armies from the east. A hundred and twenty thousand fighting men had already died.

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.

11Gideon went up by the road where the tent people lived, east of Nobah and Jogbehah. He attacked the army by surprise, when they thought they were safe.

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.

NoteSome people lived in tents instead of houses. They moved around with their sheep and goats to find grass.

12Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but Gideon chased them. He caught both kings of Midian. He scattered their whole army in panic.

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.