¹ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

² And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

³ And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up, and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against them.

⁴ And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

⁵ For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number; and they entered into the land to destroy it.

⁶ And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah.

⁷ And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried to Jehovah because of Midian,

⁸ that Jehovah sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land,

¹⁰ and I said to you, I am Jehovah your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened to my voice.

¹¹ And an angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth that was in Ophrah, that [belonged] to Joash the Abi-ezrite. And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure [it] from the Midianites.

¹² And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

¹³ And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.

¹⁴ And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee?

¹⁵ And he said to him, Ah Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

¹⁶ And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and thou shalt smite Midian as one man.

¹⁷ And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me.

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and an ephah of flour in unleavened cakes: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the terebinth, and presented it.

²⁰ And the Angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

²¹ And the Angel of Jehovah 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. And the Angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight.

²² And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! for because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face ...

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

²⁴ And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

²⁵ And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

²⁶ and build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah that thou shalt cut down.

²⁷ And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his father's house, and the men of the city, if he did it by day, that he did it by night.

²⁸ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered up upon the altar that was built.

²⁹ And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

³⁰ And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

³¹ And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will *ye* contend for Baal? or will *ye* save him? he that contends for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be a god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down his altar.

³² And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead with him, because he has broken down his altar.

³³ And all Midian and Amalek and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁴ And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the Abi-ezrites were gathered after him.

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

³⁶ And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

³⁷ behold, I put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if dew shall be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

³⁸ And it was so. And when he rose up early on the morrow, he pressed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, a bowl-full of water.

³⁹ And Gideon said to 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, I pray thee, be dry upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

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

¹ And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

² And he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

³ God is my rock, in him will I trust -- My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence.

⁴ I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁵ For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid.

⁶ The bands of Sheol surrounded me; The cords of death encountered me;

⁷ In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And I cried to my God; And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry [came] into his ears.

⁸ Then the earth shook, and quaked; The foundations of the heavens trembled And shook because he was wroth.

⁹ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals burned forth from it.

¹⁰ And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet.

¹¹ And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; And he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

¹² And he made darkness round about him a tent, Gatherings of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹³ From the brightness before him Burned forth coals of fire.

¹⁴ Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice.

¹⁵ And he sent arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; Lightning, and discomfited them.

¹⁶ And the beds of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷ He reached forth from above, he took me, He drew me out of great waters;

¹⁸ He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; For they were mightier than I.

¹⁹ They encountered me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

²⁰ And he brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²¹ Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

²² For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³ For all his ordinances were before me, And his statutes, I did not depart from them,

²⁴ And I was upright before him, And kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁵ And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶ With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;

²⁷ With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.

²⁸ And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, [whom] thou bringest down.

²⁹ For thou art my lamp, Jehovah; And Jehovah enlighteneth my darkness.

³⁰ For by thee I have run through a troop; By my God have I leaped over a wall.

³¹ As for ùGod, his way is perfect; The word of Jehovah is tried: He is a shield to all that trust in him.

³² For who is ùGod, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?

³³ ùGod is my strong fortress, And he maketh my way perfectly smooth.

³⁴ He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And setteth me upon my high places.

³⁵ He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass.

³⁶ And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.

³⁷ Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip.

³⁸ I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed.

³⁹ And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet.

⁴⁰ And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

⁴¹ And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.

⁴² They looked, and there was none to save -- Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.

⁴³ And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them.

⁴⁴ And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me:

⁴⁵ Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me.

⁴⁶ Strangers have faded away, And they come trembling forth from their close places.

⁴⁷ Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God, the rock of my salvation,

⁴⁸ The ùGod who hath avenged me, And hath brought the peoples under me.

⁴⁹ He brought me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; From the man of violence hast thou delivered me.

⁵⁰ Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name.

⁵¹ [It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, And sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, To David, and to his seed for evermore.