¹ And David numbered the people that were with him, and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.

² And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.

³ But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou shouldst succor us out of the city.

⁴ And the king said to them, What seemeth to you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

⁵ And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

⁶ So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;

⁷ Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.

⁸ For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹ And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

¹⁰ And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.

¹¹ And Joab said to the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.

¹² And the man said to Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

¹³ Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against my own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldst have set thyself against me.

¹⁴ Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

¹⁵ And ten young men that bore Joab's armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.

¹⁶ And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel: for Joab restrained the people.

¹⁷ And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

¹⁸ Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and raised for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called to this day, Absalom's place.

¹⁹ Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and inform the king, how the LORD hath avenged himself of his enemies.

²⁰ And Joab said to him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.

²¹ Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

²² Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But however, let me also, I pray thee, run after Cushi. And Joab said, Why wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?

²³ But however, said he, let me run. And he said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran Cushi.

²⁴ And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.

²⁵ And the watchman called, and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.

²⁶ And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called to the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.

²⁷ And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good news.

²⁸ And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, who hath delivered up the men that raised their hand against my lord the king.

²⁹ And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

³⁰ And the king said to him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.

³¹ And behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.

³² And the king said to Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, May the enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

³³ And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! O that I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

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

² 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.

³ 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;

⁴ And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza; and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

⁵ For they came up with their cattle, and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for 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 the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.

⁷ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,

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

⁹ And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from 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 the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

¹¹ And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹² And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, the LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

¹³ And Gideon said to him, O my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then hath all this befallen us? and where are 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.

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 to him, O my Lord, by what means 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 to him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

¹⁷ And he said to him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.

¹⁸ Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou comest again.

¹⁹ 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 to him under the oak, 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 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 fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed from 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 to him, Peace be to thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, 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 the LORD said to 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 to 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 to 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.

²⁸ 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.

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

³⁰ Then the men of the city said to 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.

³¹ And Joash said to 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 is a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.

³² Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

³³ Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east were assembled, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

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

³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was called 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 will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew shall be on the fleece only, and it shall be dry upon all the earth besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

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

³⁹ And Gideon said to God, Let not thy anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: Let me make trial, 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.