ASV - Judges Chapter 5 to 6

5 Judges 5

¹Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, ²For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, For that the people offered themselves willingly, Bless ye Jehovah. ³Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto Jehovah; I will sing praise to Jehovah, the God of Israel. ⁴Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water. ⁵The mountains quaked at the presence of Jehovah, Even yon Sinai at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel. ⁶In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, And the travellers walked through byways. ⁷The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased, Until that I Deborah arose, That I arose a mother in Israel. ⁸They chose new gods; Then was war in the gates: Was there a shield or spear seen Among forty thousand in Israel? ⁹My heart is toward the governors of Israel, That offered themselves willingly among the people: Bless ye Jehovah. ¹⁰Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses, Ye that sit on rich carpets, And ye that walk by the way. ¹¹Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, Even the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.

¹²Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song: Arise, Barak, and lead away thy captives, thou son of Abinoam. ¹³Then came down a remnant of the nobles and the people; Jehovah came down for me against the mighty. ¹⁴Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek; After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples; Out of Machir came down governors, And out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff. ¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. ¹⁶Why sattest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben There were great searchings of heart. ¹⁷Gilead abode beyond the Jordan: And Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, And abode by his creeks. ¹⁸Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death, And Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

¹⁹The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan. In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money. ²⁰From heaven fought the stars, From their courses they fought against Sisera. ²¹The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. ²²Then did the horsehoofs stamp By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones. ²³Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, Because they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah against the mighty.

²⁴Blessed above women shall Jael be, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed shall she be above women in the tent. ²⁵He asked water, and she gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly dish. ²⁶She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen's hammer; And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head; Yea, she pierced and struck through his temples. ²⁷At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; At her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

²⁸Through the window she looked forth, and cried, The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots? ²⁹Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she returned answer to herself, ³⁰Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A damsel, two damsels to every man; To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, A spoil of dyed garments embroidered, Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil? ³¹So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah: But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

6 Judges 6

¹And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. ²And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. ³And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them; ⁴and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. ⁵For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it. ⁶And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.

⁷And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of Midian, ⁸that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; ⁹and 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; ¹⁰and I said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

¹¹And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. ¹²And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. ¹³And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. ¹⁴And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee? ¹⁵And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. ¹⁶And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. ¹⁷And he said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me. ¹⁸Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

¹⁹And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: 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. ²⁰And 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. ²¹Then 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 went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight. ²²And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. ²³And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. ²⁴Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father's bullock, even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it; ²⁶and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down. ²⁷Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

²⁸And 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 upon the altar that was built. ²⁹And 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. ³⁰Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was by it. ³¹And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? Or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken down his altar. ³²Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar.

³³Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. ³⁴But the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him. ³⁵And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. ³⁶And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken, ³⁷behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew 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 spoken. ³⁸And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. ³⁹And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled 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. ⁴⁰And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.