children, saying, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? 25 For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reubén, and the children of Gád, ye have no part in the Lòrd: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. 26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altàr, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice: 27 But that it may be a witness between us and you and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord. 28 Therefore said we, that it shall be when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, behold the pattern of the altar of the Lòrd, which our fathers made, not for burnt-ófferings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. 29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from fòllowing the Lord, to build an altar for burnt-offerings, for meatofferings, or for sacrifices; besides the altar of the Lord our God, that is before his tabernacle.

GIDEON CONQUERS THE MIDIANITES.

JUDGES VI.-11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Orphrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Mìdianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty mān of vālour. 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lòrd, 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. 14 And the Lord looked upon him and said, Gò in this thy might, and thou shalt sàve Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thée ? 15 And he said unto him, O' my Lord, wherewith 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 unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18 Depart not hènce, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my prèsent, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry till thou come 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 pòt, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. 20 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.

21 And 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 fìre out of rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alàs, Ó Lōrd Gōd! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee: fear not; thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Orphrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25 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; 26 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-sàcrifice 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 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.

28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold the altar of Baal was cast down, and the

* That is, My family is of mean birth, and I have little influence even with them.

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 unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may dìe: because he hath cast down the altar of Bàal, and because he hath cut down the gròve that was by it. 31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Báal? will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet mòrning: if he be 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 gathered together and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 35 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.

JUDGES VII.-2 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. 3 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 tèn thousand. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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 on their knees to drink water. 7 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 plàce. 8 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.

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9 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arìse, get thee down unto the hòst; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host. 11 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. 12 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 nùmber, as the sand by the sea-side for multitude. 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man which 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 Mìdian, and came unto a tent and smote it that it fell, and overtùrned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joàsh, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host.

15 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, Arìse; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 16 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. 17 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. 18 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 Gìdeon.

19 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. 20 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, (0°) The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. 21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran and cried, and fled. 22 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 Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah unto Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth-bàrah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. 25 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 wine-press of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

JUDGES VIII.-1 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, 2 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 Abíezer? 3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Mìdian, Orèb 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.