The <sc>Lordsc> said to the Israelites, &#8220;Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,

Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they follow<n id="2" /> after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.p> <p class="poetry">From Makir leaders came down,p> <p class="poetry">from Zebulun came<n id="3" /> the ones who march carrying<n id="4" /> an officer&#8217;s staff.p>

<p class="poetry">From the sky<n id="1" /> the stars<n id="2" /> fought,p> <p class="poetry">from their paths in the heavens<n id="3" /> they fought against Sisera.p>

<p class="bodytext">Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass<n id="1" /> of Heres.

They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west.<n id="1" />

The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah<n id="1" /> to make war against the Israelites.

The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush<n id="1" /> sent up a smoke signal from the city,

<t /><p class="bodytext">The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, &#8220;Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.&#8221;

The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels.<n id="1" /> This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry,<n id="2" /> purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels.<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field.<n id="1" /> The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.)<n id="2" />

When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb&#8217;s younger brother,<n id="1" /> captured it, Caleb<n id="2" /> gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife.p>

the spies spotted<n id="1" /> a man leaving the city. They said to him, &#8220;If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.&#8221;

So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died.

<p class="bodytext">When he reached Seirah,<n id="1" /> he blew a trumpet<n id="2" /> in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead.<n id="3" />

The <sc>Lordsc> did as he asked.<n id="1" /> When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl.<n id="2" />

He said to them, &#8220;Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely!<n id="1" /> I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!

Gideon continued,<n id="1" /> &#8220;I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.&#8221;<n id="2" /> (The Midianites<n id="3" /> had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city&#8217;s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places.

he took his men<n id="1" /> and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city,<n id="2" /> he attacked and struck them down.<n id="3" />