my father fought for you; he risked his life ¹  and delivered you from Midian’s power. ² 

the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian ¹  when they oppressed you? ²  You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. ³ 

When the Ammonites attacked, ¹  the leaders ²  of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back ³  from the land of Tob.

Manoah’s wife ¹  gave birth to a son and named him Samson. ²  The child grew and the Lord empowered ³  him.

Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ¹ 

So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” ¹ 

Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived ¹  me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.”

The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ¹ 

The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹ 

So the people came to Bethel ¹  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ² 

The ¹  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ² 

When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ¹  The man ²  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ³  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ⁴ 

When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ¹  You have brought me disaster! ²  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ³ 

On the fourth ¹  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ²  If you refuse, ³  we will burn up ⁴  you and your father’s family. ⁵  Did you invite us here ⁶  to make us poor?” ⁷ 

The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ¹  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

That entire generation passed away; ¹  a new generation grew up ²  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ³ 

When Gideon realized ¹  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²  said, “Oh no! ³  Master, Lord! ⁴  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

The Lord did as he asked. ¹  When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. ² 

Three hundred men lapped; ¹  the rest of the men ²  kneeled to drink water.

When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon ¹  chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised ²  their entire army.