“Bring trouble ¹  to the Midianites, and destroy them,

and he ¹  delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate ²  them. Make no treaty ³  with them and show them no mercy!

So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ¹  against Jabesh Gilead. ²  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ³  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

You will defeat every fortified city and every important ¹  city. You must chop down ²  every productive ³  tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” ⁴