Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites. ¹ 

He said to the men of Succoth, “Give ¹  some loaves of bread to the men ²  who are following me, ³  because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.

yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out ¹  by her unending pleas.’” ² 

But so that I may not delay ¹  you any further, I beg ²  you to hear us briefly ³  with your customary graciousness. ⁴ 

We do hard work, toiling with our own hands. When we are verbally abused, we respond with a blessing, when persecuted, we endure,

Therefore we do not despair, ¹  but even if our physical body ²  is wearing away, our inner person ³  is being renewed day by day.

For in this earthly house ¹  we groan, because we desire to put on ²  our heavenly dwelling,

When ¹  the hands of Moses became heavy, ²  they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other, ³  and so his hands were steady ⁴  until the sun went down.

Now Jacob cooked some stew, ¹  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished.

Fish ¹  in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable ²  to drink water from the Nile.”’”

On that day the army struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, and they became very tired.

Night pierces ¹  my bones; ²  my gnawing pains ³  never cease.

If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹  or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

I collapse ¹  from grief. Sustain me by your word! ² 

My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ¹  I say, ²  “When will you comfort me?”

Hope ¹  deferred ²  makes the heart sick, ³  but a longing fulfilled ⁴  is like ⁵  a tree of life.

Bring out some water for the thirsty. You who live in the land of Tema, bring some food for the fugitives.

Because of this, our hearts are sick; ¹  because of these things, we can hardly see ²  through our tears. ³ 

In that day your ¹  beautiful young women ²  and your ³  young men will faint from thirst. ⁴