At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites ¹  equipped for battle.

The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle ahead of the Israelites, just as Moses had instructed them.

This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt. ¹ 

These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. ¹ 

I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. ¹  I will hand him over to you.”

he ¹  ordered ²  all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon.

The Lord routed ¹  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ²  Sisera jumped out of ³  his chariot and ran away on foot.

Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died ¹  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ² 

He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. ¹  He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ¹  Israel might brag, ²  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ³ 

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.”

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. ¹ 

The leaders ¹  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ²  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.

Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat ¹  and lure them ²  away from the city into the main roads.”

¹  All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah.

The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ¹ 

Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before ¹  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ¹ 

So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him.

Now be courageous ¹  and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”