The men ¹  who were chosen ²  took supplies ³  and their trumpets. Gideon ⁴  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ⁵  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ⁶  were camped down below ⁷  in the valley.

Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. ¹ 

Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, ¹  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ²  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ³  ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, ¹  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ² 

That night the Lord said to Gideon, ¹  “Get up! Attack ²  the camp, for I am handing it over to you. ³ 

For their oppressive yoke and the club that strikes their shoulders, the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, ¹  you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. ² 

The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ¹  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him.

He also threatened ¹  the men of Penuel, warning, ²  “When I return victoriously, ³  I will tear down this tower.”

He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, ¹  as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ¹  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ² 

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 

He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ¹  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ² 

It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” ¹  When he said this, they calmed down. ² 

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.

So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, ¹  Barak, ²  Jephthah, and Samuel, ³  and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ¹  Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ² 

Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone ¹  down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!”

That night God did as he asked. ¹  Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew.

Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ¹