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

“Exact vengeance ¹  for the Israelites on the Midianites ²  – after that you will be gathered to your people.” ³ 

All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east ¹  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ²  and camped in the Jezreel Valley.

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ¹  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ² 

The Lord said to him, “Ah, but ¹  I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” ² 

The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was a leader ¹  over the people of a clan of Midian. ² 

Now ¹  in Egypt the Midianites ²  sold Joseph ³  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁴ 

Now the name of the Israelite who was stabbed – the one who was stabbed with the Midianite woman – was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a clan ¹  of the Simeonites.

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian,

Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. ¹  Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.

The Lord’s angelic messenger ¹  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ²  was threshing ³  wheat in a winepress ⁴  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ⁵ 

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

They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ¹  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ²  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ³  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁴ 

So when the Midianite ¹  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ²  him ³  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁴  then took Joseph to Egypt.

Just then ¹  one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers ²  a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of ³  the whole community of the Israelites, while they ⁴  were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ¹  and I will hand Midian over to you. ²  The rest of the men should go home.” ³ 

They burned ¹  all their towns ²  where they lived and all their encampments.

Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

Do to them as you did to Midian ¹  – as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River! ² 

¹ Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, ²  “We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, ³  for the Lord has promised good things ⁴  for Israel.”