THE BOOK OF JUDGES

This Book is called JUDGES, because it contains the history of what passed under the government of the judges, who ruled Israel before they had kings. The writer of it, according to the more general opinion, was the prophet Samuel.

Judges Chapter 1

The expedition and victory of Juda against the Chanaanites: who are tolerated in many places.

After the death of Josue, the children of Israel consulted the Lord, saying: Who shall go up before us against the Chanaanite, and shall be the leader of the war?

And the Lord said: Juda shall go up: behold I have delivered the land into his hands.

And Juda said to Simeon, his brother: Come up with me into my lot, and fight against the Chanaanite, that I also may go along with thee into thy lot. And Simeon went with him.

And Juda went up, and the Lord delivered the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite into their hands: and they slew of them in Bezec ten thousand men.

And they found Adonibezec in Bezec, and fought against him, and they defeated the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite.

And Adonibezec fled: and they pursued after him and took him, and cut off his fingers and toes.

And Adonibezec said: Seventy kings, having their fingers and toes cut off, gathered up the leavings of the meat under my table: as I have done, so hath God requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

And the children of Juda besieging Jerusalem, took it, and put it to the sword, and set the whole city on fire.

Jerusalem. . .This city was divided into two; one part was called Jebus, the other Salem: the one was in the tribe of Juda, the other in the tribe of Benjamin. After it was taken and burnt by the men of Juda, it was quickly rebuilt again by the Jebusites, as we may gather from ver. 21; and continued in their possession till it was taken by king David.

And afterwards they went down and fought against the Chanaanite, who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

And Juda going forward against the Chanaanite, that dwelt in Hebron, (the name whereof was in former times Cariath-Arbe) slew Sesai, and Ahiman, and Tholmai:

Hebron. . .This expedition against Hebron, etc. is the same as is related, Jos. 15.24. It is here repeated, to give the reader at once a short sketch of all the achievements of the tribe of Juda against the Chanaanites.

And departing from thence, he went to the inhabitants of Dabir, the ancient name of which was Cariath-Sepher, that is, the city of letters.

The city of letters. . .Perhaps so called from some famous school, or library, kept there.

And Caleb said: He that shall take Cariath-Sepher, and lay it waste, to him will I give my daughter Axa to wife.

And Othoniel, the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb, having taken it, he gave him Axa his daughter to wife.

And as she was going on her way, her husband admonished her to ask a field of her father. And as she sighed sitting on her ass, Caleb said to her: What aileth thee?

But she answered: Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a dry land: give me also a watery land So Caleb gave her the upper and the nether watery ground.

And the children of the Cinite, the kinsman of Moses, went up from the city of palms, with the children of Juda, into the wilderness of his lot, which is at the south side of Arad, and they dwelt with him.

The Cinite. . .Jethro the father in law of Moses was called Cinoeus, or the Cinite; and his children who came along with the children of Israel settled themselves among them in the land of Chanaan, embracing their worship and religion. From these the Rechabites sprung, of whom see Jer. 35.--Ibid. The city of palms. . .Jericho, so called from the abundance of palm trees.

And Juda went with Simeon, his brother, and they together defeated the Chanaanites that dwelt in Sephaath, and slew them. And the name of the city was called Horma, that is, Anathema.

And Juda took Gaza, with its confines, and Ascalon, and Accaron, with their confines.

Gaza, etc. . .These were three of the principal cities of the Philistines, famous both in sacred and profane history. They were taken at this time by the Israelites: but as they took no care to put garrisons in them, the Philistines soon recovered them.

And the Lord was with Juda, and he possessed the hill country: but was not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, because they had many chariots armed with scythes.

Was not able, etc. . .Through a cowardly fear of their chariots armed with hooks and scythes, and for want of confidence in God.

And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac.

But the sons of Benjamin did not destroy the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem: and the Jebusite hath dwelt with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this present day.

The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

For when they were besieging the city, which before was called Luza,

They saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him: Shew us the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

And when he had shewed them, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but that man, and all his kindred, they let go:

Who being sent away, went into the land of Hetthim, and built there a city, and called it Luza: which is so called until this day.

Manasses also did not destroy Bethsan, and Thanac, with their villages; nor the inhabitants of Dor, and Jeblaam, and Mageddo, with their villages. And the Chanaanite began to dwell with them.

But after Israel was grown strong, he made them tributaries, and would not destroy them.

Ephraim also did not slay the Chanaanite that dwelt in Gazer, bnt dwelt with him.

Zabulon destroyed not the inhabitants of Cetron, and Naalol: but the Chanaanite dwelt among them, and became their tributary.

Aser also destroyed not the inhabitants of Accho, and of Sidon, of Ahalab, and of Achazib, and of Helba, and of Aphec, and of Rohob:

And he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites, the inhabitants of that land, and did not slay them.

Nephthali also destroyed not the inhabitants of Bethsames, and of Bethanath: and he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites, the inhabitants of the land, and the Bethsamites and Bethanites were tributaries to him.

And the Amorrhite straitened the children of Dan in the mountain, and gave them not a place to go down to the plain:

And he dwelt in the mountain Hares, that is, of potsherds, in Aialon and Salebim. And the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon him, and he became tributary to him.

And the border of the Amorrhite was from the ascent of the scorpion, the rock, and the higher places.

He dwelt. . .That is, the Amorrhite.

Judges Chapter 2

An angel reproveth Israel. They weep for their sins. After the death of Josue, they often fall, and repenting are delivered from their afflictions, but still fall worse and worse.

And an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the place of weepers, and said: I made you go out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers: and I promised that I would not make void my covenant with you for ever:

An angel. . .Taking the shape of a man.

On condition that you should not make a league with the inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their altars: and you would not hear my voice: why have you done this?

Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face; that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin.

And when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel: they lifted up their voice, and wept.

And the name of that place was called, The place of weepers, or of tears: and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

And Josue sent away the people, and the children of Israel went every one to his own possession to hold it:

And Josue, etc. . .This is here inserted out of Jos. 24, by way of recapitulation of what had happened before, and by way of an introduction to that which follows.

And they served the Lord all his days, and the days of the ancients, that lived a long time after him, and who knew all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel.

And Josue, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old;

And they buried him in the borders of his possession in Thamnathsare, in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaas.

And all that generation was gathered to their fathers: and there arose others that knew not the Lord and the works which he had done for Israel.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served Baalim

And they left the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelt round about them, and they adored them: and they provoked the Lord to anger,

They followed strange gods. . .What is here said of the children of Israel, as to their falling so often into idolatry, is to be understood of a great part of them; but not so universally, as if the true worship of God was ever quite abolished among them: for the succession of the true church and religion was kept up all this time by the priests and Levites, at least in the house of God in Silo.

Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth

And the Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could they stand against their enemies:

But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.

And the Lord raised up judges, to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not hearken to them,

Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.

And when the Lord raised them up judges, in their days, he was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the oppressors.

But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them, and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accustomed to walk.

And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice:

I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left when he died:

That through them I may try Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.

The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not quickly destroy them, neither did he deliver them into the hands of Josue.

Judges Chapter 3

The people falling into idolatry are oppressed by their enemies; but repenting are delivered by Othoniel, Aod, and Samgar.

These are the nations which the Lord left, that by them he might instruct Israel, and all that had not known the wars of the Chanaanites:

That afterwards their children might learn to fight with their enemies, and to be trained up to war:

The five princes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hevites that dwelt in Mount Libanus, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entering into Emath.

And he left them, that he might try Israel by them, whether they would hear the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers, by the hand of Moses, or not.

So the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite:

And they took their daughters to wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, and served Baalim and Astaroth.

And the Lord being angry with Israel, delivered them into the hands of Chusan Rasathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and they served him eight years.

Mesopotamia. . .In Hebrew Aramnaharim. Syria of the two rivers: so called because it lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris. It is absolutely called Syria, ver. 10.

And they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour, and delivered them; to wit, Othoniel, the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb:

And the spirit of the Lord was in him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to fight, and the Lord delivered Chusan Rasathaim, king of Syria, and he overthrew him:

And the land rested forty years, and Othoniel, the son of Cenez, died.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: who strengthened against them Eglon, king of Moab: because they did evil in his sight.

And he joined to him the children of Ammon, and Amalec: and he went and overthrew Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

And the children of Israel served Eglon, king of Moab, eighteen years.

And afterwards they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour, called Aod, the son of Cera, the son of Jemini, who used the left hand as well as the right. And the children of Israel sent presents to Eglon, king of Moab, by him.

And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haft in the midst of the length of the palm of the hand, and was girded therewith, under his garment, on the right thigh.

And he presented the gifts to Eglon, king of Moab Now Eglon was exceeding fat.

And when he had presented the gifts unto him he followed his companions that came along with him.

Then returning from Galgal, where the idols were, he said to the king: I have a secret message to thee, O king. And he commanded silence: and all being gone out that were about him,

Aod went in to him: now he was sitting in a summer parlour alone, and he said: I have a word from God to thee. And he forthwith rose up from his throne.

A word from God, etc. . .What Aod, who was judge and chief magistrate of Israel, did on this occasion, was by a special inspiration of God: but such things are not to be imitated by private men.

And Aod put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly,

With such force that the haft went in after the blade into the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat. So that he did not draw out the dagger, but left it in the body as he had struck it in: and forthwith, by the secret parts of nature, the excrements of the belly came out.

And Aod carefully shutting the doors of the parlour, and locking them,

Went out by a postern door. And the king's servants going in, saw the doors of the parlour shut, and they said: Perhaps he is easing nature in his summer parlour.

And waiting a long time, till they were ashamed, and seeing that no man opened the door, they took a key: and opening, they found their lord lying dead on the ground.

But Aod, while they were in confusion, escaped, and passed by the place of the idols from whence he had returned. And he came to Seirath:

And forthwith he sounded the trumpet in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel went down with him, he himself going in the front.

And he said to them: Follow me: for the Lord hath delivered our enemies, the Moabites, into our hands. And they went down after him, and seized upon the fords of the Jordan, which are in the way to Moab: and they suffered no man to pass over:

But they slew of the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand, all strong and valiant men: none of them could escape.

And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel: and the land rested eighty years.

After him was Samgar, the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with a ploughshare: and he also defended Israel.

Judges Chapter 4

Debbora and Barac deliver Israel from Jabin and Sisara, Jahal killeth Sisara.

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after the death of Aod:

And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the Gentiles.

And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots set with scythes and for twenty years had grievously oppressed them.

And there was at that time Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, who judged the people.

And she sat under a palm tree, which was called by her name, between Rama and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for all judgment.

And she sent and called Barac, the Son of Abinoem, out of Cedes, in Nephthali: and she said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army to Mount Thabor, and thou shalt take with thee ten thousand fighting men of the children of Nephthali, and of the children of Zabulon:

And I will bring unto thee in the place of the torrent Cison, Sisara, the general of Jabin's army, and his chariots, and all his multitude, and will deliver them into thy hand.

And Barac said to her: If thou wilt come with me, I will go: if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go.

She said to him: I will go, indeed, with thee, but at this time the victory shall not be attributed to thee, because Sisara shall be delivered into the hand of a woman. Debbora therefore arose, and went with Barac to Cedes.

And he called unto him Zabulon and Nephthali, and went up with ten thousand fighting men, having Debbora in his company.

Now Haber, the Cinite, had some time before departed from the rest of the Cinites, his brethren, the sons of Hobab, the kinsman of Moses: and had pitched his tents unto the valley, which is called Sennim, and was near Cedes.

And it was told Sisara, that Barac, the son of Abinoem, was gone up to Mount Thabor:

And he gathered together his nine hundred chariots armed with scythes, and all his army, from Haroseth of the Gentiles, to the torrent Cison.

And Debbora said to Barac: Arise, for this is the day wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisara into thy hands: behold, he is thy leader. And Barac went down from Mount Thabor, and ten thousand fighting men with him.

And the Lord struck a terror into Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his multitude, with the edge of the sword, at the sight of Barac; insomuch, that Sisara leaping down from off his chariot, fled away on foot,

And Barac pursued after the fleeing chariots, and the army, unto Haroseth of the Gentiles; and all the multitude of the enemies was utterly destroyed.

But Sisara fleeing, came to the tent of Jahel, the wife of Haber, the Cinite, for there was peace between Jabin, the king of Asor, and the house of Haber, the Cinite.

And Jahel went forth to meet Sisara, and said to him: Come in to me, my lord; come in, fear not. He went into her tent, and being covered by her with a cloak,

Said to her: Give me, I beseech thee, a little water, for I am very thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him.

And Sisara said to her: Stand before the door of the tent, and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is there any man here? thou shalt say: There is none.

So Jahel, Haber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and taking also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it with the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died.

And behold, Barac came pursuing after Sisara: and Jahel went out to meet him, and said to him: Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, he saw Sisara lying dead, and the nail fastened in his temples.

So God that day humbled Jabin, the king of Chanaan, before the children of Israel:

Who grew daily stronger, and with a mighty hand overpowered Jabin, king of Chanaan, till they quite destroyed him.

Judges Chapter 5

The canticle of Debbora and Barac after their victory.

In that day Debbora and Barac, son of Abinoem, sung, and said:

O you of Israel, that have willingly offered your lives to danger, bless the Lord.

Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye princes: It is I, it is I, that will sing to the Lord, I will sing to the Lord, the God of Israel.

O Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, and passedst by the regions of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens and clouds dropped water.

The mountains melted before the face of the Lord, and Sinai before the face of the Lord the God of Israel.

In the days of Samgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jahel, the paths rested: and they that went by them, walked through bye-ways.

The paths rested. . .The ways to the sanctuary of God were unfrequented: and men walked in the by-ways of error and sin.

The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel: until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel.

The Lord chose new wars, and he himself overthrew the gates of the enemies: a shield and spear was not seen among forty thousand of Israel.

My heart loveth the princes of Israel: O you, that of your own good will offered yourselves to danger, bless the Lord.

Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in judgment, and walk in the way.

Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of the enemies was choked, there let the justices of the Lord be rehearsed, and his clemency towards the brave men of Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the gates, and obtained the sovereignty.

Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise, arise, and utter a canticle. Arise, Barac, and take hold of thy captives, O son of Abinoem.

The remnants of the people are saved, the Lord hath fought among the valiant ones.

Out of Ephraim he destroyed them into Amalec, and after him out of Benjamin into thy people, O Amalec: Out of Machir there came down princes, and out of Zabulon they that led the army to fight.

Out of Ephraim, etc. . .The enemies straggling in their flight were destroyed, as they were running through the land of Ephraim, and of Benjamin, which lies after, that is beyond Ephraim: and so on to the very confines of Amalec. Or, it alludes to former victories of the people of God, particularly that which was freshest in memory, when the men of Ephraim and Benjamin, with Aod at their head, overthrew their enemies the Moabites with the Amalecites their allies. See chap. 3.--Ibid. Machir. . .The tribe of Manasses, whose eldest son was Machir.

The captains of Issachar were with Debbora, and followed the steps of Barac, who exposed himself to danger, as one going headlong, and into a pit. Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

Divided against himself, etc. . .By this it seems that the valient men of the tribe of Ruben were divided in their sentiments, with relation to this war; which division kept them at home within their own borders, to hear the bleating of their flocks.

Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou mayst hear the bleatings of the flocks? Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

Galaad rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan applied himself to ships: Aser dwelt on the sea shore, and abode in the havens.

But Zabulon and Nephthali offered their lives to death in the region of Merome.

The kings came and fought, the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanac, by the waters of Mageddo and yet they took no spoils.

There was war made against them from heaven: the stars, remaining in their order and courses, fought against Sisara.

The torrent of Cison dragged their carcasses, the torrent of Cadumim, the torrent of Cison: tread thou, my soul, upon the strong ones.

The hoofs of the horses were broken whilst the stoutest of the enemies fled amain, and fell headlong down.

Curse ye the land of Meroz, said the angel of the Lord: curse the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to help his most valiant men.

Meroz. . .Where this land of Meroz was, which is here laid under a curse, we cannot find: nor is there mention of it anywhere else in holy writ. In the spiritual sense, they are cursed who refuse to assist the people of God in their warfare against their spiritual enemies.

Blessed among women be Jahel, the wife of Haber the Cinite, and blessed be she in her tent.

He asked her water, and she gave him milk, and offered him butter in a dish fit for princes.

She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's hammer, and she struck Sisara, seeking in his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing through his temples.

Between her feet he fell: he fainted, and he died: he rolled before her feet, and there he lay lifeless and wretched.

His mother looked out at a window, and howled: and she spoke from the dining room: Why is his chariot so long in coming back? Why are the feet of his horses so slow?

One that was wiser than the rest of his wives, returned this answer to her mother in law:

Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the fairest of the women is chosen out for him: garments of divers colours are given to Sisara for his prey, and furniture of different kinds is heaped together to adorn necks.

So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love thee shine, as the sun shineth in his rising.

And the land rested for forty years.

Judges Chapter 6

The people for their sins, are oppressed by the Madianites. Gedeon is called to deliver them.

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years,

And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations, came up:

And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade, even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.

And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.

And he cried to the Lord, desiring help against the Madianites.

And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,

And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you their land.

And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice.

And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas, the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon, his son, was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian.

And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go, in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

He answered, and said: I beseech thee, my lord wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father's house.

The meanest in Manasses, etc. . .Mark how the Lord chooseth the humble (who are mean and little in their own eyes) for the greatest enterprises.

And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me:

And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.

So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him.

And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,

The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die.

And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord's peace, until this present day. And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,

That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father's, and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father's: and cut down the grove that is about the altar:

And thou shalt build un altar to the Lord thy God, in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out of the grove.

Then Gedeon, taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father's house, and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night.

And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built.

And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon, the son of Joas, did all this.

And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove.

He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die before to morrow light appear: if he be a god, let him revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joas had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people, were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael.

But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and he sounded the trumpet, and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him.

And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him : and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon, and Nephthali, and they came to meet him.

And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew in the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel.

And it was so. And rising before day, wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

And he said again to God: Let not thy wrath be kindled against me, if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.

And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Judges Chapter 7

Gedeon, with three hundred men, by stratagem defeateth the Madianites.

Then Jerobaal, who is the same as Gedeon, rising up early, and all the people with him, came to the fountain that is called Harad. Now the camp of Madian was in the valley, on the north side of the high hill.

And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: I was delivered by my own strength.

Lest Israel, etc. . .By this we see that God will not choose for his instruments in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such as, through pride and self conceit, will take the glory to themselves.

Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all: Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. So two and twenty thousand men went away from Mount Galaad and returned home, and only ten thousand remained.

And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return.

And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side.

And the number of them that had lapped water; casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling.

And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place.

That lapped water. . .These were preferred that took the water up in their hands, and so lapped it, before them who laid themselves quite down to the waters to drink: which argued a more eager and sensual disposition.

So taking victuals and trumpets according to their number, he ordered all the rest of the multitude to depart to their tents: and he with the three hundred gave himself to the battle. Now the camp of Madia was beneath him in the valley.

The same night the Lord said to him: Arise, and go down into the camp: because I have delivered them into thy hand.

But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Phara, thy servant, go down with thee.

And when thou shalt hear what they are saying, then shall thy hands be strengthened, and thou shalt go down more secure to the enemies' camp. And he went down with Phara his servant, into part of the camp, where was the watch of men in arms.

But Madian and Amalec, and all the eastern people, lay scattered in the valley, as a multitude of locusts: their camels also were innumerable, as the sand that lieth on the sea shore.

And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream: and in this manner related what he had seen: I dreamt a dream, and it seemed to me as if a hearth cake of barley bread rolled and came down into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to a tent, it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground.

A dream. . .Observation of dreams is commonly superstitious, and as such is condemned in the word of God: but in some extraordinary cases, as we here see, God is pleased by dreams to foretell what he is about to do.

He to whom he spoke, answered: This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon, the son of Joas, a man of Israel. For the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hand.

And when Gedeon had heard the dream, and the interpretation thereof, he adored: and returned to the camp of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands.

And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into one part of the camp, and do you as I shall do.

When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp, and shout together to the Lord and to Gedeon.

And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him, went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the midnight watch, and the watchmen being alarmed, they began to sound their trumpets, and to clap the pitchers one against another.