24. Blessed above women be Jael Heber, the Kenite's wife. 25. In the tent he asked water, and she gave him milk, and butter milk in an elegant dish: 26. And she thrust a nail through his temple's, and smote off his head, 27. And he died.

28. Sisera's mother looked out at a window, and eried through the lattess, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why move the wheels so slowly? 29. Her wisest ladies replied to her with words of exultation. 30. Surely they have prospered and divided the spoil, to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera for a spoil a robe of coloured embroidery from the necks of the spoilers.

31. So let all thine enemies perish, O Eternal; but let them that love thee be illustrious as the sum shining in his strength. Now the land had peace forty years.

CHAP. VI.

THE ISRAELITES OPPRESSED BY MIDIAN. THE Israelites did evil again in the Eternal's sight, and he delivered them to the Midianites seven years. 2. So Midian prevailed against Israel; and thro' fear of the Midianites the Israelites made the dens, which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strong holds. 3. Now when the Israelites had sown, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the other eastern nations, came, 4. And encamped against them, and destroyed the fruits of the earsh, even to Gaza, and left neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass, nor any victuals for Israel. 5. They came with thelr cattle and their tents, as locusts for multitude, and entered into the land to destroy it..

6. Then the Israelites being greatly wasted, cried to the Eternal. 7. And having done so, 8. He sent a prophet to them, who said, Thus saith the Eternal the God of Israel, I delivered you from the Egyptian bondage, 9. And from all your oppressors, and gave you this land, having expelled its inhabitants

for their idolatry; 10. And I said to you, I the Etenal am your God; worship not the Amorites gods, whose land ye 'habit; but ye have not obeyed my

word.

11. Afterwards the Eternal's angel, (ie. the angel of the covenant) appeared under the bak in Ophrah, which pertained to Joash the Abilezrite, and his son Gideon, was then threshing wheat in a winepress, to conceal it from the Midianites. 12. So the Eternal's angel appeared to him, and said, The Eternal is with thee, thou valiant man.

13. Then Gideon replied, O my Lord, if the Eternal be with us, why hath all this evil come upon us? and why doth he not such miracles as our fathers told us he did in delivering them from Egypt? But now the Eternal hath forsaken us, having delivered us to the Midianites.

14. Then the angel 'regarded him graciously, and 'said, Go in this thy fortitude, and thou shalt save Israel from the Midianites; lo, I have sent thee.

15. But he replied, O my Lord, how shall I save Israel? behold my family is the meanest in Manas'seh, and I am the least in my father's house.

16. Then the Eternal said, Surely I will be with thee, so thou shalt smite them all as one man.

17. Then Gideon said, If I have now obtained thy favour, shew me an evidence, that thou speakest to me in the Eternal's name. 18. And depart not, I pray thee, until I bring an offering to thee. Then he said, I will tarry till thou return.

19. Then Gideon went in, and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes of an epliah of flour; he 'brought "the kid's flesh in a basket, and the broth of it in a pan, and presented them to him under the oak.

20. Then the angel of God said, lay the flesh and the unleavened cakes, on the rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

21. Then the Eternal's angel touched the flesh and the cakes with the staff in his hand: then fire, arose

out of the rock, and consumed them; then the angel disappeared.

22. Now Gideon perceiving he was the Eternal's angel, said, Alas, O Lord God, I must die, as I have seen an apparition of a spirit, and talked familiarly with him. (Exod. xxxiii. 20.) 23. But the Eternal said, Peace be to thee, fear not, thou shalt not die.

24. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Eternal, and called it the Eternal's Peace; it remained iu Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25. And in that night, the Eternal said to him, take one of thy father's young bullocks, and another bullock seven years old, (the first being already sacrificed), and cast down the altar thy father made for Baal, and cut down the grove that surrounds it; 26. And build an altar to the Eternal thy God on the top of this rock, on the appointed spot, and offer the second bullock as a holocaust, with the wood of the grove which thou shalt have cut down.

27. Then Gideon took ten of his men-servants, and did as the Eternal said to him; but he did it by night, because he feared his father's household, and the other citizens.

28. And when the citizens arose in the morning, and saw Baal's altar was cast down, and the grove that surrounded it, cut down, and the second bullock was offered on the altar newly built, 29.Then they said one to another, who hath done this? And having sought and enquired, it was told them that Gideon, son of Joash, had done it.

30. Then they said to Joash, bring out thy son, to be put to death, because he hath demolished Baal's altar, and cut down the grove around it.

31. But Joash said to all his adversaries, Will ye avenge Baal? whoever insulted him will be found dead in the morning; if he be a god, let him avenge his own cause, (as the Eternal is now about to do on his servants and adversaries). 32. Therefore

Gideon from that day surnamed his son Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal avenge himself of him who demolished his altar.

33. Then the Midianites, and other Amalekites, and eastern nations, being assembled, passed over Jordan, and pitched in Jezreel's valley. 34. When Gideon, impelled by the Eternal's spirit, blew a trumpet; then the Abi-ezrites assembled to him. 35. Then he sent messengers thro' all Manasseh, who joined him, and to Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali, who came to meet them.

36. Then Gideon called on God, saying, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou has said, 37. I will spread a fleece of wool on the ground, and if there be dew on the fleece only, and not on the ground about it,by this evidence I will certainly know thou wilt save Israel by me. 38. And it was so; for next morning he rose early, and having thrust the fleece together, he wringed out of it a bowlful of water.

39. Then Gideon called again on God, saying, Be not angry at me, while I ask another proof, by another trial with the fleece; let the fleece only be dry, and let all the ground be covered with dew. 40. And it was so.

CHAP. VII.

GIBEON DELIVERS ISRAEL.

THEN Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all that were with him, rising early, encamped at the well of Harod; the Midianites' camp being north of them, in the valley, by the hill of Moreh.

2. Then the Eternal said to Gideon, Thou hast too many people with thee; I will not give the victory to so many, lest Israel boast, saying, mine own hand saved me. 3. Now, therefore, proclaim that all the fearful or faint hearted, may return to mount Gilead. So twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand only remained.

4. The Eternal said again to Gideon, there are yet'two many; bring thein to the waters, and I will try them there-those whom I appoint to go, shall go; and those whom I appoint to stay, shall stay. 5. So he brought them to the waters, and the Eterhal said, all that lape water with their tongues as dogs, 'shall be set by themselves; and also all that bow down on their knees to drink. 6. And three hundred laped out of the hollow of their hands; but the rest stooped to drink. 7. Then the Eternal said to Gideon, I will save you by the three hundred who laped the water, delivering the Midianites into thine hands; and let the rest go home.

8.So they took with them the victuals, and trumpets in their hands: how the host of Midian was beneath in the valley.

9. And that night the Eternal said to him, Go quickly to the host, for I deliver it into thine hand. 10. But if thou be afraid to go down with thy men, go first with Phurah thy servant only; 11. And thou 'shalt hear what they say, and afterwards thou shalt have fortitude to go down to them. Then he went 'with Phurah his servant to the outside of the arined ihen. 12. The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations, overspread the valley, like a multitude of locusts, with their innumerable camels, as the sand on the sea-shore.

.

Just as Gideon arrived, a' man told a dream to his companion, saying, In my dream I saw a barley-cake tumbling into the camp of Midian, against a tent, which it overturned. 14. Then his fellow replied, This is a figure of Gideon's sword; for into his hand hath God delivered all Midian's host.

15. Now Gideon hearing the dream, and the in'terpretation, he worshipped the Eternal. And having returned to the host of Israel, he said, Arise, for 'the Eternal hath delivered Midian's host into your hand. 16. Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put into every man's hand