Gideon's Three Hundred Men

¹Then aJerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside bthe spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, cby the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

²The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, dlest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ ³Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, e‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

⁴And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” ⁵So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” ⁶And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. ⁷And the Lord said to Gideon, f“With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” ⁸So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him gin the valley.

⁹That same hnight the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, ifor I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. ¹¹jAnd you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” kThen he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. ¹²And the Midianites and the Amalekites and lall the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, mas the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. ¹³When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” ¹⁴And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

¹⁵As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” ¹⁶And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with ntorches inside the jars. ¹⁷And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. ¹⁸When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, o‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

Gideon Defeats Midian

¹⁹So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. oAnd they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹Every man stood in his place around the camp, pand all the army ran. They cried out and fled. ²²qWhen they blew the 300 trumpets, rthe Lord set severy man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,1 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. ²³And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.

²⁴tGideon sent messengers throughout uall the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as vBeth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. ²⁵And they captured wthe two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb xat the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon yacross the Jordan.

Peter Reports to the Church

¹Now the apostles and rthe brothers1 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, sthe circumcision party2 criticized him, saying, ³t“You went to uncircumcised men and uate with them.” ⁴But Peter began and explained it to them in order: ⁵v“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. ⁶Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. ⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them, wmaking no distinction. xThese six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. ¹³And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; ¹⁴yhe will declare to you a message by which zyou will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵As I began to speak, athe Holy Spirit fell on them bjust as on us at the beginning. ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, c‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If then dGod gave ethe same gift to them as he gave to us fwhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, gwho was I hthat I could stand in God's way?” ¹⁸When they heard these things they fell silent. And they iglorified God, saying, j“Then to the Gentiles also God has kgranted lrepentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

¹⁹mNow those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists3 also, npreaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹And othe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed pturned to the Lord. ²²The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³When he came and saw qthe grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord rwith steadfast purpose, ²⁴for he was a good man, sfull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people twere added to the Lord. ²⁵So Barnabas went to uTarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called vChristians.

²⁷Now in these days wprophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸And one of them named xAgabus stood up and foretold yby the Spirit that there would be a great zfamine over all the world (this took place in the days of aClaudius). ²⁹So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, bto send relief to cthe brothers4 living in Judea. ³⁰dAnd they did so, sending it to ethe elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

¹Now jPashhur the priest, the son of kImmer, who was lchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ²Then jPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him min the stocks that were in the upper nBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. ³The next day, when jPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name jPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. ⁴For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you oa terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. ⁵Moreover, pI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its qprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. ⁶And you, rPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, sto whom you have prophesied falsely.”

⁷O Lord, tyou have deceived me,

and I was deceived;

uyou are stronger than I,

and you have prevailed.

vI have become a laughingstock all the day;

everyone mocks me.

⁸For whenever I speak, I cry out,

I shout, w“Violence and destruction!”

For xthe word of the Lord has become for me

ya reproach and yderision all day long.

⁹If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

zthere is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and aI am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

¹⁰bFor I hear many whispering.

cTerror is on every side!

“Denounce him! dLet us denounce him!”

say all my eclose friends,

fwatching for gmy fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then hwe can overcome him

and take our revenge on him.”

¹¹But ithe Lord is with me as a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble;

ithey will not overcome me.

jThey will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their keternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

¹²O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,

lwho sees the heart and the mind,1

let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

¹³mSing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴nCursed be the day

on which I was born!

The day when my mother bore me,

let it not be blessed!

¹⁵Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,

“A son is born to you,”

omaking him very glad.

¹⁶Let that man be like pthe cities

that the Lord overthrew without pity;

qlet him hear a cry in the morning

and an alarm at noon,

¹⁷rbecause he did not kill me in the womb;

so my mother would have been my grave,

and her womb forever great.

¹⁸sWhy did I come out from the womb

tto see toil and sorrow,

and spend my days in shame?

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹bHe went away from there and came to chis hometown, and his disciples followed him. ²And don the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and emany who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ³fIs not this gthe carpenter, the son of Mary and hbrother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ithey took offense at him. ⁴And Jesus said to them, j“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵And khe could do no mighty work there, except that lhe laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶And mhe marveled because of their unbelief.

nAnd he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

⁷oAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹but to pwear sandals and not put on two tunics.1 ¹⁰And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, qshake off the dust that is on your feet ras a testimony against them.” ¹²sSo they went out and tproclaimed uthat people should repent. ¹³tAnd they cast out many demons and vanointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

¹⁴wKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus'2 name had become known. Some3 said, x“John the Baptist4 has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵xBut others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ya prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ¹⁷zFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ¹⁸zFor John had been saying to Herod, b“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰for Herod cfeared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he dheard him gladly.

²¹But an opportunity came when Herod eon his birthday fgave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, gup to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's5 head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his hdisciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

³⁰ijThe apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and kthey had no leisure even to eat. ³²lAnd they went away in mthe boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and nrecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When he went ashore he osaw a great crowd, and ohe had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ³⁶pSend them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷But he answered them, q“You give them something to eat.” And rthey said to him, s“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii6 worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, t“Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ulooked up to heaven and vsaid a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵wImmediately he xmade his disciples get into ythe boat and go before him to the other side, zto Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶And after he had taken leave of them, ahe went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷And when bevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about bthe fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. cHe meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰for they all saw him and dwere terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, e“Take heart; it is I. eDo not be afraid.” ⁵¹And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵²for fthey did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts gwere hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

⁵³hWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at iGennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately jrecognized him ⁵⁵and ran about the whole region and began to bring kthe sick people lon their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, mthey laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even nthe fringe of his garment. And oas many as touched it were made well.