And the Lord looked upon him, and said, "Go in thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?"

And he said to him, "O Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

And the Lord said unto him, "Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man."

And he said unto him, "If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee."

And he said, "I will tarry until thou come again."

And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth."

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DESERT WARRIORS

Riding thus on their camels the hosts of Midian came out of the desert like locusts and swarmed over the fair fields of Palestine.