¹⁹ Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars^(A) that were in their hands. ²⁰ The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches^(B) in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword^(C) for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.^(D)

²² When the three hundred trumpets sounded,^(E) the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other^(F) with their swords.^(G) The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah^(H) near Tabbath. ²³ Israelites from Naphtali, Asher^(I) and all Manasseh were called out,^(J) and they pursued the Midianites.^(K)

⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised^(A) men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing^(B) can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many^(C) or by few.^(D)”

⁷ “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

⁸ Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign^(E) that the Lord has given them into our hands.^(F)”

¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews^(G) are crawling out of the holes they were hiding^(H) in.” ¹² The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.^(I)”

So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand^(J) of Israel.”

¹³ Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart^(A) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied,^(A) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

¹⁶ From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah ¹⁷ who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon^(A) in the other, ¹⁸ and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet^(B) stayed with me.

¹⁹ Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. ²⁰ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet,^(C) join us there. Our God will fight^(D) for us!”

²¹ So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”