Judges 6
Israel Oppressed by Midian
1Then the sons of Israel adid what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of bMidian seven years. 2The ▼▼ Lit hand
power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves dthe dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3For it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and ▼▼ Lit go up
go against them. 4So they would camp against them and fdestroy the produce of the earth ▼▼ Lit until your coming to
as far as Gaza, and hleave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. 5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in ilike locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it. 6So Israel was brought jvery low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord. 7Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord on account of Midian, 8that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and khe said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of ▼▼ Lit slaves
slavery. 9‘I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, 10and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you mshall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not ▼▼ Lit listened to My voice
obeyed Me.”’” Gideon Is Visited
11Then othe angel of the Lord came and sat under the ▼▼ Or terebinth
oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the qAbiezrite as his son rGideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” 13Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But snow the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14The Lord ▼▼ Or turned toward
looked at him and said, u“Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 vHe said to Him, “O Lord, ▼▼ Lit with what
how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in xManasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 yBut the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall ▼▼ Lit smite
defeat Midian as one man.” 17So ▼▼ Lit he
Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me aba sign that it is You who speak with me. 18“Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.” 19Then Gideon went in and acprepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ▼▼ I.e. Approx one bu
ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket ▼▼ Lit and he put
and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the ▼▼ Or terebinth
oak and presented them. 20The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and agfire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord ▼▼ Or departed
vanished from his sight. 22 aiWhen Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord, ▼▼ Lit Gideon
he said, “Alas, O Lord ▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23The Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” 24Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it ▼▼ Heb Yahweh-shalom
The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still amin Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25Now on the same night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull ▼▼ Or even
and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the ▼▼ I.e. wooden symbol of a female deity, also vv 26, 28, 30
,
apAsherah that is beside it; 26and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. The Altar of Baal Destroyed
28When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. 29They said to one another, “Who did this thing?” And when they searched about and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.” 30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.” 31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will ▼▼ Or contend
plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.” 32Therefore on that day he named him arJerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar. 33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in asthe valley of Jezreel. 34So atthe Spirit of the Lord ▼▼ Lit clothed
came upon Gideon; and he avblew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. 35He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, awZebulun, and Naphtali, and axthey came up to meet them. Sign of the Fleece
36Then Gideon said to God, ay“If You will deliver Israel ▼▼ Lit by my hand
through me, as You have spoken, 37behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel ▼▼ Lit by my hand
through me, as You have spoken.” 38And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39Then Gideon said to God, bb“Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” 40God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.
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