Judges 6

1 And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and the Lord gave them up into the hand of Midian for seven years.

And the sons of Israel did the thing that was wicked, in the sight of Yahweh, —so Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years;

2 And Midian was stronger than Israel; and because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made holes for themselves in the mountains, and hollows in the rocks, and strong places.

and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, —because of Midian, did the sons of Israel prepare for themselves the hollows which were in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

3 And whenever Israel's grain was planted, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came up against them;

And so it used to be, if Israel had sown, then came up Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east, yea came up against them,

4 And put their army in position against them; and they took all the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, till there was no food in Israel, or any sheep or oxen or asses.

and encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the land, until thou comest unto Gaza, —neither left they sustenance in Israel, nor sheep nor ox, nor ass;

5 For they came up regularly with their oxen and their tents; they came like the locusts in number; they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land for its destruction.

for, they with their cattle, used to come up, with their tents—yea they used to come like locusts, for multitude, both they and their cattle, were without number, —so they came into the land, to lay it waste.

6 And Israel was in great need because of Midian; and the cry of the children of Israel went up to the Lord.

Thus was Israel greatly impoverished, because of Midian, —and the sons of Israel made outcry unto Yahweh.

7 And when the cry of the children of Israel, because of Midian, came before the Lord,

And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried unto Yahweh, —on account of Midian,

8 The Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, The Lord the God of Israel, has said, I took you up from Egypt, out of the prison-house;

then sent Yahweh a prophet unto the sons of Israel, —who said unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, I, led you up out of Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of servants;

9 And I took you out of the hands of the Egyptians and out of the hands of all who were cruel to you, and I sent them out by force from before you and gave you their land;

Yea I rescued you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, —that I might drive them out from before you, and I gave unto you their land;

10 And I said to you, I am the Lord your God; you are not to give worship to the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but you did not give ear to my voice.

Yea and I said to you, —I, Yahweh, am your God, Ye must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye are about to dwell, —But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and took his seat under the oak-tree in Ophrah, in the field of Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon was crushing grain in the place where the grapes were crushed, so that the Midianites might not see it.

Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites;

12 And the angel of the Lord came before his eyes, and said to him, The Lord is with you, O man of war.

so the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him, —and said unto him, Yahweh, is with thee, thou mighty man of valour!

13 Then Gideon said to him, O my lord, if the Lord is with us why has all this come on us? And where are all his works of power, of which our fathers have given us word, saying, Did not the Lord take us out of Egypt? But now he has given us up, handing us over to the power of Midian.

And Gideon said unto him—Pardon, my lord! if Yahweh be with us, then wherefore hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders, which our fathers have recounted to us—saying, Was it not, out of Egypt, that Yahweh brought us up? But, now, hath Yahweh abandoned us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

14 And the Lord, turning to him, said, Go in the strength you have and be Israel's saviour from Midian: have I not sent you?

And Yahweh, turned unto him, and said—Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, out of the hand of Midian, —have I not sent thee?

15 And he said to him, O Lord, how may I be the saviour of Israel? See, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

And he said unto him—Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father.

16 Then the Lord said to him, Truly, I will be with you, and you will overcome the Midianites as if they were one man.

And Yahweh said unto him—I will be with thee, —so shalt thou smite the Midianites, as one man.

17 So he said to him, If now I have grace in your eyes, then give me a sign that it is you who are talking to me.

And he said unto him, If, I beseech thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, then wilt thou work for me a sign, that it is, thou, who art speaking with me.

18 Do not go away till I come with my offering and put it before you. And he said, I will not go away before you come back.

Do not, I beseech thee, withdraw from hence, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said: I, will tarry until thou return.

19 Then Gideon went in and made ready a young goat, and with an ephah of meal he made unleavened cakes: he put the meat in a basket and the soup in which it had been cooked he put in a pot, and he took it out to him under the oak-tree and gave it to him there.

So, Gideon, went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and, of an ephah of meal, unleavened cakes, the flesh, he put in a basket, and, the broth, he put in a pot, —and brought them forth unto him, under the oak, and presented them.

20 And the angel of God said to him, Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put them down on the rock over there, draining out the soup over them. And he did so.

And the messenger of God said unto him—Take the flesh and the cakes, and set them on this crag, and, the broth, do thou pour out. And he did so.

21 Then the angel of the Lord put out the stick which was in his hand, touching the meat and the cakes with the end of it; and a flame came up out of the rock, burning up the meat and the cakes: and the angel of the Lord was seen no longer.

Then the messenger of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff, that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the cakes, —and there came up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the cakes, and, the messenger of Yahweh, had departed out of his sight.

22 Then Gideon was certain that he was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, I am in fear, O Lord God! for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

Then saw Gideon that, the messenger of Yahweh, it was, —so Gideon said—Alas, My Lord Yahweh! forasmuch as I have seen the messenger of Yahweh, face to face!

23 But the Lord said to him, Peace be with you; have no fear: you are in no danger of death.

And Yahweh said unto him—Peace be unto thee! Do not fear, —thou shalt not die.

24 Then Gideon made an altar there to the Lord, and gave it the name Yahweh-shalom; to this day it is in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 The same night the Lord said to him, Take ten men of your servants and an ox seven years old, and after pulling down the altar of Baal which is your father's, and cutting down the holy tree by its side,

And it came to pass, on that night, that Yahweh said unto him—Take the young bullock that belongeth to thy father, even the second bullock of seven years, —and throw thou down the altar of Baal, that belongeth to thy father, and, the sacred stem that is by it, shalt thou cut down.

26 Make an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock, in the ordered way and take the ox and make a burned offering with the wood of the holy tree which has been cut down.

Then shalt thou build an altar, unto Yahweh thy God, on the top of this fort, with the pile, —and shalt take the second bullock, and cause it to go up as an ascending-sacrifice, with the wood of the sacred stem which thou shalt cut down.

27 Then Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had said to him; but fearing to do it by day, because of his father's people and the men of the town, he did it by night.

So Gideon took ten men from among his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken unto him, —and so it was that, as he too much feared the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 And the men of the town got up early in the morning, and they saw the altar of Baal broken down, and the holy tree which was by it cut down, and the ox offered on the altar which had been put up there.

And the men of the city rose up early in the morning, and lo! the altar of Baal, had been overthrown, and, the sacred stem that was by it, had been cut down, and the second bullock had been caused to ascend upon the altar that had been built.

29 And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And after searching with care, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing.

So they said, one to another, Who hath done this thing? And they inquired, and made search, and it was said, Gideon son of Joash, hath done this thing.

30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, Make your son come out to be put to death, for pulling down the altar of Baal and cutting down the holy tree which was by it.

So the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring forth thy son, that he may die, —because he hath overthrown the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the sacred stem that was by it.

31 But Joash said to all those who were attacking him, Will you take up the cause of Baal? will you be his saviour? Let anyone who will take up his cause be put to death while it is still morning: if he is a god, let him take up his cause himself because of the pulling down of his altar.

And Joash said unto all who stood by him—Will, ye, plead for Baal, or will, ye, save him? Whoso pleadeth for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning, —if, a god, he be let him plead for himself, because one hath overthrown his altar.

32 So that day he gave him the name of Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal take up his cause against him because his altar has been broken down.

So he was called on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, —Let Baal, plead against him. Because he had overthrown his altar.

33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east, banding themselves together, went over and put up their tents in the valley of Jezreel.

Now, all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east, were gathered together, —and they crossed over and pitched in the vale of Jezreel.

34 But the spirit of the Lord came on Gideon; and at the sound of his horn all Abiezer came together after him.

But, the spirit of Yahweh, clothed Gideon, —so he blew with a horn, and Abiezer was gathered after him.

35 And he sent through all Manasseh, and they came after him; and he sent to Asher and Zebulun and Naphtali, and they came up and were joined to the others.

Messengers also, sent he throughout all Manasseh, and, they also, were gathered after him, —messengers also, sent he throughout Asher, and throughout Zebulun, and throughout Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

36 Then Gideon said to God, If you are going to give Israel salvation by my hand, as you have said,

And Gideon said unto God, —If thou art about to bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken,

37 See, I will put the wool of a sheep on the grain-floor; if there is dew on the wool only, while all the earth is dry, then I will be certain that it is your purpose to give Israel salvation by my hand as you have said.

lo! I am placing a woollen fleece, on the threshing-floor, —if, dew, be on the fleece alone and, on all the ground, it be dry, then shall I know that thou wilt bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken.

38 And it was so: for he got up early on the morning after, and twisting the wool in his hands, he got a basin full of water from the dew on the wool.

And it was so, and he rose up early, on the morrow, and pressed together the fleece, —and wrung out the dew from the fleece, a small bowl full of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, Do not be moved to wrath against me if I say only this: let me make one more test with the wool; let the wool now be dry, while the earth is covered with dew.

Then said Gideon unto God, Let not thine anger kindle upon me, but let me speak, only this once, —Let me, I pray thee, put to the proof, only this once, with the fleece, I pray thee, let it be dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there be dew.

40 And that night God did so; for the wool was dry, and there was dew on all the earth round it.

And God did so on that night, —and it was dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there was dew.