Judges 6

1 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, who delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years.

And the children of Israel did the evil in the eyes of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

2 And they were greatly oppressed by them. And they made for themselves hollows and caves in the mountains, and very fortified places for defense.

And the hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the passes which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

3 And when Israel had planted, Midian and Amalek, and the rest of the eastern nations ascended,

And it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the 'Amalekites, and the children of the east, and they went up against them;

4 and pitching their tents among them, they laid waste to all that was planted, as far as the entrance to Gaza. And they left behind nothing at all to sustain life in Israel, neither sheep, nor oxen, nor donkeys.

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the products of the earth, as far as Gazzah, and they left no sustenance for Israel, neither lamb, nor ox, nor ass.

5 For they and all their flocks arrived with their tents, and they filled all places like locusts, an innumerable multitude of men and camels, devastating whatever they touched.

For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and came as locusts in multitude; and both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it.

6 And Israel was humbled greatly in the sight of Midian.

And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

7 And he cried out to the Lord, requesting assistance against the Midianites.

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel had cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,

8 And he sent to them a man who was a prophet, and he said: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I caused you to ascend from Egypt, and I led you away from the house of servitude.

That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, and he said unto them, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, I led you forth out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of slavery;

9 And I freed you from the hand of the Egyptians and from all of the enemies who were afflicting you. And I cast them out at your arrival, and I delivered their land to you.

And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and I drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;

10 And I said: I am the Lord your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live. But you were not willing to listen to my voice.’”

And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God: ye shall not fear the gods of the Emorites, in whose land ye dwell; but ye have not obeyed my voice.

11 Then an Angel of the Lord arrived, and he sat under an oak tree, which was at Ophrah, and which belonged to Joash, the father of the family of Ezri. And while his son Gideon was threshing and cleaning the grain at the winepress, so that he might flee from Midian,

And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat down under the oak which was in 'Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi'ezrite; and Gid'on his son was beating out wheat in the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites.

12 the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and he said: “The Lord is with you, most valiant of men.”

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

13 And Gideon said to him: “I beg you, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why have these things happened to us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers described when they said, ‘The Lord led us away from Egypt.’ But now the Lord has forsaken us, and he has delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

And Gid'on said unto him, Pardon, my lord, if the Lord be indeed with us, why then hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders of which our fathers have told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt! But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

14 And the Lord looked down upon him, and he said: “Go forth with this, your strength, and you shall free Israel from the hand of Midian. Know that I have sent you.”

And the Lord turned toward him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: behold, I have sent thee.

15 And responding, he said: “I beg you, my lord, with what shall I free Israel? Behold, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in the house of my father.”

And he said unto him, Pardon my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the weakest in Menasseh, and I am the youngest of my father's house.

16 And the Lord said to him: “I will be with you. And so, you shall cut down Midian as if one man.”

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

17 And he said: “If I have found grace before you, give me a sign that it is you who is speaking to me.

And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy eyes, then give me a sign that thou hast been speaking with me;

18 And may you not withdraw from here, until I return to you, carrying a sacrifice and offering it to you.” And he responded, “I will wait for your return.”

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thy return.

19 And so Gideon entered, and he boiled a goat, and he made unleavened bread from a measure of flour. And setting the flesh in a basket, and putting the broth of the flesh in a pot, he took it all under the oak tree, and he offered it to him.

And Gid'on went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.

20 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened bread, and place them on that rock, and pour out the broth upon it.” And when he had done so,

And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and the broth pour out. And he did so.

21 the Angel of the Lord extended the end of a staff, which he was holding in his hand, and he touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves. And a fire ascended from the rock, and it consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

22 And Gideon, realizing that it had been the Angel of the Lord, said: “Alas, my Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”

And when Gid'on perceived that it was an angel of the Lord, Gid'on said, Alas, O Lord Eternal! because I have surely seen an angel of the Lord face to face.

23 And the Lord said to him: “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid; you shall not die.”

And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

24 Therefore, Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, and he called it, the Peace of the Lord, even to the present day. And while he was still at Ophrah, which is of the family of Ezri,

And Gid'on built there an altar unto the Lord, and called it Adonay-shalom [[the Eternal of Peace: ]] unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi'ezrites.

25 that night, the Lord said to him: “Take a bull of your father’s, and another bull of seven years, and you shall destroy the altar of Baal, which is your father’s. And you shall cut down the sacred grove which is around the altar.

And it came to pass in the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, and the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal which belongeth to thy father, and the grove that is around it shalt thou cut down.

26 And you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, at the summit of this rock, on which you placed the sacrifice before. And you shall take the second bull, and you shall offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which you shall cut down from the grove.”

And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, on the level place, and take the second bullock, and offer [it as] a burnt-sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

27 Therefore, Gideon, taking ten men from his servants, did just as the Lord had instructed him. But fearing his father’s household, and the men of that city, he was not willing to do it by day. Instead, he completed everything by night.

And Gid'on took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had spoken unto him; but it came to pass, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, to do it by day, that he did it by night.

28 And when the men of that town had risen up in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the sacred grove cut down, and the second bull set upon the altar, which then had been built.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was overthrown, and the grove that was around it was cut down, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar which had been built.

29 And they said one to another, “Who has done this?” And when they inquired everywhere as to the author of the deed, it was said, “Gideon, the son of Joash, did all these things.”

And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And they inquired and searched, and then said, Gid'on the son of Joash hath done this thing.

30 And they said to Joash: “Bring forward your son here, so that he may die. For he has destroyed the altar of Baal, and he has cut down the sacred grove.”

Thereupon said the men of the city unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die; because he hath overthrown the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was around it.

31 But he responded to them: “Could you be the avengers of Baal, so that you fight on his behalf? Whoever is his adversary, let him die before the light arrives tomorrow; if he is a god, let him vindicate himself against him who has overturned his altar.”

But Joash said unto all that stood around him, Will ye indeed contend for Baal? will ye assist him? he that will contend for him, shall be put to death; [wait] until morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath overthrown his altar.

32 From that day, Gideon was called Jerubbaal, because Joash had said, “Let Baal avenge himself against him who has overturned his altar.”

And the people called him on that day Yerubba'al, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath overthrown his altar.

33 And so, all of Midian, and Amalek, and the eastern peoples were gathered together. And crossing the Jordan, they encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

And all the Midianites and 'Amalekites and the children of the east assembled together, and went over and encamped in the valley of Yizre'el.

34 But the Spirit of the Lord entered Gideon, who, sounding the trumpet, summoned the house of Abiezer so that he might follow him.

But the Spirit of the Lord endued Gid'on, and he blew the cornet: and Abi'ezer assembled and followed him.

35 And he sent messengers into all of Manasseh, who also followed him, and other messengers into Asher, and Zebulun, and Naphtali, who went to meet him.

And he sent messengers throughout all Menasseh, who also assembled and followed him; and he sent messengers through Asher, and through Zebulun, and through Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

36 And Gideon said to God: “If you will save Israel by my hand, just as you have said:

And Gid'on said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken,

37 I will set this wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there will be dew only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that by my hand, as you have said, you will free Israel.”

Behold, I set up this fleece of wool in the threshing floor: if now there be dew on the fleece alone, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken.

38 And so it was done. And rising in the night, wringing out the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

And it was so; and when he rose up early on the morrow, he squeezed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, [making] a bowl full of water.

39 And again he said to God: “Let not your fury be enkindled against me, if I test once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that only the fleece may be dry, and all the ground may be wet with dew.”

And Gid'on said unto God, Let not thy anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once [more]; let me have a proof, I pray thee, but this once more with the fleece; let it, I pray, be dry upon the fleece alone, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

40 And that night, God did as he had requested. And it was dry only on the fleece, and there was dew on all the ground.

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