Judges 6

1 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

2 The Midianite oppression was so great that because of them the Israelites made themselves hiding places in mountains, caves, and fortifications.

And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other peoples from the east would come and attack them.

And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up, and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against them.

4 They would set up their camps and destroy the country's crops as far away as Gaza. They didn't leave anything to eat in the whole of Israel, and they took for themselves all the sheep, cattle, and donkeys.

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

5 They arrived in huge numbers with their livestock and tents like swarms of locusts, with so many camels they couldn't be counted. They invaded the land to completely devastate it.

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

6 The Israelites were made desperately poor by the Midianites and they called out to the Lord for help.

And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah.

7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of the Midianites,

And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried to Jehovah because of Midian,

8 the Lord sent the Israelites a prophet. He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt; I led you out from the place where you were slaves.

that Jehovah sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

9 I saved you from the power of the Egyptians and from everyone who oppressed you. I expelled them before you and gave 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 drove them out from before you, and gave you their land,

10 I warned you: I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you're now living.’ But you didn't listen to me.”

and I said to you, I am Jehovah your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened to my voice.

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress there to hide it from the Midianites.

And an angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth that was in Ophrah, that [belonged] to Joash the Abi-ezrite. And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure [it] from the Midianites.

12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, great man of courage!”

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

13 “Excuse me, my lord, but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” Gideon replied. “Where are all his wonderful miracles that our forefathers reminded us about when they said, ‘Wasn't it the Lord who led us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has given up on us and has handed us over to the Midianites.”

And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength that you have and save Israel from the Midianites. Aren't I the one sending you?”

And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee?

15 “Excuse me, my lord, but how can I save Israel?” Gideon replied. “My family is the least important of the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important person of that family!”

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

16 “I will be with you,” the Lord told him. “You will defeat the Midianites as if they were just one man.”

And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and thou shalt smite Midian as one man.

17 “Please, Lord, if you think well of me, give me a sign that it's really you telling me this,” Gideon asked.

And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me.

18 “Don't leave until I come back and present my offering to you.” “I will remain here until you return,” he replied.

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 thou come again.

19 Gideon went and cooked a young goat, and baked some unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He carried them out and presented them to the angel under the oak tree.

And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and an ephah of flour in unleavened cakes: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the terebinth, and presented it.

20 The angel of God told him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock and pour the broth over them.” So Gideon did.

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

21 The angel of the Lord held out the staff he was holding and touched the meat and unleavened bread with the tip. Fire flamed from the rock and burned up the meat and unleavened bread. Then the angel vanished.

And the Angel of Jehovah 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 Jehovah departed out of his sight.

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Oh no, Lord God! I've seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! for because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face...

23 But the Lord told him, “Peace! Don't worry, you're not going to die.”

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

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it “The Lord is Peace.” It's still there today, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25 That night the Lord told Gideon, “Take your father's bull and a second bull seven years old, and tear down your father's altar of Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God in the proper way on hilltop. Using the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down as firewood, take the second bull and present it as a burnt offering.”

and build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah that thou shalt cut down.

27 Gideon accompanied by ten of his servants did what the Lord had told him. However, because he was afraid of his family and the people of the town, he did it during the night rather than in the day.

And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his father's house, and the men of the city, if he did it by day, that he did it by night.

28 Early in the morning when the people of the town got up, they saw that the altar of Baal had been torn down and the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down, with the second bull sacrificed on the altar that had just been built.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered up upon the altar that was built.

29 They asked one another, “Who did this?” They made inquiries and they were told, “Gideon, son of Joash, did it.”

And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

30 “Hand over your son,” the people of the town ordered Joash. “He must die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

31 Joash replied to all those confronting him, “Are you arguing on Baal's behalf? Do you have to save him? Anyone who argues for him will be put to death by morning! If he is a god let him fight for himself against those who tore down his altar.”

And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that contends for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be a god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down his altar.

32 That day Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means “Let Baal fight with him,” because he had torn down his altar.

And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead with him, because he has broken down his altar.

33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other peoples of the East gathered together and crossed over the Jordan. They camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

And all Midian and Amalek and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

34 The Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, calling Abiezrites to join him.

And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the Abi-ezrites were gathered after him.

35 He sent messengers through the whole territory of Manasseh, calling them to join him, and also to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so they also came and joined the others.

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

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel through me as you promised,

And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

37 then look—I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If the fleece is wet with dew but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to save Israel through me as you promised.”

behold, I put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if dew shall be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

38 That's what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he pressed on the fleece and squeezed out the dew, enough water to fill a bowl.

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

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don't get cross with me. Just let me make one more request. Let me do one more test with the fleece. This time let the fleece be dry and the whole ground covered with dew.”

And Gideon said to God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once! Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it, I pray thee, be dry upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

40 That night God did exactly that. The fleece alone was dry and the whole ground was covered with dew.

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