Judges 6

1 Afterwarde the children of Israel committed wickednesse in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gaue them into the handes of Midian seuen yeres.

And the sons of Israel do evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH gives them into the hand of Midian [for] seven years,

2 And the hand of Midian preuayled against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them dennes in the mountaines, and caues, and strong holdes.

and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, [so] the sons of Israel have made for themselves the nooks which [are] in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds [to hide] from the presence of Midian.

3 When Israel had sowen, then came vp the Midianites, the Amalekites, and they of the East, and came vpon them,

And it has been, if Israel has sowed, that Midian has come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, indeed, they have come up against him,

4 And camped by them, and destroyed the fruite of the earth, euen til thou come vnto Azzah, and left no foode for Israel, neither sheepe, nor oxe, nor asse.

and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land until your entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or donkey;

5 For they went vp, and their cattel, and came with their tentes as grashoppers in multitude: so that they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.

for they and their livestock come up, with their tents; they come in as the fullness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their livestock there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it.

6 So was Israel exceedingly impouerished by the Midianites: therefore the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord.

And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry to YHWH.

7 And when the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord because of the Midianites,

And it comes to pass, when the sons of Israel have cried to YHWH concerning Midian,

8 The Lord sent vnto the children of Israel a Prophet, who sayd vuto them, Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, I haue brought you vp from Egypt, and haue brought you out of the house of bondage,

that YHWH sends a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel, and he says to them, “Thus said YHWH, God of Israel: I have brought you up out of Egypt, and I bring you out from a house of servants,

9 And I haue deliuered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and haue cast them out before you, and giuen you their land.

and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all your oppressors, and I cast them out from your presence, and I give their land to you,

10 And I sayde vnto you, I am the Lord your God: feare not the gods of the Amorites in whose lande you dwell: but ye haue not obeyed my voyce.

and I say to you, I [am] your God YHWH, you do not fear the gods of the Amorite in whose land you are dwelling—and you have not listened to My voice.”

11 And the Angell of the Lord came, and sate vnder the oke which was in Ophrah, that perteined vnto Ioash the father of the Ezrites, and his sonne Gideon threshed wheate by the winepresse, to hide it from the Midianites.

And the Messenger of YHWH comes and sits under the oak which [is] in Ophrah, which [is] to Joash the Abi-Ezrite, and his son Gideon is beating out wheat in the winepress, to remove [it] from the presence of the Midianites;

12 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto him, and said vnto him, The Lord is with thee, thou valiant man.

and the Messenger of YHWH appears to him and says to him, “YHWH [is] with you, O mighty man of valor.”

13 To whome Gideon answered, Ah my Lord, if the Lord be with vs, why then is all this come vpon vs? and where be all his miracles which our fathers tolde vs of, and sayd, Did not the Lord bring vs out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken vs, and deliuered vs into the hand of the Midianites.

And Gideon says to Him, “O my Lord, [if] YHWH is indeed with us, then why has all this found us? And where [are] all His wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Has YHWH not brought us up out of Egypt? And now YHWH has left us, and gives us into the hand of Midian.”

14 And the Lord looked vpon him, and sayd, Goe in this thy might, and thou shalt saue Israel out of the handes of the Midianites: haue not I sent thee?

And YHWH turns to him and says, “Go in this—your power; and you have saved Israel out of the hand of Midian—have I not sent you?”

15 And he answered him, Ah my Lord, whereby shall I saue Israel? beholde, my father is poore in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fathers house.

And he says to Him, “O my Lord, with what do I save Israel? Behold, my chief [is] weak in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in the house of my father.”

16 Then the Lord sayd vnto him, I wil therefore be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites, as one man.

And YHWH says to him, “Because I am with you—you have struck the Midianites as one man.”

17 And he answered him, I pray thee, if I haue founde fauour in thy sight, then shewe me a signe, that thou talkest with me.

And he says to Him, “Now if I have found grace in Your eyes, then You have done a sign for me that You are speaking with me.

18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, vntil I come vnto thee, and bring mine offring, and lay it before thee. And he sayde, I will tary vntill thou come againe.

Please do not move from here until my coming to You, and I have brought out my present, and put it before You”; and He says, “I abide until your return.”

19 Then Gideon went in, and made ready a kidde, and vnleauened bread of an Ephah of floure, and put the flesh in a basket, and put the broth in a pot, and brought it out vnto him vnder the oke, and presented it.

And Gideon has gone in, and prepares a kid of the goats, and an ephah of flour [worth] of unleavened things; he has put the flesh in a basket, and he has put the broth in a pot, and he brings [them] out to Him, to the place of the oak, and brings [them] near.

20 And the Angell of God saide vnto him, Take the flesh and the vnleauened bread, and lay them vpon this stone, and powre out the broth: and he did so.

And the Messenger of God says to him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened things, and place [them] on this rock—and pour out the broth”; and he does so.

21 Then the Angell of the Lord put forth the ende of the staffe that he had in his hand, and touched the flesh and the vnleauened bread: and there arose vp fire out of the stone, and consumed the flesh and the vnleauened bread: so the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

And the Messenger of YHWH puts forth the end of the staff which [is] in His hand, and comes against the flesh, and against the unleavened things, and the fire goes up out of the rock and consumes the flesh and the unleavened things—and the Messenger of YHWH has gone from his eyes.

22 And when Gideon perceiued that it was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon then sayde, Alas, my Lord God: for because I haue seene an Angell of the Lord face to face, I shall die.

And Gideon sees that He [is] the Messenger of YHWH, and Gideon says, “Aah, Lord YHWH! For so I have looked on the Messenger of YHWH face to face!”

23 And the Lord said vnto him, Peace be vnto thee: feare not, thou shalt not die.

And YHWH says to him, “Peace to you; do not fear; you do not die.”

24 Then Gideon made an altar there vnto the Lord, and called it, Iehouah shalom: vnto this day it is in Ophrah, of the father of the Ezrites.

And Gideon builds an altar to YHWH there, and calls it YHWH-Shalom, it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrites to this day.

25 And the same night the Lord sayd vnto him, Take thy fathers yong bullocke, and an other bullocke of seuen yeeres olde, and destroy the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut downe the groue that is by it,

And it comes to pass, on that night, that YHWH says to him, “Take the young ox which your father has, and the second bullock of seven years, and you have thrown down the altar of Ba‘al which your father has, and cut down the Asherah which [is] by it,

26 And build an altar vnto the Lord thy God vpon the top of this rocke, in a plaine place: and take the seconde bullocke, and offer a burnt offringe with the woode of the groue, which thou shalt cut downe.

and you have built an altar to your God YHWH on the top of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and have taken the second bullock, and caused a burnt-offering to ascend with the wood of the Asherah which you cut down.”

27 Then Gideon tooke tenne men of his seruants, and did as ye Lord bade him: but because he feared to doe it by day for his fathers housholde, and the men of the citie, he did it by night.

And Gideon takes ten men of his servants, and does as YHWH has spoken to him, and it comes to pass, because he has been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do [it] by day, that he does [it] by night.

28 And when the men of the citie arose early in the morning, beholde, the altar of Baal was broken, and the groue cut downe that was by it, and the seconde bullocke offred vpon the altar that was made.

And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Ba‘al has been broken down, and the Asherah which is by it has been cut down, and the second bullock has been offered on the altar which is built.

29 Therefore they saide one to another, Who hath done this thing? and when they inquired and asked, they saide, Gideon the sonne of Ioash hath done this thing.

And they say to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And they inquire and seek, and they say, “Gideon son of Joash has done this thing.”

30 Then the men of the citie said vnto Ioash, Bring out thy sonne, that hee may dye: for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath also cut downe the groue that was by it.

And the men of the city say to Joash, “Bring out your son, and he dies, because he has broken down the altar of Ba‘al, and because he has cut down the Asherah which [is] by it.”

31 And Ioash said vnto all that stood by him, Will ye pleade Baals cause? or will ye saue him? he that will contend for him, let him dye or the morning. If he be God, let him pleade for himselfe against him that hath cast downe his altar.

And Joash says to all who have stood against him, “You, do you plead for Ba‘al? You—do you save him? He who pleads for him is put to death during the morning; if he [is] a god he pleads against him himself, because he has broken down his altar.”

32 And in that day was Gideon called Ierubbaal, that is, Let Baal pleade for himselfe because he hath broken downe his altar.

And he calls him, on that day, Jerubba‘al, saying, “The Ba‘al pleads against him, because he has broken down his altar.”

33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and they of ye East, were gathered together, aud went and pitched in the valley of Izreel.

And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the Valley of Jezreel,

34 But the Spirit of the Lord came vpon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer was ioyned with him.

and the Spirit of YHWH has clothed Gideon, and he blows with a horn, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;

35 And he sent messengers thorowout al Manasseh, which also was ioyned with him, and he sent messengers vnto Asher, and to Zebulun and to Naphtali, and they came vp to meete them.

and he has sent messengers into all Manasseh, and it is also called after him; and he has sent messengers into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them.

36 Then Gideon said vnto God, If thou wilt saue Israel by mine hand, as thou hast sayd,

And Gideon says to God, “If You are Savior of Israel by my hand, as You have spoken,

37 Beholde, I wil put a fleece of wooll in the threshing place: if the dewe come on the fleece onely, and it be drie vpon all the earth, then shall I be sure, that thou wilt saue Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

behold, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is only on the fleece, and dryness on all the earth—then I have known that You save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken”;

38 And so it was: for he rose vp earely on the morow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, and filled a bowle of water.

and it is so, and he rises early on the next day, and presses the fleece, and wrings dew out of the fleece—the fullness of the bowl of waters.

39 Againe, Gideon sayde vnto God, Be not angry with me, that I may speake once more: let me prooue once againe, I pray thee, with the fleece: let it now be drie onely vpon the fleece, and let dewe be vpon all the ground.

And Gideon says to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me, and I only speak this time; please let me try only this time with the fleece—please let there be only dryness on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the earth.”

40 And God did so that same night: for it was drie vpon the fleece onely, and there was dewe on all the ground.

And God does so on that night, and there is only dryness on the fleece, and there has been dew on all the earth.