Judges 6

1 And the sons of Israel do evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH gives 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 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.

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 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,

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 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;

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 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.

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

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

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

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

8 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,

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 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,

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 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.”

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 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;

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

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 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.”

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 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?”

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 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.”

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

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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!”

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

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

24 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.

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 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,

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 And he calls him, on that day, Jerubba‘al, saying, “The Ba‘al pleads against him, because he has broken down 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 all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp 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 and the Spirit of YHWH has clothed Gideon, and he blows with a horn, and Abi-Ezer is called after 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 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.

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

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

37 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”;

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 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.

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 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.”

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

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