Judges 6

1 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

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

2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strong holds.

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

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

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

4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

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.

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

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.

6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

And Israel was humbled greatly in the sight of Midian.

7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of Midian,

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

8 that the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

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.

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

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.

10 and I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

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.’”

11 And the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

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,

12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

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

13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

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.”

14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?

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.”

15 And he said unto him, Oh Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

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.”

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

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

17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me.

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

18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

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.”

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

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.

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

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,

21 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 went 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.

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.

22 And Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.

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.”

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

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

24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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,

25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s bullock, 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:

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.

26 and build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this strong hold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.

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.”

27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

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.

28 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 upon the altar that was built.

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.

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

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.”

30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was by it.

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.”

31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst [it is yet] morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath broken down his altar.

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.”

32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.

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

33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel

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.

34 But the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.

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

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

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.

36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken,

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

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

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.”

38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

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

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

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.”

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

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.