< Judges 6 >
1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years.
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 The power of Midian oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the people of Israel made shelters for themselves from the dens in the hills, the caves, and the strongholds.
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 It happened that any time the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people from the east would attack the Israelites.
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 They would set up their army on the land and destroy the crops, all the way to Gaza. They would leave no food in Israel, and no sheep, nor cattle or donkeys.
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 Whenever they and their livestock and tents came up, they would come as a swarm of locusts, and it was impossible to count either the people or their camels. They invaded the land in order 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 Midian weakened the Israelites so severely that the people of Israel called out to Yahweh.
And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry to YHWH.
7 When the people of Israel called out to Yahweh because of Midian,
And it comes to pass, when the sons of Israel have cried to YHWH concerning Midian,
8 Yahweh sent a prophet to the people of Israel. The prophet said to them, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you out of the house of slavery.
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 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all who were oppressing you. I drove them out before you, and I gave 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 I said to you, “I am Yahweh your God; I commanded you not to worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.” But you have not obeyed my voice.'”
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 Now the angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (the Abiezrite), while Gideon, Joash's son, was separating out the wheat by beating it on the floor, in the winepress—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 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you strong warrior!”
and the Messenger of YHWH appears to him and says to him, “YHWH [is] with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 Gideon said to him, “Oh, my master, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers told us about, when they said, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has abandoned us and gave us into the hand of Midian.”
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 Yahweh looked at him and said, “Go in the strength you already have. Deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
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 Gideon said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? See, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least important in my father's 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 Yahweh said to him, “I will be with you, and you will defeat the entire Midianite army as one man.”
And YHWH says to him, “Because I am with you—you have struck the Midianites as one man.”
17 Gideon said to him, “If you are pleased with me, then give me a sign that it is you who is speaking to 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 Please, do not leave here, until I come to you and bring out my gift and set it before you.” Yahweh said, “I will wait until you return.”
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 Gideon went and prepared a young goat and from an ephah of flour he made unleavened bread. He put the meat in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot and brought them to him under the oak tree, and presented them.
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 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth over them.” That is what Gideon did.
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 angel of Yahweh reached out with the end of the staff in his hand. With it he touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; a fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of Yahweh went away and Gideon could no longer see him.
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 Gideon understood that this was the angel of Yahweh. Gideon said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! For I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!”
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 Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you! Do not be afraid, you will not die.”
And YHWH says to him, “Peace to you; do not fear; you do not die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it, “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it still stands at Ophrah of the clan of Abiezer.
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 That night Yahweh said to him, “Take your father's bull, and a second bull that is seven years old, and pull apart the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside 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 Build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this place of refuge, and construct it the correct way. Offer the second bull as a burnt offering, using the wood from the Asherah that you cut down.”
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 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the town to do it during the day, he did it at 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 In the morning when the men of the town got up, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull had been offered on the altar that had been built.
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 The men of the city said to one another, “Who has done this?” When they talked with others and searched for answers, they said, “Gideon son of Joash has 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 town said to Joash, “Bring out your son so that he may be put to death, because he pulled apart the altar of Baal, and because he cut down the Asherah beside 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 Joash said to all who opposed him, “Will you plead the case for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever pleads the case for him, let him be put to death while it is still morning. If Baal is a god, let him defend himself when someone pulls his altar apart.”
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 Therefore on that day they called Gideon “Jerub Baal,” because he said, “Let Baal defend himself against him,” because Gideon broke down Baal's 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 Now all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the east gathered together. They crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
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 Yahweh came over Gideon. Gideon blew a trumpet, calling out the clan of Abiezer, so they might follow him.
and the Spirit of YHWH has clothed Gideon, and he blows with a horn, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;
35 He sent messengers all throughout Manasseh, and they too, were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet him.
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 Gideon said to God, “If you intend to use me to save Israel, as you have said—
And Gideon says to God, “If You are Savior of Israel by my hand, as You have spoken,
37 Look, I am putting a woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that you will use me to save Israel, as you 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 This is what happened—Gideon rose early the next morning, he pressed the fleece together, and wrung out the dew from the fleece, enough to fill a bowl with 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 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, I will speak one more time. Please allow me one more test using the fleece. This time make the fleece dry, and let there be dew on all the ground around it.”
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 God did what he asked for that night. The fleece was dry, and there was dew on all the ground around it.
And God does so on that night, and there is only dryness on the fleece, and there has been dew on all the earth.