Judges 6

1 Forsothe the sones of Israel diden yuel in the `siyt of the Lord, and he bitook hem in the hond of Madian seuene yeer.

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

2 And thei weren oppressid of hem greetly; and `thei maden dichis, and dennes to hem silf in hillis, and strongeste places to fiyte ayen.

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

3 And whanne Israel hadde sowe, Madian stiede, and Amalech, and othere of the `naciouns of the eest;

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

4 and thei settiden tentis at the sones of Israel, and wastiden alle thingis `as tho weren in eerbis, ethir grene corn, `til to the entryng of Gaza, and outirli thei leften not in Israel ony thing perteynynge to lijf, not scheep, not oxun, not assis.

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza; and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

5 For thei and alle her flockis camen with her tabernaclis, and at the licnesse of locustus thei filliden alle thingis, and a multitude of men and of camels was with out noumbre, and wastiden what euer thing thei touchiden.

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

6 And Israel was `maad low greetli in the siyt of Madian.

And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.

7 And Israel criede to the Lord, `and axyde help ayens Madianytis; and he sente to hem a man,

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,

8 a profete, and he spak, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y made you to stie fro Egipt, and Y ledde you out of the hows of seruage,

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

9 and Y delyueride you fro the hond of Egipcians, and of alle enemyes that turmentiden you; and Y castide hem out at youre entryng, and Y yaf to you `the lond of hem;

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

10 and Y seide, Y am `youre Lord God; drede ye not the goddis of Ammorreis, in whose lond ye dwellen; and ye nolden here my vois.

And I said to you, I [am] the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

11 Forsothe an aungel of the Lord cam, and sat undur an ook, that was in Effra, and perteynede to Joas, fadir of the meinee of Ezri. And whanne Gedeon, `his sone, threischide out, and purgide wheetis in a pressour,

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] to Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the wine-press, to hide [it] from the Midianites.

12 that he schulde fle Madian, an aungel of the Lord apperide to hym, and seide, The Lord be with thee, thou strongeste of men.

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

13 And Gedeon seide to hym, My lord, Y biseche, if the Lord is with vs, whi therfor han alle these yuels take vs? Where ben the merueils of hym, whiche oure fadris telden, and seiden, The Lord ledde vs out of Egipt? `Now forsothe he hath forsake vs, and hath bitake vs in the hond of Madian.

And Gideon said to him, O my LORD, if the LORD is with us, why then hath all this befallen us? and where [are] all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

14 And the Lord bihelde to hym, and seide, Go thou in this strengthe of thee, and thou schalt delyuere Israel fro the hond of Madian; wite thou, that Y sente thee.

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

15 Which Gedeon answeride, and seide, My lord, Y biseche, in what thing schal Y delyuere Israel? Lo! my meynee is the loweste in Manasses, and Y am the leeste in the hows of my fadir.

And he said to him, O my LORD, by what means shall I save Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's house.

16 And the Lord seide to hym, Y schal be with thee, and thou schalt smyte Madian as o man.

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

17 And Gedeon seide, If Y haue foundun grace bifor thee, yyue to me a signe, that thou, that spekist to me, art sente of Goddis part;

And he said to him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.

18 go thou not `awei fro hennus, til Y turne ayen to thee, and brynge sacrifice, and offre to thee. Whiche answeride, Y schal abide thi comyng.

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and set [it] before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou comest again.

19 And so Gedeon entride, and sethide a kide, and took therf looues of a buyschel of mell, and fleischis in a panyere; and he sente the broth of fleischis in a pot, and bar alle thingis vndur an ook, and offride to hym.

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

20 To whom the aungel of the Lord seide, Take thou the fleischis, and therf looues, and putte on that stoon, and schede the broth aboue. And whanne he hadde do so,

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 aungel of the Lord helde forth the `ende of the yerde which he helde in the hond, and he touchide the fleischis, and the therf looues; and fier stiede fro the stoon, and wastide the fleischis, and therf looues. Forsothe the aungel of the Lord vanyschide fro hise iyen.

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 fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed from his sight.

22 And Gedeon siy that he was `an aungel of the Lord, and seide, Lord God, alas to me, for Y siy the aungel of the Lord face to face.

And when Gideon perceived that he was [an] angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.

23 And the Lord seide to hym, Pees be with thee; drede thou not, thou schalt not die.

And the LORD said to him, Peace [be] to thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

24 Therfor Gedeon bildide there an auter to the Lord, and he clepide it the Pees of the Lord, `til in to present dai. And whanne he was yit in Effra, which is of the meynee of Ezri, the Lord seide to hym in that nyyt,

Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: to this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25 Take thou `the bole of thy fadir, and anothir bole of seuene yeer, and thou schalt distrie the auter of Baal, which is thi fadris, and kitte thou doun the wode, which is aboute the auter;

And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that [is] by it:

26 and thou schalt bilde an auter to thi Lord God in the hiynesse of this stoon, on which thou puttidist sacrifice bifore; and thou schalt take the secounde bole, and thou schalt offre brent sacrifice on the heep of trees, whiche thou kittidist doun of the wode.

And build an altar to the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

27 Therfore Gedeon took ten men of hise seruauntis, and dide as the Lord comaundide to hym. Sotheli Gedeon dredde the hows of his fadir, and the men of that citee, and nolde do bi dai, but fillide alle thingis bi nyyt.

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said to him: and [so] it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do [it] by day, that he did [it] by night.

28 And whanne men of that citee hadde rise eerly, thei sien the auter of Baal distried, and the wode kit doun, and the tothir bole put on the auter, that was bildid thanne.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that [was] by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar [that was] built.

29 And thei seiden togidere, Who hath do this? And whanne thei enqueriden the doer of the deed, it was seid, Gedeon, the sone of Joas, dide alle these thingis.

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.

30 And thei seiden to Joas, Brynge forth thi sone hidur, that he die, for he distriede the auter of Baal, and kittide doun the wode.

Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that [was] by it.

31 To whiche he answeride, Whether ye ben the venieris of Baal, that ye fiyte for hym? he that is aduersarie of hym, die, bifor that the `liyt of the morew dai come; if he is God, venge he hym silf of hym that castide doun his auter.

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

32 Fro that dai Gedeon was clepid Gerobaal, for Joas hadde seid, Baal take veniaunce of hym that castide doun his auter.

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

33 Therfor al Madian, and Amalech, and the puplis of the eest weren gadirid to gidere, and passiden Jordan, and settiden tentis in the valey of Jezrael.

Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east were assembled, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

34 Forsothe the spirit of the Lord clothide Gedeon; `and he sownede with a clarioun, and clepide to gidere the hows of Abiezer, that it schulde sue hym.

But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was called after him.

35 And he sente messangeris in to al Manasses, and he suede Gedeon; and he sente othere messangeris in to Aser, and Zabulon, and Neptalym, whiche camen to hym.

And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was called after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

36 And Gedeon seide to the Lord, If thou makist saaf Israel bi myn hond, as thou hast spoke,

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

37 Y schal putte this flees of wolle in the corn floor; if dew is in the flees aloone, and drynesse is in al the erthe, Y schal wite, that thou schalt delyuere Israel bi myn hond, as thou hast spoke.

Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; [and] if the dew shall be on the fleece only, and [it] shall [be] dry upon all the earth [besides], then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

38 And it was don so. And he roos bi nyyt, and whanne the flees was wrongun out, he fillide a pot with deew;

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

39 and he seide eft to the Lord, Thi strong veniaunce be not wrooth ayens me, if Y asaie, `that is, axe a signe, yit onys, and seke a signe in the flees; Y preye, that the flees aloone be drie, and al the erthe be moist with deew.

And Gideon said to God, Let not thy anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: Let me make trial, 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.

40 And the Lord dide in that nyyt, as Gedeon axide; and drynesse was in the flees aloone, and deew was in al the erthe.

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