Iudicum 6
1 Fecerunt autem filii Israël malum in conspectu Domini: qui tradidit illos in manu Madian septem annis,
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 et oppressi sunt valde ab eis. Feceruntque sibi antra et speluncas in montibus, et munitissima ad repugnandum loca.
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 Cumque sevisset Israël, ascendebat Madian et Amalec, ceterique orientalium nationum:
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 et apud eos figentes tentoria, sicut erant in herbis cuncta vastabant usque ad introitum Gazæ: nihilque omnino ad vitam pertinens relinquebant in Israël, non oves, non boves, non asinos.
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 Ipsi enim et universi greges eorum veniebant cum tabernaculis suis, et instar locustarum universa complebant, innumera multitudo hominum et camelorum, quidquid tetigerant devastantes.
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 Humiliatusque est Israël valde in conspectu Madian.
And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry to YHWH.
7 Et clamavit ad Dominum postulans auxilium contra Madianitas.
And it comes to pass, when the sons of Israel have cried to YHWH concerning Midian,
8 Qui misit ad eos virum prophetam, et locutus est: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Ego vos feci conscendere de Ægypto, et eduxi vos de domo servitutis,
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 et liberavi de manu Ægyptiorum, et omnium inimicorum qui affligebant vos: ejecique eos ad introitum vestrum, et tradidi vobis terram eorum.
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 Et dixi: Ego Dominus Deus vester: ne timeatis deos Amorrhæorum, in quorum terra habitatis. Et noluistis audire vocem meam.
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 Venit autem angelus Domini, et sedit sub quercu, quæ erat in Ephra, et pertinebat ad Joas patrem familiæ Ezri. Cumque Gedeon filius ejus excuteret atque purgaret frumenta in torculari, ut fugeret Madian,
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 apparuit ei angelus Domini, et ait: Dominus tecum, virorum fortissime.
and the Messenger of YHWH appears to him and says to him, “YHWH [is] with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 Dixitque ei Gedeon: Obsecro, mi domine, si Dominus nobiscum est, cur apprehenderunt nos hæc omnia? ubi sunt mirabilia ejus, quæ narraverunt patres nostri, atque dixerunt: De Ægypto eduxit nos Dominus? nunc autem dereliquit nos Dominus, et tradidit in manu Madian.
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 Respexitque ad eum Dominus, et ait: Vade in hac fortitudine tua, et liberabis Israël de manu Madian: scito quod miserim te.
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 Qui respondens ait: Obsecro, mi domine, in quo liberabo Israël? ecce familia mea infima est in Manasse, et ego minimus in domo patris mei.
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 Dixitque ei Dominus: Ego ero tecum: et percuties Madian quasi unum virum.
And YHWH says to him, “Because I am with you—you have struck the Midianites as one man.”
17 Et ille: Si inveni, inquit, gratiam coram te, da mihi signum quod tu sis qui loqueris ad 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 nec recedas hinc, donec revertar ad te, portans sacrificium, et offerens tibi. Qui respondit: Ego præstolabor adventum tuum.
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 Ingressus est itaque Gedeon, et coxit hædum, et de farinæ modio azymos panes: carnesque ponens in canistro, et jus carnium mittens in ollam, tulit omnia sub quercu, et obtulit ei.
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 Cui dixit angelus Domini: Tolle carnes et azymos panes, et pone supra petram illam, et jus desuper funde. Cumque fecisset ita,
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 extendit angelus Domini summitatem virgæ, quam tenebat in manu, et tetigit carnes et panes azymos: ascenditque ignis de petra, et carnes azymosque panes consumpsit: angelus autem Domini evanuit ex oculis ejus.
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 Vidensque Gedeon quod esset angelus Domini, ait: Heu mi Domine Deus: quia vidi angelum Domini facie ad faciem.
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 Dixitque ei Dominus: Pax tecum: ne timeas, non morieris.
And YHWH says to him, “Peace to you; do not fear; you do not die.”
24 Ædificavit ergo ibi Gedeon altare Domino, vocavitque illud, Domini pax, usque in præsentem diem. Cumque adhuc esset in Ephra, quæ est familiæ Ezri,
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 nocte illa dixit Dominus ad eum: Tolle taurum patris tui, et alterum taurum annorum septem, destruesque aram Baal, quæ est patris tui, et nemus, quod circa aram est, succide.
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 Et ædificabis ibi altare Domino Deo tuo in summitate petræ hujus, super quam ante sacrificium posuisti: tollesque taurum secundum, et offeres holocaustum super struem lignorum, quæ de nemore succideris.
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 Assumptis ergo Gedeon decem viris de servis suis, fecit sicut præceperat ei Dominus. Timens autem domum patris sui, et homines illius civitatis, per diem noluit id facere, sed omnia nocte complevit.
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 Cumque surrexissent viri oppidi ejus mane, viderunt destructam aram Baal, lucumque succisum, et taurum alterum impositum super altare, quod tunc ædificatum erat.
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 Dixeruntque ad invicem: Quis hoc fecit? Cumque perquirerent auctorem facti, dictum est: Gedeon filius Joas fecit hæc omnia.
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 Et dixerunt ad Joas: Produc filium tuum huc, ut moriatur: quia destruxit aram Baal, et succidit nemus.
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 Quibus ille respondit: Numquid ultores estis Baal, ut pugnetis pro eo? qui adversarius est ejus, moriatur antequam lux crastina veniat: si deus est, vindicet se de eo, qui suffodit aram ejus.
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 Ex illo die vocatus est Gedeon Jerobaal, eo quod dixisset Joas: Ulciscatur se de eo Baal, qui suffodit aram ejus.
And he calls him, on that day, Jerubba‘al, saying, “The Ba‘al pleads against him, because he has broken down his altar.”
33 Igitur omnis Madian, et Amalec, et orientales populi, congregati sunt simul: et transeuntes Jordanem, castrametati sunt in valle Jezraël.
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 Spiritus autem Domini induit Gedeon, qui clangens buccina convocavit domum Abiezer, ut sequeretur se.
and the Spirit of YHWH has clothed Gideon, and he blows with a horn, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;
35 Misitque nuntios in universum Manassen, qui et ipse secutus est eum: et alios nuntios in Aser et Zabulon et Nephthali, qui occurrerunt ei.
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 Dixitque Gedeon ad Deum: Si salvum facis per manum meam Israël, sicut locutus es,
And Gideon says to God, “If You are Savior of Israel by my hand, as You have spoken,
37 ponam hoc vellus lanæ in area: si ros in solo vellere fuerit, et in omni terra siccitas, sciam quod per manum meam, sicut locutus es, liberabis Israël.
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 Factumque est ita. Et de nocte consurgens expresso vellere, concham rore implevit.
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 Dixitque rursus ad Deum: Ne irascatur furor tuus contra me si adhuc semel tentavero, signum quærens in vellere. Oro ut solum vellus siccum sit, et omnis terra rore madens.
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 Fecitque Deus nocte illa ut postulaverat: et fuit siccitas in solo vellere, et ros in omni terra.
And God does so on that night, and there is only dryness on the fleece, and there has been dew on all the earth.
