Judges 6
1 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.
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.
2 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.
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.
3 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;
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.
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
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.
5 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.
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.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
Midian weakened the Israelites so severely that the people of Israel called out to Yahweh.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
When the people of Israel called out to Yahweh because of Midian,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
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.
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;
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.
10 And I said unto 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.
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.'”
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.
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.
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 Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you strong warrior!”
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 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.
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.”
14 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?
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?”
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father’s house.
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.”
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
Yahweh said to him, “I will be with you, and you will defeat the entire Midianite army as one man.”
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Gideon said to him, “If you are pleased with me, then 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 set [it] before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
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.”
19 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 unto him under the oak, and presented [it].
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.
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.
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.
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 rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
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.
22 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.
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!”
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you! Do not be afraid, you will 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 Abi-ezrites.
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.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto 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:
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.
26 And build an altar unto 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.
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.”
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto 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.
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.
28 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.
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.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
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.”
30 Then the men of the city said unto 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.
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.”
31 And Joash said unto 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 [be] a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] hath cast down his altar.
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.”
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
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.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
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.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
But the Spirit of Yahweh came over Gideon. Gideon blew a trumpet, calling out the clan of Abiezer, so they might follow him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
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.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
Gideon said to God, “If you intend to use me to save Israel, as you have said—
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and] if the dew be on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the earth [beside], then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
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.”
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
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.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot 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.
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.”
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
God did what he asked for that night. The fleece was dry, and there was dew on all the ground around it.
