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.

1. The Israelites treated Yahweh badly, and Yahweh gave them into the hands of the Midianites 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.

2. and the hand of the Midianites lay heavily on them. Because of Midian, the Israelites made for themselves passages in the mountains, caves and shelters.

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;

3. When the Israelites had sown, Midian would come with Amalek and with the people of the East. They would come up against 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.

4. encamp in the lands of the Israelites and destroy all the fields as far as the entrance to Gaza. They would leave no provisions or sheep or ox or ass,

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.

5. for they would come up like locusts in number, bringing with them their livestock and their tents. They and their camels were many and they invaded and plundered the land.

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

6. In this way, Midian subdued Israel and brought upon it so great a misery that the Israelites cried to Yahweh.

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

7. When the Israelites cried 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;

8. Yahweh sent them a prophet who said to them, "This is the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and 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;

9. I freed you from the hands of the Egyptians and from all your oppressors. I drove out before you the inhabitants of these lands, and gave their lands to you,

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.

10. and I said to you, 'I am Yahweh, your God. Disregard the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.' But you did not listen to me."

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

11. The Angel of Yahweh came and sat under the sacred tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, of the family of Abiezer. Gideon, the son of Joash, was threshing the wheat 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.

12. The Angel of Yahweh said to him, "Yahweh be with you, valiant 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.

13. Gideon answered, "Please, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us? Where are the wonders which our fathers recounted to us? Did they not say that Yahweh led them up from Egypt? Why has he abandoned us now and given us into the hands of the Midianites?"

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?

14. Yahweh then turned to him and said, "Go, and with your courage, save Israel from the Midianites. It is I who send 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.

15. Gideon answered: "Pardon me, Lord, but how can I save Israel? My family is the lowliest in my tribe and I am the least in the family 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.

16. Yahweh said to him, "I will be with you and you shall defeat the people of Midian with one single stroke."

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.

17. Gideon said to him, "Please give me a sign that it is indeed you who speak.

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.

18. Do not leave until I return with an offering and present it to you." Yahweh responded, "I am going to wait for you here."

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].

19. Gideon went and prepared a young goat, took a measure of flour and baked unleavened bread. He put the broth in a pot and the meat in a basket, and went to present them to the Angel under the tree.

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.

20. Then the Angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the bread; put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." Gideon did 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 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.

21. At that moment, the Angel of Yahweh extended the staff he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Suddenly, fire blazed from the rock. The fire consumed the meat and the bread, and the Angel of Yahweh disappeared.

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.

22. Gideon realized that he was the Angel of Yahweh and said, "Alas, O Lord Yahweh! 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.

23. But Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear for you shall not die."

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

24. Gideon built an altar to Yahweh in that place and called it Yahweh-Peace. To this day, it is still in Ophrah 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:

25. That same night Yahweh said to Gideon, "Take with you ten of your father's servants and a seven-year-old bull. Destroy your father's altar to Baal and cut the sacred pillar 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.

26. Then build an altar to Yahweh on this knoll and sacrifice the bull to me, burning it with the wood from the sacred pillar."

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.

27. So, Gideon, with the help of his ten servants, did what Yahweh had commanded. But because he feared his family and the people of the town, he did it by 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.

28. On the following day, the towns-people saw the altar of Baal broken into pieces and the sacred pillar cut down. They also saw that a bull had been sacrificed on the new altar.

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.

29. So they asked one another and, as they investigated, found out that it was Gideon who had done it,

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.

30. and they went to Joash and said, "Hand your son over to us for he must die; he destroyed the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pillar."

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.

31. But Joash said to the angry crowd, "Are you going to defend Baal and save him? If he is god, let him defend himself when someone destroys his altar."

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

32. On that day they gave Gideon the name Jerubaal which means: "Let Baal defend himself against Gideon, for Gideon destroyed his 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.

33. All Midian, Amalek and the people of the East joined forces, crossed the Jordan and invaded the plains of Jezreel.

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

34. Then the spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon with strength; he blew the trumpet and summoned the men of Abiezer.

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.

35. He sent messengers throughout the whole territory of Manasseh and they joined him. The people of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali also went out to meet them.

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

36. Gideon said to God, "If indeed you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, grant me this favor.

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.

37. I am going to spread this woolen fleece on the threshing ground. If the dew falls only on the fleece while all the ground remains dry, then I shall know that you are to save Israel by my hand, as you have promised."

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.

38. So it was: Gideon rose at day-break, squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew, filling a cup 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.

39. Gideon again spoke to God and said to him, "Don't be angry with me if I dare to speak to you again. Allow me to make another test with the fleece: let it be dry only on the fleece and let dew come on all the ground."

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

40. That night, Yahweh did so. The fleece remained dry and dew covered all the ground.