Judges 6
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished
because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when
the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
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;
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;
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.
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.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto
him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
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.
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?
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.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I
will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be
unto thee; fear not: thou shalt 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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
32 Therefore on that day he called him
Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down 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.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon
Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after 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.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt
save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast 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.
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.
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.
40 And God did so that night: for it was
dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
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