Judg 6
1
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them
into the hand of Madiam seven years.
2
And the hand of Madiam prevailed against Israel: and the children of Israel made for
themselves because of Madiam the caves in the mountains, and the dens, and the Some read kremasta ocurwmasi, q. d., loca pensilia
holes in the rocks.
3
And it came to pass when the children of Israel sowed, that Madiam and Amalec went
up, and the children of the east went up together with them.
4
And they encamped against them, and destroyed their fruits until they came to Gaza;
and they left not the support of life in the land of Israel, not even ox or ass among
the herds.
5
For they and their stock came up, and their tents were with them, as the locust in
multitude, and there was no number to them and their camels; and they came to the
land of Israel, and laid it waste.
6
And Israel was greatly impoverished Gr. from before the face of because of Madiam.
7
And the children of Israel cried to the Lord Gr. from before the face of because of Madiam.
8
And the Lord sent Gr. a man a prophet a prophet to the children of Israel; and he said to them, Thus says the Lord God
of Israel, I am he who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and I brought you
up out of the house of your bondage.
9
And I delivered you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all that afflicted
you, and I cast them out before you; and I gave you their land.
10
And I said to you, I am the Lord your God: you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you dwell; but you hearkened not to my voice.
11
And an angel of the Lord came, and sat down under the fir tree, which was in Ephratha
in the land of Joas father of Esdri; and Gedeon his son was threshing wheat in a wine-press
in order to escape from the face of Madiam.
12
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you
mighty in strength.
13
And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious Heb. yb, a particle of entreaty, here rendered literally with me, my Lord: but if the
Lord is with us, why have these evils found us? and
where are all his miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying, Did not
the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? and now he has cast us out, and given us into the
hand of Madiam.
14
And the angel of the Lord turned to him, and said, Go in this your strength, and you
shall save Israel out of the hand of Madiam: behold, I have sent you.
15
And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: whereby shall I save Israel?
behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasse, and I am the least in my father’s house.
16
And the angel of the Lord said to him, The Lord shall be with you, and you shall smite
Madiam as one man.
17
And Gedeon said to him, If now I have found mercy in your eyes, and you will do this
day for me all that you have spoken of with me,
18
depart not hence until I come to you, and I will bring forth an offering and offer
it before you: and he said, I will remain until you return.
19
And Gedeon went in, and prepared a kid of the goats, and an ephah of fine flour unleavened;
and he put the flesh in the basket, and poured the broth into the pot, and brought
them forth to him under the turpentine tree, and drew nigh.
20
And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and put
them on that rock, and pour out the broth close by: and he did so.
21
And the angel of the Lord stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and
touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire came up out of the rock, and
consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread, and the angel of the Lord vanished from
his sight.
22
And Gedeon saw that he was an angel of the Lord; and Gedeon said, Ah, ah, Lord my
God! for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.
23
And the Lord said to him, Peace be to you, fear not, you shall not die.
24
And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it The peace of the Lord,
until this day, as it is still in Ephratha of the father of Esdri.
25
And it came to pass in that night, that the Lord said to him, Take the young bullock
which your father has, even the second bullock of seven years old, and you shall destroy
the altar of Baal which your father has, and the grove which is by it you shall destroy.
26
And you shall build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this Maozi in Or, the ordered place the ordering it, and you
shall take the second bullock, and shall offer up whole-burnt-offerings
with the wood of the grove, which you shall destroy.
27
And Gedeon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord spoke to him: and it
came to pass, as he feared the house of his father and the men of the city Or, because of the doing it if he should do it
by day, that he did it by night.
28
And the men of the city rose up early in the morning; and behold, the altar of Baal
had been demolished, and the grove by it had been destroyed; and they saw the second
bullock, which Gedeon offered on the altar that had been built.
29
And a man said to his neighbour, Who has done this thing? and they enquired and searched,
and learnt that Gedeon the son of Joas had done this thing.
30
And the men of the city said to Joas, Bring out your son, and let him die, because
he has destroyed the altar of Baal, and because he has destroyed the grove that is
by it.
31
And Gedeon the son of Joas said to all the men who rose up against him, Do you now
plead for Baal, or will you save him? whoever will plead for him, let him be slain
this morning: if he be a god let him plead for himself, because one has thrown down
his altar.
32
And he called it in that day Jerobaal, saying, Let Baal plead thereby, because his
altar has been thrown down.
33
And all Madiam, and Amalek, and the sons of the east gathered themselves together,
and encamped in the valley of Jezrael.
34
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and he blew with the horn, and Abiezer
came to help after him.
35
And Gedeon sent messengers into all Manasse, and Gr. in into Aser, and into Zabulon, and into Nephthali; and he went up to
meet them.
36
And Gedeon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,
37
behold, I put the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if there be dew on the fleece
only, and drought on all the ground, I shall know that you will save Israel by my
hand, as you have said.
38
And it was so: and he rose up early in the morning, and wrung the fleece, and dew
dropped from the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39
And Gedeon said to God, Let not, I pray you, your anger be kindled with me, and I
will speak yet once; I will even yet make one trial more with the fleece: let now
the drought be upon the fleece only, and let there be dew on all the ground.
40
And God did so in that night; and there was drought on the fleece only, and on all
the ground there was dew.