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.
6:2 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.
6:3 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;
6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase
of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza; and left no sustenance
for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
6:5 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.
6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.
6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to
the LORD because of the Midianites,
6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who
said to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you
up from Egypt, and brought you forth from the house of bondage;
6:9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from
the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from
before you, and gave you their land;
6:10 And I said to 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.
6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak
which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] to Joash the
Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the
wine-press, to hide [it] from the Midianites.
6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him,
The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
6:13 And Gideon said to him, O my LORD, if the LORD is with us,
why then hath all this befallen us? and where [are] 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.
6:14 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?
6:15 And he said to him, O my LORD, by what means shall I save
Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the
least in my father's house.
6:16 And the LORD said to him, Surely I will be with thee, and
thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
6:17 And he said to him, If now I have found grace in thy sight,
then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.
6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and
bring forth my present, and set [it] before thee. And he said,
I will tarry until thou comest again.
6:19 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 to him under
the oak, and presented [it].
6:20 And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the
unleavened cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour out
the broth. And he did so.
6:21 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 fire out of the rock, and
consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of
the LORD departed from his sight.
6:22 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.
6:23 And the LORD said to him, Peace [be] to thee; fear not:
thou shalt not die.
6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it
Jehovah-shalom: to this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the
Abi-ezrites.
6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to
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:
6:26 And build an altar to 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.
6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the
LORD had said to 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.
6:28 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.
6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And
when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of
Joash hath done this thing.
6:30 Then the men of the city said to 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.
6:31 And Joash said to 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 [is] a god,
let him plead for himself, because [one] hath cast down his
altar.
6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let
Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
6:33 Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the
children of the east were assembled, and went over, and
encamped in the valley of Jezreel.
6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a
trumpet; and Abiezer was called after him.
6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also
was called after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to
Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
6:36 And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my
hand, as thou hast said,
6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; [and] if
the dew shall be on the fleece only, and [it] shall [be] dry
upon all the earth [besides], then shall I know that thou wilt
save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.
6:38 And it was so: for he rose early on the morrow, and pressed
the fleece, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl-full of
water.
6:39 And Gideon said to God, Let not thy anger be hot against
me, and I will speak but this once: Let me make trial, 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.
6:40 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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