¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(A) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(B) that belonged to Joash^(C) the Abiezrite,^(D) where his son Gideon^(E) was threshing^(F) wheat in a winepress^(G) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(H) mighty warrior.^(I)”

¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders^(J) that our ancestors told^(K) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(L) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have^(M) and save^(N) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan^(O) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.^(P)”

¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you^(Q), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

¹⁷ Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign^(R) that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

¹⁹ Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,^(S) and from an ephah^[a](T) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.^(U)

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,^(V) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. ²¹ Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread^(W) with the tip of the staff^(X) that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. ²² When Gideon realized^(Y) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”^(Z)

²³ But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.^(AA) You are not going to die.”^(AB)

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called^(AC) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah^(AD) of the Abiezrites.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength^(A) has saved me.’ ³ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.^(B)’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

⁴ But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many^(C) men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred of them^(D) drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.^(E) Let all the others go home.”^{(F) 8} So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.