Judges 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Midianite Oppression
6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.(A) 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel, and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them.(B) 4 They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, nor any sheep or ox or donkey.(C) 5 For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted, so they wasted the land as they came in.(D) 6 Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.(E)
[[7 When the Israelites cried to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery,(F) 9 and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you and drove them out before you and gave you their land,(G) 10 and I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice.”[a]]]
The Call of Gideon
11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.(H) 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.”(I) 13 Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off and given us into the hand of Midian.”(J) 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.”(K) 15 He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”(L) 16 The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”(M) 17 Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.(N) 18 Do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.”
19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot and brought them to him under the oak and presented them.(O) 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put them on this rock and pour out the broth.” And he did so.(P) 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes, and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.(Q) 22 Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the Lord, and Gideon said, “Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.”(R) 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, “The Lord is peace.” To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the sacred pole[b] that is beside it(S) 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order;[c] then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the sacred pole[d] that you cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had told him, but because he was too afraid of his family and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the townspeople rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the sacred pole[e] beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built.(T) 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this?” After searching and inquiring, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” 30 Then the townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pole[f] beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who were arrayed against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon[g] was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he pulled down his altar.(U)
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came together, and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.(V) 34 But the spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.(W) 35 He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they, too, were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
The Sign of the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.”(X) 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, but let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”(Y) 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Judges 6
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Fifth Judge: Gideon Versus the Midianites
6 Again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2 The hand of Midian was heavy upon Israel. Because of Midian, the people of Israel made hidden shelters[a] for themselves, in the mountains, in caves, and other hideouts. 3 Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian and Amalek and the people of the East[b] would go up against Israel. 4 They would set up camp against them and ruin the crops all the way to Gaza, so there was no source of livelihood left in Israel—not even a sheep, an ox, or a donkey. 5 When the Midianites would invade with their herds of cattle and their tents, they were as numerous as locusts, so it was impossible to count them and their camels. This is how they came up against the land to ruin it. 6 So Israel was laid low because of Midian, and the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a man, a prophet, to the people of Israel. The prophet said this to them:
This is what the Lord God of Israel says: It was I who brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you out from the house of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors, and I drove them out before you, and I gave you their land. 10 I said to Israel, “I am the Lord your God. Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live,” but you did not listen to my voice.
11 The Angel of the Lord[c] came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 Gideon said to him, “Please tell me this, my lord: If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonderful acts our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Is it not the Lord who brought us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us, and he has given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go forward in this strength that is now yours, and you will deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
15 He said to the Angel, “Pardon me, my lord,[d] but how can I deliver Israel? Look! My clan is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I—I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you will strike down Midian as one man.”
17 Gideon said to him, “If I have now found grace in your eyes, offer me a sign that it is you who are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this spot until I come back to you. I will bring my gift and set it before you.”
He said, “I will sit here until you return.”
19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat, and he made unleavened bread from a half bushel[e] of flour. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot. He then brought them out to the Angel under the oak, where he presented them.
20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and set them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” So that is what he did. 21 The Angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread, and fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 Gideon realized that this was the Angel of the Lord, and he said, “Oh, no! It is the Lord God! Yes, I have seen the Angel of the Lord face-to-face!”
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will not die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, and he named it “The Lord Is Peace.” To this day it stands at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 On that same night the Lord said to him, “Take a bull from your father’s herd of cattle, the second bull, the one that is seven years old.[f] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal. Then cut down the Asherah pole that is next to it. 26 In its place, build an altar to the Lord your God in the proper way, on top of this stronghold.[g] Then take the second bull and send up a burnt offering using the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and carried out the word of the Lord. Yet because he was too afraid of the household of his father and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, they were surprised to see that the altar of Baal had been thrown down, the Asherah pole next to it had been cut down, and the second bull was being offered up as a sacrifice upon the altar that had been built there.
29 The people were asking each other, “Who did this?” They searched and investigated until they concluded, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”
30 So the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he broke down the altar of Baal and because he cut down the Asherah pole next to it.”
31 But Joash said to all those who opposed him, “Will you contend for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself if someone broke down his altar.” 32 From that day on they called Gideon “Jerubbaal,”[h] saying, “Let Baal contend with him, if he broke down his altar.”
33 Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the people of the East gathered together. They crossed over to Israelite territory and set up camp in the Valley of Jezre’el. 34 The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. He blew the ram’s horn, and the clan of Abiezer was called out to follow him. 35 Gideon also sent messengers into all Manasseh, so Manasseh assembled behind Gideon. He also sent messengers into Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet the others.
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have said, 37 look here, I am placing a woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew is found only on the fleece, but all the ground around it is dry, then I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.”
38 And that is exactly what happened! Gideon got up early in the morning and squeezed the fleece and wrung out dew from it—a bowlful of water!
39 But again Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more. Please let me conduct just one more test with the fleece: This time let the fleece be dry, but let there be dew on the ground all around.” 40 That night God did that very thing! Only the fleece was dry, and there was dew on the ground all around.
Footnotes
- Judges 6:2 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
- Judges 6:3 This term usually refers to nomadic or semi-nomadic people.
- Judges 6:11 In the title Angel of the Lord the word Angel is capitalized when the context makes it clear that it is God himself who is speaking rather than a created angel. Angel means messenger or envoy.
- Judges 6:15 In the main Hebrew text the word lord is pointed as the special divine name Adonai, which means Lord, but verse 22 indicates that Gideon did not yet recognize the Angel of the Lord at this time. Hence, the translation lord, which is supported by some Hebrew manuscripts and versions.
- Judges 6:19 An ephah
- Judges 6:25 Translators disagree whether Gideon was to offer one bull or two.
- Judges 6:26 Or, following a Hebrew variant, dwelling place
- Judges 6:32 Jerubbaal means let Baal contend.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.