The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord^(A) went up from Gilgal^(B) to Bokim^(C) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt^(D) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.^(E) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,^{(F) 2} and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,^(G) but you shall break down their altars.^(H)’ Yet you have disobeyed^(I) me. Why have you done this? ³ And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;^(J) they will become traps^(K) for you, and their gods will become snares^(L) to you.’”

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.

²⁵ That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.^[b] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole^[c](AE) beside it. ²⁶ Then build a proper kind of^[d] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second^[e] bull as a burnt offering.^(AF)”

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. ⁹ During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.^{(G) 10} If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah ¹¹ and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.

¹¹ The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians,^(A) the Amorites,^(B) the Ammonites,^(C) the Philistines,^{(D) 12} the Sidonians, the Amalekites^(E) and the Maonites^[a](F) oppressed you^(G) and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³ But you have forsaken^(H) me and served other gods,^(I) so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save^(J) you when you are in trouble!^(K)”

³ The angel of the Lord^(A) appeared to her^(B) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(C) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(D) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(E) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(F) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(G) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(H) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(I) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(J) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(K) very awesome.^(L) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(M) or other fermented drink^(N) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(O)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(P) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(Q) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

⁹ God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me^(R) the other day!”

¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

¹² So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

¹³ The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink^(S) nor eat anything unclean.^(T) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(U) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(V) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(W) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(X) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(Y) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(Z) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AA) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(AB) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.