Judges 6

New International Version

Gideon

6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,^(A) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.^(B) ²Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,^(C) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves^(D) and strongholds.^(E) ³Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites^(F) and other eastern peoples^(G) invaded the country. ⁴They camped on the land and ruined the crops^(H) all the way to Gaza^(I) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. ⁵They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.^(J) It was impossible to count them or their camels;^(K) they invaded the land to ravage it. ⁶Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out^(L) to the Lord for help.

⁷When the Israelites cried out^(M) to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸he sent them a prophet,^(N) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,^(O) out of the land of slavery.^(P) ⁹I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;^(Q) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.^(R) ¹⁰I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship^(S) the gods of the Amorites,^(T) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

¹¹The angel of the Lord^(U) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(V) that belonged to Joash^(W) the Abiezrite,^(X) where his son Gideon^(Y) was threshing^(Z) wheat in a winepress^(AA) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(AB) mighty warrior.^(AC)”

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^(AD) that our ancestors told^(AE) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(AF) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have^(AG) and save^(AH) 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^(AI) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.^(AJ)”

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

¹⁷Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign^(AL) that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸Please 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.”

¹⁹Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,^(AM) and from an ephah^[a]^(AN) 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.^(AO)

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

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

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

²⁵That 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]^(AY) beside it. ²⁶Then 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.^(AZ)”

²⁷So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

²⁸In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar,^(BA) demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

²⁹They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash^(BB) did it.”

³⁰The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar^(BC) and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

³¹But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause?^(BD) Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” ³²So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal^[f]^(BE) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

³³Now all the Midianites, Amalekites^(BF) and other eastern peoples^(BG) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.^(BH) ³⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came on^(BI) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,^(BJ) summoning the Abiezrites^(BK) to follow him. ³⁵He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,^(BL) Zebulun and Naphtali,^(BM) so that they too went up to meet them.^(BN)

³⁶Gideon said to God, “If you will save^(BO) Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷look, I will place a wool fleece^(BP) on the threshing floor.^(BQ) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know^(BR) that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” ³⁸And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.^(BS) Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” ⁴⁰That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.^(BT)

Footnotes

Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.

Jeremiah 17

New International Version

17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,^(A)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts^(B)
    and on the horns^(C) of their altars.
²Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles^[a]^(D)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.^(E)
³My mountain in the land
    and your^[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,^(F)
    together with your high places,^(G)
    because of sin throughout your country.^(H)
⁴Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance^(I) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies^(J)
    in a land^(K) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn^(L) forever.”

⁵This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,^(M)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.^(N)
⁶That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places^(O) of the desert,
    in a salt^(P) land where no one lives.

⁷“But blessed^(Q) is the one who trusts^(R) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
⁸They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.^(S)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought^(T)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”^(U)

⁹The heart^(V) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

¹⁰“I the Lord search the heart^(W)
and examine the mind,^(X)
to reward^(Y) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”^(Z)

¹¹Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.^(AA)

¹²A glorious throne,^(AB) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³Lord, you are the hope^(AC) of Israel;
    all who forsake^(AD) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust^(AE)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.^(AF)

¹⁴Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;^(AG)
    save^(AH) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.^(AI)
¹⁵They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”^(AJ)
¹⁶I have not run away from being your shepherd;
    you know I have not desired the day of despair.
    What passes my lips^(AK) is open before you.
¹⁷Do not be a terror^(AL) to me;
    you are my refuge^(AM) in the day of disaster.^(AN)
¹⁸Let my persecutors be put to shame,
    but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
    but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction.^(AO)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

¹⁹This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,^[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.^(AP) ²⁰Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem^(AQ) who come through these gates.^(AR) ²¹This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath^(AS) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. ²²Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.^(AT) ²³Yet they did not listen or pay attention;^(AU) they were stiff-necked^(AV) and would not listen or respond to discipline.^(AW) ²⁴But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy^(AX) by not doing any work on it, ²⁵then kings who sit on David’s throne^(AY) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.^(AZ) ²⁶People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,^(BA) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. ²⁷But if you do not obey^(BB) me to keep the Sabbath^(BC) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire^(BD) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”^(BE)