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) 2} Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,^(C) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves^(D) and strongholds.^{(E) 3} Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites^(F) and other eastern peoples^(G) invaded the country. ⁴ They 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. ⁵ They 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. ⁶ Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out^(L) to the Lord for help.

⁷ When the Israelites cried out^(M) to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸ he 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) 9} I 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) 10} I 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.”

¹¹ The 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. ¹² When 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.”

¹⁴ The 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)”

¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you^(AK), 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^(AL) 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,^(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)

²⁰ The 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. ²¹ Then 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. ²² When 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)

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

²⁴ So 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.

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](AY) 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.^(AZ)”

²⁷ So 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.

²⁸ In 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!

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

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

³⁰ The 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.”

³¹ But 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.” ³² So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal^[f](BE) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

³³ Now 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) 34} Then the Spirit of the Lord came on^(BI) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,^(BJ) summoning the Abiezrites^(BK) to follow him. ³⁵ He 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)

³⁶ Gideon said to God, “If you will save^(BO) Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷ look, 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.” ³⁸ And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹ Then 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.” ⁴⁰ That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.^(BT)

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for^(A) and assurance about what we do not see.^{(B) 2} This is what the ancients were commended for.^(C)

³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,^(D) so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended^(E) as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.^(F) And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.^(G)

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a](H) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him^(I) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,^(J) in holy fear built an ark^(K) to save his family.^(L) By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.^(M)

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,^(N) obeyed and went,^(O) even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land^(P) like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,^(Q) as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.^{(R) 10} For he was looking forward to the city^(S) with foundations,^(T) whose architect and builder is God.^{(U) 11} And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,^(V) was enabled to bear children^(W) because she^[b] considered him faithful^(X) who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,^(Y) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.^(Z)

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(AA) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(AB) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^{(AC) 14} People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.^{(AD) 16} Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(AE) Therefore God is not ashamed^(AF) to be called their God,^(AG) for he has prepared a city^(AH) for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.^(AI) He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[c](AJ) 19} Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,^(AK) and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.^(AL)

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,^(AM) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.^(AN)

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,^(AO) because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.^(AP)

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.^{(AQ) 25} He chose to be mistreated^(AR) along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace^(AS) for the sake of Christ^(AT) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.^{(AU) 27} By faith he left Egypt,^(AV) not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer^(AW) of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.^(AX)

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.^(AY)

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.^(AZ)

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[d](BA)

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,^(BB) Barak,^(BC) Samson^(BD) and Jephthah,^(BE) about David^(BF) and Samuel^(BG) and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms,^(BH) administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,^{(BI) 34} quenched the fury of the flames,^(BJ) and escaped the edge of the sword;^(BK) whose weakness was turned to strength;^(BL) and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.^{(BM) 35} Women received back their dead, raised to life again.^(BN) There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging,^(BO) and even chains and imprisonment.^{(BP) 37} They were put to death by stoning;^[e](BQ) they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.^(BR) They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,^(BS) destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves^(BT) and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended^(BU) for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,^{(BV) 40} since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us^(BW) would they be made perfect.^(BX)