Gideon Is Visited

11 Then (A)the angel of the Lord came and sat under the [a]oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the (B)Abiezrite, as his son (C)Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.” 13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But (D)now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 14 And the Lord [b]looked at him and said, “(E)Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 (F)But he said to Him, “O Lord, [c]how am I to save Israel? Behold, my family is the least in (G)Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 (H)Yet the Lord said to him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will [d]defeat Midian as one man.” 17 So [e]Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then perform for me (I)a sign that it is You speaking with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.”

19 Then Gideon went in and (J)prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an [f]ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket [g]and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the [h]oak and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and (K)fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord [i]vanished from his sight. 22 (L)When Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord, [j]he said, “Oh, Lord [k]God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not be afraid; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it [l]The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still (M)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:11 Or terebinth
  2. Judges 6:14 Or turned toward
  3. Judges 6:15 Lit with what
  4. Judges 6:16 Lit strike
  5. Judges 6:17 Lit he
  6. Judges 6:19 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  7. Judges 6:19 Lit and he put
  8. Judges 6:19 Or terebinth
  9. Judges 6:21 Lit departed
  10. Judges 6:22 Lit Gideon
  11. Judges 6:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  12. Judges 6:24 Heb Yahweh-shalom

The Call of Gideon

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (A)the Abiezrite, while his son (B)Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And (C)the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, (D)“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are (E)all his wonderful deeds (F)that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord[a] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; (G)do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, (H)“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, (I)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, (J)“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, (K)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, then (L)show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please (M)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 till you return.”

19 So Gideon went into his house (N)and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah[b] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them (O)on this rock, and (P)pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 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. (Q)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. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, (R)“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, (S)“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, (T)The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at (U)Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16
  2. Judges 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters