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

Gideon

11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (A)the Abiezrite, while his son (B)Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the (C)Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is (D)with you, you mighty man of valor!”

13 Gideon said to Him, “O [a]my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And (E)where are all His miracles (F)which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has (G)forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, (H)“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. (I)Have I not sent you?”

15 So he said to Him, “O [b]my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed (J)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

16 And the Lord said to him, (K)“Surely I will be with you, and you shall [c]defeat the Midianites as one man.”

17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then (L)show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 (M)Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”

19 (N)So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and (O)lay them on this rock, and (P)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 (Q)fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

22 Now Gideon (R)perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! (S)For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”

23 Then the Lord said to him, (T)“Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it [d]The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still (U)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:13 Heb. adoni, used of man
  2. Judges 6:15 Heb. Adonai, used of God
  3. Judges 6:16 Lit. strike
  4. Judges 6:24 Heb. YHWH Shalom