Judges 6:25-32
New King James Version
25 Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and (A)tear down the altar of (B)Baal that your father has, and (C)cut down the [a]wooden image that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this [b]rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you [c]plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him (D)Jerubbaal,[d] saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 6:25 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
- Judges 6:26 stronghold
- Judges 6:31 contend
- Judges 6:32 Lit. Let Baal Plead
Judges 6:25-32
Lexham English Bible
25 Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, “Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah[a] that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah[b] that you will cut down. 27 Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him;[c] and because he was too afraid of his father’s family[d] and the men of the city to do it during the day, he did it during night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, look, the altar of Baal and the Asherah[e] that was beside it were cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another,[f] “Who did this thing?” So they searched and inquired, and they said, “Gideon son of Jehoash did this thing.” 30 And the men of the city said to Jehoash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that was beside it.” 31 But Jehoash said to all who stood against him,[g] “Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself because his altar has been pulled down.”[h] 32 Thus, on that day he[i] was called Jerub-Baal, which means,[j] “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had pulled down his altar.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 6:25 An Asherah is a cultic pole set up next to an altar symbolizing the goddess Asherah
- Judges 6:26 An Asherah is a cultic pole set up next to an altar symbolizing the goddess Asherah
- Judges 6:27 Or “spoke to him”
- Judges 6:27 Literally “father’s house”
- Judges 6:28 An Asherah is a cultic pole set up next to an altar symbolizing the goddess Asherah
- Judges 6:29 Literally “And each man to his neighbor said”
- Judges 6:31 Or “who arrayed against him”
- Judges 6:31 Literally “because he has pulled down his altar”; the subject in Hebrew has not been specified
- Judges 6:32 That is, Gideon
- Judges 6:32 Literally “saying”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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