Judges 6:11-24
New American Standard Bible
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 6:11 Or terebinth
- Judges 6:14 Or turned toward
- Judges 6:15 Lit with what
- Judges 6:16 Lit strike
- Judges 6:17 Lit he
- Judges 6:19 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
- Judges 6:19 Lit and he put
- Judges 6:19 Or terebinth
- Judges 6:21 Lit departed
- Judges 6:22 Lit Gideon
- Judges 6:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Judges 6:24 Heb Yahweh-shalom
Judges 6:11-24
Common English Bible
Gideon’s commissioning
11 Then the Lord’s messenger came and sat under the oak at Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The Lord’s messenger appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”
13 But Gideon replied to him, “With all due respect, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his amazing works that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Didn’t the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and allowed Midian to overpower us.”
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “You have strength, so go and rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not personally sending you?”
15 But again Gideon said to him, “With all due respect, my Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest in my household.”
16 The Lord replied, “Because I’m with you, you’ll defeat the Midianites as if they were just one person.”[a]
17 Then Gideon said to him, “If I’ve gained your approval, please show me a sign that it’s really you speaking with me. 18 Don’t leave here until I return, bring out my offering, and set it in front of you.”
The Lord replied, “I’ll stay until you return.”
19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and used an ephah[b] of flour for unleavened bread. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. 20 Then God’s messenger said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and set them on this rock, then pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 The Lord’s messenger reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and devoured the meat and the unleavened bread; and the Lord’s messenger vanished before his eyes. 22 Then Gideon realized that it had been the Lord’s messenger. Gideon exclaimed, “Oh no, Lord God! I have seen the Lord’s messenger face-to-face!”
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Don’t be afraid! You won’t die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it “The Lord makes peace.” It still stands today in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 6:16 Or each and every one of them
- Judges 6:19 An ephah is approximately twenty quarts.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible