Jud 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the
Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
Jud 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the
Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains,
and caves, and strong holds.
Jud 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and
the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
Jud 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth,
till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor
ox, nor ass.
Jud 6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as
grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number:
and they entered into the land to destroy it.
Jud 6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the
children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
Jud 6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord
because of the Midianites,
Jud 6:8 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said
unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and
brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
Jud 6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the
hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you
their land;
Jud 6:10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
Jud 6:11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in
Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed
wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Jud 6:12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The
Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Jud 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then
is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us
of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath
forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Jud 6:14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou
shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Jud 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?
behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
Jud 6:16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt
smite the Midianites as one man.
Jud 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew
me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Jud 6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth
my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come
again.
Jud 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an
ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and
brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
Jud 6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened
cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
Jud 6:21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in
his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire
out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel
of the Lord departed out of his sight.
Jud 6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon
said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to
face.
Jud 6:23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt
not die.
Jud 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it
Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Jud 6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take
thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and
throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that
is by it:
Jud 6:26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in
the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with
the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
Jud 6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said
unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men
of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Jud 6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the
altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the
second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
Jud 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they
inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Jud 6:30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he
may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut
down the grove that was by it.
Jud 6:31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal?
will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it
is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast
down his altar.
Jud 6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead
against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
Jud 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east
were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
Jud 6:34 But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and
Abiezer was gathered after him.
Jud 6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered
after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto
Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
Jud 6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as
thou hast said,
Jud 6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on
the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that
thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
Jud 6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the
fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
Jud 6:39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I
will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the
fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let
there be dew.
Jud 6:40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and
there was dew on all the ground.