31SO MAY THEY PERISH ALL ENEMIES YOUR O YAHWEH AND [THOSE WHO] LOVE HIM [BE] AS [THE] GOING OUT OF THE SUN IN STRENGTH ITS AND IT WAS AT PEACE THE LAND FORTY YEAR[S] 31So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.
1AND THEY DID [THE] PEOPLE OF ISRAEL THE EVIL IN [THE] EYES OF YAHWEH AND HE GAVE THEM YAHWEH IN [THE] HAND OF MIDIAN SEVEN YEARS Midian Oppresses Israel 1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
2AND IT PREVAILED [THE] HAND OF MIDIAN OVER ISRAEL <FROM> BECAUSE OF MIDIAN THEY MADE FOR <THE> THEMSELVES [THE] PEOPLE OF ISRAEL <OBJ.> THE DENS WHICH [ARE] IN THE MOUNTAINS AND <OBJ.> THE CAVES AND <OBJ.> THE STRONGHOLDS 2and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
3AND IT WAS IF IT SOWED ISRAEL AND IT WENT UP MIDIAN AND AMALEK AND [THE] PEOPLE OF [THE] EAST AND THEY WENT UP ON HIM 3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
4AND THEY ENCAMPED ON THEM AND THEY DESTROYED <OBJ.> [THE] PRODUCE OF THE LAND UNTIL COMING YOU GAZA AND NOT THEY LEFT SUSTENANCE IN ISRAEL AND A SHEEP AND AN OX AND A DONKEY 4encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.
5FOR THEY AND LIVESTOCK THEIR THEY CAME UP AND TENTS THEIR AND THEY CAME ACCORDING TO [THE] ABUNDANCE OF LOCUST[S] FOR MULTITUDE AND [BELONGED] TO THEM AND TO CAMELS THEIR NOT NUMBER AND THEY CAME IN THE LAND TO DESTROY IT 5For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
6AND IT BECAME LOW ISRAEL VERY <FROM> BECAUSE OF MIDIAN AND THEY CRIED OUT [THE] PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO YAHWEH 6Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
7AND IT WAS THAT THEY CRIED OUT [THE] PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO YAHWEH ON [THE] CAUSES OF MIDIAN 7Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,
8AND HE SENT YAHWEH A MAN A PROPHET TO [THE] PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND HE SAID TO <THE> THEM THUS HE SAYS YAHWEH [THE] GOD OF ISRAEL I I BROUGHT UP <OBJ.> YOU FROM EGYPT AND I BROUGHT OUT <OBJ.> YOU FROM A HOUSE OF SLAVES 8He sent them a prophet, who told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
9AND I DELIVERED <OBJ.> YOU FROM [THE] HAND OF EGYPT AND FROM [THE] HAND OF ALL [THOSE WHO] OPPRESSED YOU AND I DROVE OUT <OBJ.> THEM FROM BEFORE YOU AND I GAVE! TO <THE> YOU <OBJ.> LAND THEIR 9I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10AND I SAID! TO <THE> YOU I [AM] YAHWEH GOD YOUR NOT YOU MUST FEAR <OBJ.> [THE] GODS OF THE AMORITE[S] WHOM YOU [ARE] DWELLING IN LAND THEIR AND NOT YOU HAVE LISTENED TO VOICE MY 10And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear*NoteCloseOr worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.”
11AND HE CAME [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH AND HE SAT UNDER THE OAK WHICH [WAS] IN OPHRAH WHICH [BELONGED] TO JOASH [THE] ABI- <THE> -EZRITE AND GIDEON SON HIS [WAS] BEATING OUT WHEAT<S> IN THE WINEPRESS TO HIDE [IT] FROM <THE FACE OF> MIDIAN The Call of Gideon 11Then the angel*NoteCloseOr Angel; also in verses 12, 20, 21, and 22; corresponding pronouns may also be capitalized. of the LORD came and sat down under the oak*NoteCloseOr terebinth or great tree; also in verse 19 in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12AND HE APPEARED TO HIM [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH AND HE SAID TO HIM YAHWEH [IS] WITH YOU O MIGHTY [MAN] OF <THE> STRENGTH 12And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13AND HE SAID TO HIM GIDEON PARDON ME O LORD MY AND THERE YAHWEH [IS] WITH US AND <TO> WHY? HAS IT FOUND US ALL THIS AND WHERE? [ARE] ALL WONDERS HIS WHICH THEY RECOUNTED TO <THE> US FATHERS OUR <TO> SAYING ¿ NOT FROM EGYPT DID HE BRING UP US YAHWEH AND NOW HE HAS ABANDONED US YAHWEH AND HE HAS GIVEN US IN [THE] HAND OF MIDIAN 13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
14AND HE TURNED TO HIM YAHWEH AND HE SAID GO IN STRENGTH YOUR THIS AND YOU WILL DELIVER <OBJ.> ISRAEL FROM [THE] HAND OF MIDIAN ¿ NOT HAVE I SENT YOU 14The LORD*NoteCloseLXX The angel of the LORD or The Angel of the LORD; also in verse 16 turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”
15AND HE SAID TO HIM PARDON ME O LORD <IN> HOW? WILL I DELIVER <OBJ.> ISRAEL HERE! FAMILY MY [IS] THE WEAK IN MANASSEH AND I [AM] THE INSIGNIFICANT IN [THE] HOUSE OF FATHER MY 15“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
16AND HE SAID TO HIM YAHWEH THAT I WILL BE WITH YOU AND YOU WILL STRIKE DOWN <OBJ.> MIDIAN LIKE A MAN ONE 16“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”
17AND HE SAID TO HIM IF PLEASE I HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN VIEW YOUR AND YOU WILL DO FOR <THE> ME A SIGN THAT YOU [ARE] SPEAKING WITH ME 17Gideon answered “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
18MAY NOT PLEASE YOU DEPART FROM HERE UNTIL COME I TO YOU AND I WILL BRING OUT <OBJ.> GIFT MY AND I WILL SET [IT] <TO> BEFORE YOU AND HE SAID I I WILL REMAIN UNTIL RETURNING YOU 18Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.” And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.”
19AND GIDEON HE WENT AND HE PREPARED A KID OF GOATS AND AN EPHAH OF FLOUR OF UNLEAVENED BREAD<S> THE MEAT HE PUT IN THE BASKET AND THE BROTH HE PUT IN THE POT AND HE BROUGHT [THEM] OUT TO HIM TO UNDER THE OAK AND HE BROUGHT [THEM] NEAR 19So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour.*NoteCloseAn ephah is approximately 20 dry quarts or 22 liters (probably about 25.5 pounds or 11.6 kilograms of flour). He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak.
20AND HE SAID TO HIM [THE] ANGEL OF <THE> GOD TAKE <OBJ.> THE MEAT AND <OBJ.> THE UNLEAVENED BREAD<S> AND SET [THEM] TO THE ROCK THIS AND <OBJ.> THE BROTH POUR OUT AND HE DID SO 20And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.
21AND HE STRETCHED OUT [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH <OBJ.> [THE] END OF THE STAFF WHICH [WAS] IN HAND HIS AND HE TOUCHED <IN> THE MEAT AND <IN> THE UNLEAVENED BREAD<S> AND IT WENT UP THE FIRE FROM THE ROCK AND IT CONSUMED <OBJ.> THE MEAT AND <OBJ.> THE UNLEAVENED BREAD<S> AND [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH HE WENT FROM EYES HIS 21Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
22AND HE SAW GIDEON THAT [WAS] [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH IT AND HE SAID GIDEON ALAS! O LORD YAHWEH FOR SINCE <THUS> I HAVE SEEN [THE] ANGEL OF YAHWEH FACE TO FACE 22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
23AND HE SAID TO <THE> HIM YAHWEH PEACE [BE] TO <THE> YOU MAY NOT YOU BE AFRAID NOT YOU WILL DIE 23But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
24AND HE BUILT THERE GIDEON AN ALTAR TO YAHWEH AND HE CALLED <TO> <THE> IT YAHWEH [IS] PEACE UNTIL THE DAY <THE> THIS STILL IT [IS] IN OPHRAH OF [THE] ABI- <THE> -EZRITE[S] 24So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace.*NoteCloseHebrew YHWH Shalom To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25AND IT WAS IN THE NIGHT <THE> THAT AND HE SAID TO <THE> HIM YAHWEH TAKE <OBJ.> [THE] YOUNG BULL OF THE OX WHICH [BELONGS] TO FATHER YOUR AND [THE] YOUNG BULL THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS AND YOU WILL TEAR DOWN <OBJ.> [THE] ALTAR OF <THE> BAAL WHICH [BELONGS] TO FATHER YOUR AND <OBJ.> THE ASHERAH POLE WHICH [IS] AT IT YOU WILL CUT DOWN Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar 25On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
26AND YOU WILL BUILD AN ALTAR TO YAHWEH GOD YOUR ON [THE] TOP OF THE PLACE OF REFUGE <THE> THIS IN THE ROW AND YOU WILL TAKE <OBJ.> THE YOUNG BULL <THE> SECOND AND YOU WILL OFFER UP A BURNT OFFERING WITH [THE] WOOD<S> OF THE ASHERAH POLE WHICH YOU WILL CUT DOWN 26Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”
27AND HE TOOK GIDEON TEN MEN FROM SERVANTS HIS AND HE DID JUST AS HE HAD SPOKEN TO HIM YAHWEH AND IT WAS <AS> SINCE HE FEARED <OBJ.> [THE] HOUSEHOLD OF FATHER HIS AND <OBJ.> [THE] MEN OF THE CITY FROM ACTING BY DAY AND HE ACTED NIGHT 27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.
28AND THEY ROSE EARLY [THE] MEN OF THE CITY IN THE MORNING AND THERE! IT WAS TORN DOWN [THE] ALTAR OF <THE> BAAL AND THE ASHERAH POLE WHICH [WAS] AT IT IT WAS CUT DOWN AND <OBJ.> THE YOUNG BULL <THE> SECOND IT HAD BEEN OFFERED UP ON THE ALTAR WHICH HAD BEEN BUILT 28When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar.
29AND THEY SAID EACH TO NEIGHBOR HIS WHO? HAS HE DONE THE THING <THE> THIS AND THEY INVESTIGATED AND THEY SEARCHED AND THEY SAID GIDEON [THE] SON OF JOASH HE HAS DONE THE THING <THE> THIS 29“Who did this?” they said to one another. And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
30AND THEY SAID [THE] MEN OF THE CITY TO JOASH BRING OUT <OBJ.> SON YOUR SO MAY HE DIE FOR HE HAS TORN DOWN <OBJ.> [THE] ALTAR OF <THE> BAAL AND FOR HE HAS CUT DOWN THE ASHERAH POLE WHICH [WAS] AT IT 30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”
31AND HE SAID JOASH TO ALL [THOSE] WHO THEY STOOD ON HIM ¿ YOU WILL YOU CONDUCT A CASE! FOR <THE> BAAL OR? YOU WILL YOU DELIVER! <OBJ.> HIM [THE ONE] WHO HE WILL CONDUCT A CASE FOR <THE> HIM HE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH UNTIL THE MORNING IF [IS] A GOD HE LET HIM CONDUCT A CASE FOR <THE> HIMSELF IF SOMEONE HAS TORN DOWN <OBJ.> ALTAR HIS 31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”
32AND SOMEONE CALLED <TO> <THE> HIM ON THE DAY <THE> THAT JERUB-BAAL <TO> SAYING LET HIM CONDUCT A CASE AGAINST <THE> HIM <THE> BAAL FOR HE HAS TORN DOWN <OBJ.> ALTAR HIS 32So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal,*NoteCloseJerubbaal probably means let Baal contend. that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.
33AND ALL MIDIAN AND AMALEK AND [THE] PEOPLE OF [THE] EAST THEY GATHERED TOGETHER AND THEY PASSED OVER AND THEY ENCAMPED IN [THE] VALLEY OF JEZREEL The Sign of the Fleece 33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34AND [THE] SPIRIT OF YAHWEH IT CLOTHED <OBJ.> GIDEON AND HE GAVE A BLAST ON THE RAM'S HORN AND IT WAS CALLED TOGETHER ABIEZER AFTER HIM 34So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
35AND MESSENGERS HE SENT IN ALL MANASSEH AND IT WAS CALLED TOGETHER ALSO IT AFTER HIM AND MESSENGERS HE SENT IN ASHER AND IN ZEBULUN AND IN NAPHTALI AND THEY WENT UP TO MEET THEM 35Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.
36AND HE SAID GIDEON TO <THE> GOD IF THERE YOU [ARE] ABOUT TO DELIVER BY HAND MY <OBJ.> ISRAEL JUST AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN 36Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
37HERE! I [AM] PLACING <OBJ.> [THE] FLEECE OF <THE> WOOL ON THE THRESHING FLOOR IF DEW IT WILL BE ON THE FLEECE TO ALONE IT AND [WILL BE] ON ALL THE GROUND DRYNESS AND I WILL KNOW THAT YOU WILL DELIVER BY HAND MY <OBJ.> ISRAEL JUST AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN 37then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”
38AND IT WAS SO AND HE ROSE EARLY FROM [THE] NEXT DAY AND HE SQUEEZED OUT <OBJ.> THE FLEECE AND HE DRAINED DEW FROM THE FLEECE [THE] FULLNESS OF THE BOWL WATER 38And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew a bowlful of water.
39AND HE SAID GIDEON TO <THE> GOD MAY NOT IT BURN ANGER YOUR ON <THE> ME AND LET ME SPEAK ONLY THIS TIME LET ME PUT TO [THE] TEST PLEASE ONLY THIS TIME BY THE FLEECE LET IT BE PLEASE DRYNESS TO THE FLEECE TO ALONE IT AND ON ALL THE GROUND LET IT BE DEW 39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”
40AND HE DID GOD SO IN THE NIGHT <THE> THAT AND IT WAS DRYNESS TO THE FLEECE TO ALONE IT AND ON ALL THE GROUND IT WAS DEW 40And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.