Judges 6 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
The Israelites did what was in Yahweh's eyes, so Yahweh handed them over to for seven years.
Midian's on Israel was brutal. Because of Midian, the Israelites carved out hiding places for themselves in the mountains — caves and strongholds.
Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, the and other would invade.
They would set up camp and destroy the crops all the way to They left nothing for Israel to live on — no sheep, no cattle, no donkeys.
They came up with their livestock and their tents like a of There were too many of them and their camels to count. They came into the land to devastate it.
Israel was to because of Midian. That's when the Israelites out to Yahweh for help.
When the Israelites cried out to Yahweh because of Midian,
Yahweh sent a to them. He told them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought you up out of Egypt and led you out of the place where you were
I you from the grip of Egypt and from everyone who oppressed you. I drove them out ahead of you and gave you their land.
I told you: I am Yahweh your God. Do not the gods of the whose land you're living in.' But you didn't listen to me."
The of came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son was threshing wheat inside a to hide it from the Midianites.
The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Yahweh is with you,
Gideon replied, "With all due respect, sir — if Yahweh is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the our ancestors told us about? They said, 'Didn't Yahweh bring us up out of Egypt?' But now Yahweh has us and handed us over to Midian."
Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this strength of yours and Israel from Midian's grip. I am sending you."
Gideon said, "With all due respect, sir — how can I rescue Israel? My is the weakest in and I'm the least important person in my family."
Yahweh said to him, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all of Midian as if they were
Gideon said, "If I've found with you, give me a that it's really you talking to me.
Please don't leave until I come back and bring out my and set it in front of you." He said, "I'll stay until you get back."
Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat and made from about of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought it all out to him under the oak tree and presented it.
The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, set them on this and pour the broth over them." Gideon did it.
The angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. up from the rock and consumed the meat and bread. Then the angel of Yahweh right before his eyes.
When Gideon realized it was the angel of he said, "Oh no, I've seen the angel of to
But Yahweh said to him, Don't be afraid. You're not going to die."
So Gideon built an to there and called it Is It's still standing in Ophrah of the Abiezrites to this day.
That same night Yahweh said to him, "Take your father's bull — the second bull, — and tear down your father's altar to and cut down the next to it.
Then build a to Yahweh your God on top of this stronghold, arranged the right way. Take the second bull and offer it as a using the wood from the Asherah pole you cut down."
So Gideon took ten of his servants and did exactly what Yahweh told him. But because he was too of his family and the men of the town to do it during the day, he did it at night.
When the men of the town got up early the next morning, there it was — the altar of Baal torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull burning on the newly built altar.
They asked each other, "Who did this?" After investigating, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."
The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die! He tore down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."
But Joash stood up to everyone confronting him: "Are you really going to for him? Are you going to come to his rescue? Anyone who fights for Baal will be dead by morning. If Baal is really a god, let him for himself — someone tore down his altar."
From that day on, they called Gideon — meaning "Let Baal fight him" — because he tore down Baal's altar.
Now all the Midianites, Amalekites, and eastern peoples joined forces, crossed the Jordan, and set up camp in the
But the of Gideon. He blew a and the Abiezrites rallied behind him.
He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, and they too rallied behind him. He also sent messengers to and and they came up to meet them.
Gideon said to God, "If you really are going to rescue Israel through me, as you said —
look, I'm putting a wool on the If there's dew only on the and the ground all around it is dry, then I'll know that you will rescue Israel through me, just as you said."
And that's exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung out enough dew to fill a whole bowl with water.
Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me — let me make just one more request. Let me test one more time with the fleece. This time, let the fleece be dry and the ground all around it covered with dew."
And God did exactly that, that very night. The fleece alone was dry, and the ground all around it was covered with dew.