Midian Oppresses Israel 1 ULT And the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so Yahweh gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. BSB BSB: Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
2 ULT So the hand of Midian prevailed over Israel. From the face of Midian, the sons of Israel made for themselves dens, which{ were} in the mountains, and caves and strongholds. BSB BSB: and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
3 ULT Now it happened, when Israel sowed, that Midian came up and Amalek and the sons of the east, that they came up against him. BSB BSB: Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
4 ULT And they encamped among them, and they ruined the produce of the land until your coming{ to} Gaza. And they did not leave sustenance in Israel or sheep or ox or donkey. BSB BSB: encamping 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.
5 ULT For they and their livestock would come up, and their tents, and they would come like the abundance of the locust in multitude. And of them and of their camels there was no counting. And they came into the land to destroy it. BSB BSB: For 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.
6 ULT And Israel was impoverished greatly from the face of Midian, so the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh. BSB BSB: Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
7 ULT Now it happened, when the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh on account of Midian, BSB BSB: Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,
8 ULT that Yahweh sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel, and he said to them,“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel:‘I brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you out from the house of slaves. BSB BSB: He 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.
9 ULT I rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all of your oppressors. And I drove them out from your face, and I gave to you their land. BSB BSB: I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10 ULT And I said to you,“I{ am} Yahweh your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorite, when you{ are} dwelling in their land.” But you have not heard my voice.’” BSB BSB: And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.”
The Call of Gideon 11 ULT Now the angel of Yahweh came and sat beneath the oak that{ was} in Ophrah, which{ was} to Joash the Abiezrite. And Gideon, his son,{ was} threshing wheat in the winepress to hide from the face of Midian. BSB BSB: Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12 ULT And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him,“Yahweh{ is} with you, warrior of valor!” BSB BSB: And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 ULT And Gideon said to him,“Excuse me, my lord, but{ if} Yahweh is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? And where{ are} all of his wonders that our fathers recounted to us, saying,‘Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has forsaken us and given us into the palm of Midian.” BSB BSB: “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.”
14 ULT But Yahweh turned to him and said,“Go in this strength of yours, and you shall save Israel from the palm of Midian. Have I not sent you?” BSB BSB: The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”
15 ULT And he said to him,“Excuse me, my lord, by what shall I save Israel? Behold, my thousand{ is} the weak{ one} in Manasseh, and I{ am} the young{ one} in the house of my father.” BSB BSB: “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.”
16 ULT Then Yahweh said to him,“Because I will be with you, and you will strike Midian as one man.” BSB BSB: “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”
17 ULT And he said to him,“Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then do for me a sign that you{ are} speaking with me. BSB BSB: Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
18 ULT Please do not depart from this{ place} until my coming to you, and I will bring out my offering and set it to your face.” And he said,“I will stay until your returning.” BSB BSB: Please 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.”
19 ULT Then Gideon went and he prepared a kid of goats and,{ from} an ephah of flour, unleavened bread. The meat, he put in a basket, and the broth, he put in a pot. And he brought{ them} out to him at under the oak tree, and he presented{ them}. BSB BSB: So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah 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.
20 ULT And the angel of God said to him,“Take the meat and the unleavened bread and place{ them} on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. BSB BSB: And 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.
21 ULT Then the angel of Yahweh stretched out the end of the staff that{ was} in his hand. And he touched upon the meat and upon the unleavened bread, and fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of Yahweh went from his eyes. BSB BSB: Then 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.
22 ULT And Gideon saw that he{ was} the angel of Yahweh, and Gideon said,“Alas, my Lord Yahweh, for upon that I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!” BSB BSB: When 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!”
23 ULT But Yahweh said to him,“Peace to you! Do not fear. You will not die.” BSB BSB: But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
24 ULT Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and he called it Yahweh{ is} Peace. To this day it{ is} still at Ophrah of the Abiezrite. BSB BSB: So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar 25 ULT And it happened on that night that Yahweh said to him,“Take the bullock of an ox that{ is} to your father and the second bullock, seven years{ old}, and you shall break down the altar of Baal that{ is} to your father, and you shall cut down the Asherah that{ is} beside it. BSB BSB: On 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.
26 ULT And you shall build an altar to Yahweh your God on the head of this stronghold, in the arrangement. Then you shall take the second bull and you shall offer an offering on the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” BSB BSB: Then 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.”
27 ULT So Gideon took ten men from his servants and he did according to what Yahweh had spoken to him. Now it happened, because he feared the house of his father and the men of the city from doing by day, that he did{ by} night. BSB BSB: So 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.
28 ULT And the men of the city arose early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah that{ was} beside it was cut down, and the second bullock had been offered on the built altar. BSB BSB: When 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.
29 ULT And they said, a man to his fellow,“Who has done this thing?” And they searched and sought, and they said,“Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing.” BSB BSB: “Who did this?” they said to one another. And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
30 ULT Then the men of the city said to Joash,“Bring out your son, that he may die, because he tore down the altar of Baal and because he cut down the Asherah that{ was} beside it.” BSB BSB: Then 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.”
31 ULT But Joash said to all who stood against him,“Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him, may he die, still morning. If he{ is} a god, let him contend for himself, since one has torn down his altar.” BSB BSB: But 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.”
The Sign of the Fleece 33 ULT Now all of Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east assembled themselves together, and they crossed over and they encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. BSB BSB: Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34 ULT Then the Spirit of Yahweh wore Gideon, and he blew on the shofar, and he summoned Abiezer after him. BSB BSB: So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
35 ULT And he sent messengers through all of Manasseh, and he summoned him also after him. And he sent messengers through Asher and through Zebulun and through Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. BSB BSB: Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.
36 ULT Then Gideon said to God,“If you are saving Israel by my hand just as you have spoken, BSB BSB: Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
37 ULT behold, I{ am} putting a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew shall be upon the fleece alone, but on all of the ground{ is} dryness, then I will know that by my hand you will save Israel just as you have spoken.” BSB BSB: then 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.”
38 ULT And it happened that he arose early on the next day and squeezed the fleece and wrung dew from the fleece, the fulness of a bowl{ of} water. BSB BSB: And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
39 ULT Then Gideon said to God,“May your nose not burn against me, but may I speak only this time. May I please test only this time with the fleece? Please may dryness be on the fleece alone, and on all of the ground may dew be.” BSB BSB: Then 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.”
40 ULT And God did thus during that night. For dryness was on the fleece alone, and on all of the ground was dew. BSB BSB: And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.
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