Midian Oppresses Israel 1 UST But then the Israelites once again did things that Yahweh had said were very wicked. So he allowed the people of Midian to conquer them and rule them for 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 UST The people of Midian treated the Israelites so cruelly that they hid from them. The Israelites made places where they could live on mountains, in caves, and in other safe locations. 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 UST This is what the enemies of the Israelites were doing to them. The Israelites would plant crops in their fields. Once those crops began to grow, enemies from Midian and Amalek and from desert tribes would come into Israel. BSB BSB: Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
4 UST They set up their tents in the land, and their animals devoured the crops as far south as Gaza. They did not leave anything for the Israelites to eat. They also took away their sheep, cattle, and donkeys. 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 UST They came into Israel with their tents and their livestock. When they came, there were so many of them that they seemed like a huge swarm of locusts. One could hardly count how many of them arrived riding on their camels. They came into the land of Israel and ruined the land, so that crops could not grow there. 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 UST The people of Midian took almost everything the Israelites owned. So finally the Israelites pleaded for Yahweh to help them. BSB BSB: Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
7 UST When the Israelites pleaded with Yahweh to help them because of what the people from Midian were doing to them, BSB BSB: Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,
8 UST Yahweh sent a prophet to them. He told them,“Yahweh is the God we Israelites are supposed to worship. He sent me to tell you,‘I brought your ancestors out of Egypt. I rescued them from that place where they were 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 UST I made the Egyptian rulers who had made them slaves set them free. When you got to this land, I enabled you to defeat your enemies. I forced them to leave, and I allowed you to live here instead. 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 UST I told your ancestors,“I am Yahweh, the God whom you must worship. Once you Israelites are living in the land that belonged to the Amorites, you must not worship the gods that they worshiped.” But you have disobeyed what I told them.’” 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 UST One day an angel representing Yahweh came and sat under a big oak tree in the town of Ophrah. That tree belonged to Joash, who was from the clan of Abiezer. Joash’ s son Gideon was threshing wheat in the pit where they pressed grapes to make wine. He was threshing the grain there because it was a place where the people of Midian could not see him. 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 UST The angel representing Yahweh went over to Gideon and told him,“You mighty soldier, Yahweh is helping you!” BSB BSB: And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 UST Gideon replied,“Pardon me for asking, sir, but if Yahweh is really helping us, then why have all these bad things happened to us? Yahweh is not doing any miracles for us like the ones that our ancestors have told us about. They have said that he rescued them from being slaves in Egypt. But now Yahweh has abandoned us. He is allowing the people from Midian to rule us.” 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 UST Then Yahweh looked right at him and said,“I have made you strong enough to rescue the Israelites from the people of Midian who are ruling you. So lead an army against them. I am commanding you to do that!” 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 UST Gideon replied,“I am sorry, sir, but I do not believe that I can rescue the Israelites. This is why I cannot: my clan is the smallest and weakest one in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important person in my whole family!” 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 UST Yahweh said to him,“I will help you{, and so you will be able to rescue the Israelites}. I will enable you to defeat the entire Midianite army at one time.” BSB BSB: “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”
17 UST Gideon replied,“If you truly are pleased with me, then let me ask you to do something that will prove that you, Yahweh, really are the one who is 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 UST I would like to go and prepare a special meal and bring it to you. Please do not leave here until I get back.” Yahweh answered,“{ I agree.} I will wait here until you come back.” 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 UST So Gideon hurried to his home. He killed a young goat and cooked it. He also took about 22 liters of flour and baked some bread without yeast. Then he put the cooked meat in a basket, and he put the broth from the meat in a pot. He brought the meat and the bread to Yahweh, who was still sitting under the oak tree. Gideon invited him to eat these foods as a special meal. 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 UST But Yahweh told Gideon,“Put the meat and the bread on this rock. Then pour the broth on top of it.” So that is what Gideon did. 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 UST Then the angel representing Yahweh reached out and touched the meat and bread with the tip of the walking stick that he was holding. Flames came up from the rock and completely burned up the meat and the bread! And then the angel representing Yahweh disappeared. 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 UST Then Gideon realized that it had actually been an angel representing Yahweh who had come and spoken with him. He exclaimed,“Oh, no! Yahweh my Lord, I just saw your angel in person!{ No one can see you and live, so I am going to die!}” 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 UST But Yahweh called to him and said,“You are safe. You do not have to be afraid. I am not going to kill you.” BSB BSB: But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
24 UST Then Gideon built an altar there to worship Yahweh. He gave it the name Yahweh is Peace. That altar is still there at this time in the town of Ophrah in the land that belongs to the Abiezrite clan. 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 UST Then, that same night, Yahweh told Gideon,“Tear down the altar that your father built to worship the god Baal. Also cut down the pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah that is beside that altar. Use the young bull that your father owns{ to pull down the altar}. But also bring another bull with you that your father owns, the one that is seven years old. 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 UST Build a plain stone altar here on this hill to worship me, your God Yahweh. Take the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down and use it to make a fire. Then burn the meat of that seven- year- old bull on that fire as a burnt offering to me.” 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 UST Then Gideon got ten of his servants and together they did what Yahweh had commanded him to do. But he was afraid of what the other members of his family and the other people who lived in the town would do to him if they found out that he had done that. So they did it at 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 UST The next morning, when the people who lived in the town got up, they saw that the altar to Baal was in ruins. The Asherah pole that had been next to it was gone. They saw that there was a new altar on the hill above the town, and on it were the remains of a bull that someone had sacrificed. 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 UST The people asked each other,“Who did this?” When some of the town leaders investigated, someone finally told them. So they announced publicly,“It was Gideon son of Joash who did this.” 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 UST The men of the town came to the house of Joash. They told him,“Bring your son out here! We want to kill him to punish him for destroying the altar of our god Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole where we worship!” 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 UST But Joash{ refused to bring Gideon out. He} told the hostile crowd that had gathered around his house,“You should not have to argue a case on behalf of Baal! You should not have to defend him! Anyone who thinks he needs to defend Baal is the one whom we should execute. In fact, we should execute him right now! If Baal really is a god, he ought to be able to defend himself when someone tears 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 UST Soon after that, the people of Midian and Amalek and the desert tribes that were their allies sent their armies together across the Jordan River to attack the Israelites. Their soldiers set up their camp 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 UST Then Yahweh’ s Spirit gave Gideon special strength and courage. Gideon blew a ram’ s horn{ to call the people of Israel to join him in fighting against these invaders}. The men from his clan of Abiezer gathered to fight, with him as their commander. BSB BSB: So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
35 UST Gideon also sent messengers throughout the territory of the tribe of Manasseh to tell its soldiers to come and fight under his command. He also sent messengers throughout the territories of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and soldiers from those tribes came and joined his army. 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 UST Then Gideon said to God,“I want to be sure that you are truly going to enable me to rescue the Israelite people as you promised. BSB BSB: Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
37 UST Please confirm that by doing something for me. Tonight I will put a dry wool fleece on this place where people thresh grain. Tomorrow morning, if only the fleece is wet with dew and the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to enable me to rescue the people of Israel as you promised.” 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 UST And that is what happened. When Gideon got up the next morning, he picked up the fleece and he squeezed enough dew from it to fill a bowl with water!{ But the ground all around the fleece was dry.} 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 UST Then Gideon said to God,“Please do not be angry with me, but I would like to ask you to do one more thing. Tonight let me put the fleece out again. This time, please let only the fleece remain dry, and let the whole ground become wet with dew.” 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 UST And that night God did what Gideon had asked him to do. The next morning only the fleece was dry, but the whole ground was wet with dew. BSB BSB: And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.
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