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The Book of Judges 6

6 And the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so Yahweh gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 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. 3 Now it happened, when Israel sowed, that Midian came up and Amalek and the sons of the east, that they came up against him. 4 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. 5 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. 6 And Israel was impoverished greatly from the face of Midian, so the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh.

7 Now it happened, when the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh on account of Midian, 8 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. 9 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. 10 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.’ ”

11 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. 12 And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, warrior of valor!” 13 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.” 14 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?” 15 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.” 16 Then Yahweh said to him, “Because I will be with you, and you will strike Midian as one man.” 17 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. 18 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.”

19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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!” 23 But Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you! Do not fear. You will not die.” 24 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.

25 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. 26 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.” 27 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.

28 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. 29 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.” 30 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.” 31 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.” 32 And one called him on that day Jerubbaal, saying, “May Baal contend against him, since he tore down his altar.”

33 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. 34 Then the Spirit of Yahweh wore Gideon, and he blew on the shofar, and he summoned Abiezer after him. 35 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.

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are saving Israel by my hand just as you have spoken, 37 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.” 38 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. 39 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.” 40 And God did thus during that night. For dryness was on the fleece alone, and on all of the ground was dew.

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