Midian Oppresses Israel

1Again the Israelites (God prevails) did evil in the sight of the LORD {YHWH}; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian (strife) for seven years, 2and the hand of Midian (strife) prevailed against Israel (he wrestles with God). Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

3Whenever the Israelites (God prevails) planted their crops, the Midianites (strife), Amalekites (dwellers in a valley), and other people of the east would come up and invade them, 4encamping against them as far as Gaza (the strong) and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel (he wrestles with God) with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys. 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.

6Israel (he wrestles with God) was greatly impoverished by Midian (strife), and the Israelites cried out to the LORD {YHWH}.

7Now when the Israelites (God prevails) cried out to the LORD {YHWH} because of Midian (strife), 8He {YHWH} sent them (he wrestles with God) a prophet, who told them, “This is what the LORD, the God {Elohe} of Israel, says: I brought you⁺ up out of Egypt (land of bondage), out of the house of slavery. 9I delivered you⁺ out of the hands of Egypt (double straits) and all your⁺ oppressors. I drove them out before you⁺ and gave you⁺ their land. 10And I said to you⁺: ‘I am the LORD your⁺ God {YHWH Eloheikem}. You⁺ must not fear (worship)a the gods of the Amorites (sayers), in whose land you⁺ dwell.’ But you⁺ did not obey Me.”

The Call of Gideon

11Then the angel (Angel)b of the LORD {YHWH} came and sat down under the oak (terebinth)c in Ophrah (fawn) that belonged to Joash (given by the Lord) the Abiezrite (my father is help), where his son Gideon (hewer) was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites (strife). 12And the angel of the LORD {YHWH} appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon (hewer) replied, “if the LORD {YHWH} 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 (land of bondage)?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian (strife).”

14The LORD [The angel of the LORD]d turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel (he wrestles with God) from the hand of Midian (strife). Am I not sending you?”

15“Please, my Lord {Adonai},” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel (he wrestles with God)? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh (causing to forget), and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

16“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD {YHWH} replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites (strife) as one man.”

17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me. 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.”

19So Gideon (hewer) went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour <20 qt / 22 l>.e 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 the angel of God {Elohim} said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.

21Then the angel of the LORD {YHWH} 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.

22When Gideon (hewer) realized that it was the angel of the LORD {YHWH}, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH}! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”

23But the LORD {YHWH} said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”

24So Gideon (hewer) built an altar to the LORD {YHWH} there and called it The LORD Is Peace {YHWH Shalom}.f To this day it stands in Ophrah (fawn) of the Abiezrites (my father is help).

Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar

25On that very night the LORD {YHWH} said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal (lord), and cut down the Asherah pole (goddess) beside it. 26Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheka} on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole (goddess) you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”

27So Gideon (hewer) took ten of his servants and did as the LORD {YHWH} 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.

28When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s (lord) altar torn down, with the Asherah pole (goddess) cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar. 29“Who did this?” they said to one another.

And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon (hewer) son of Joash (given by the Lord) did it.”

30Then the men of the city said to Joash (given by the Lord), “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal’s (lord) altar and cut down the Asherah pole (goddess) beside it.”

31But Joash (given by the Lord) said to all who stood against him, “Are you⁺ contending for Baal (lord)? 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.”

32So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal (let Baal contend),g that is to say, “Let Baal (lord) contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.

The Sign of the Fleece

33Then all the Midianites (strife), Amalekites (dwellers in a valley), and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel (God sows).

34So the Spirit of the LORD {Ruach YHWH} came upon Gideon (hewer), who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites (my father is help) behind him. 35Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh (causing to forget), as well as Asher (happy), Zebulun (exalted), and Naphtali (wrestling), so that they came up to meet him.

36Then Gideon (hewer) said to God {Elohim}, “If You are going to save Israel (he wrestles with God) by my hand, as You have said, 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 (he wrestles with God) by my hand, as You have said.”

38And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39Then Gideon (hewer) said to God {Elohim}, “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 that night God {Elohim} did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.