Judges 6
6:1And the sons of Israel acted wickedly before the lord, and the lord delivered them over into the hand of Midian for seven years.
6:2And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the presence of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves havens in the mountains, and in the caves, and in the fortresses.
6:3And it came to pass when a man of Israel sowed, that there ascended up Midian and Amalek; even the sons of the east were ascending against them.
6:4And they camped by them, and they ruined the resources of the land unto the coming unto Gaza. And there was not left behind support for life in Israel, even for the flock, and calf, and donkey.
6:5For they and their livestock ascended and they carried about with their tents; and they came as the locusts by multitude. And for them and their camels there was no number. And they came in the land of Israel to ruin it.
6:6And Israel became poor, exceedingly, from the presence of Midian.
6:7And the sons of Israel cried out to the lord. And it came to pass when the sons of Israel cried out to the lord on account of Midian,
6:8the lord sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel. And he said to them, Thus says the lord God of Israel, I am the one bringing you up from Egypt, and I led you from the house of slavery;
6:9and I rescued you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of all the ones afflicting you; and I cast them from your face, and I gave to you their land.
6:10And I said to you, I am the lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in which you dwell in their land. But you hearkened not to my voice.
6:11And an angel of the lord came and sat under the oak, the one being in Ophrah, the one of the father of Joash of Ezri. And Gideon his son beat wheat with a rod in a wine-vat, to flee from the face of Midian.
6:12And the angel of the lord appeared to him, and said to him, The lord is with you mighty in strength.
6:13And Gideon said to him, Be it to me, O my Lord, and if the lord is with us, then why do all these bad things find us? And where are all his wonders, as many as our fathers described to us, saying, Is it not from out of Egypt the lord led us? And now he thrust us away, and delivered us over into the hand of Midian.
6:14And the angel of the lord looked towards him, and said to him, Go in this your strength! and you shall deliver Israel. Behold, I send you.
6:15And Gideon said to him, Be it to me, O my Lord, by what means shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my thousand is humbler in Manasseh, and I am the lesser in the house of my father.
6:16And The lord said to him that, I will be with you, and you shall strike Midian as one man.
6:17And Gideon said to him, And if I found favor in your eyes, then you shall give to me a sign that you spoke with me.
6:18In no way should you separate from here until my coming to you, and I shall bring my sacrifice, and I shall sacrifice before you. And he said, I am settled until you return.
6:19And Gideon entered and prepared a kid of the goats, and an ephah of unleavened flour, and he put the meats upon the bin, and the broth he poured into an earthen pot, and he brought it to him under the oak, and did obeisance.
6:20And the angel of the lord said to him, Take the meats and the unleavened breads, and put them on that rock, and pour out the broth! And he did so.
6:21And the angel of the lord stretched out the tip of the rod in his hand, and touched of the meats, and of the unleavened breads; and fire was lit from out of the rock, and it devoured the meats and the unleavened breads. And the angel of the lord departed from his eyes.
6:22And Gideon knew that it is the angel of the lord. And Gideon said, Alas, O my Lord, O lord, for I beheld the angel of the lord face to face.
6:23And the lord said to him, Peace to you, do not fear, in no way shall you die.
6:24And Gideon built there an altar to the lord. And he called it, Peace of the lord, until this day. It is still being with Ephratah father of Ezri.
6:25And it came to pass in that night, that the lord said to him, Take the well fed calf of your father, and the second calf of seven years old! And you shall demolish the altar of Baal which is of your father; and the sacred grove by it you shall cut down.
6:26And you shall build an altar to the lord your God, to the one appearing to you upon the top of this mountain of Maoz in the battle array. And you shall take with the second calf, and you shall offer whole burnt-offerings in the trees of the sacred grove which you cut down.
6:27And Gideon took ten men from his manservants, and he did as the lord spoke to him. And it came to pass that he feared the household of his father, and the men of the city, so as to not act by day, and he acted it by night.
6:28And the men of the city rose early in the morning; and behold, the altar of Baal was razed, and the sacred grove by it was cut down; and the well fed calf was offered for a whole burnt-offering upon the altar having been built.
6:29And each man said to his neighbor, Who did this thing? And they investigated and inquired. And they said, Gideon son of Joash did this thing.
6:30And the men of the city said to Joash, Lead out your son and let him die! for he razed the altar of Baal, and because he cut down the sacred grove by it.
6:31And Joash said to the men rising against him, Do you now adjudicate for Baal? or shall you deliver him? Who ever pleaded to him let die in the morning. If he is God, he shall avenge for himself, for he razed his altar.
6:32And he called him in that day, Jerubbaal, saying, The court of justice of Baal, for he razed his altar.
6:33And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east came together at the same place, and they passed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel.
6:34And spirit of God empowered Gideon, and he trumped with the horn; and he called for aid to Abiezer after him.
6:35And he sent messengers to all Manasseh, and he called also himself others after him. And he sent out messengers in Asher, and in Zebulun, and in Naphtali. And they ascended for meeting him.
6:36And Gideon said to God, If you deliver Israel by my hand, as you spoke,
6:37behold, I fasten the fleece of wool pieces in the threshing-floor. And if dew comes upon the fleece only, and upon all the earth be dryness, then I will know that you shall deliver Israel by my hand in which manner you spoke.
6:38And it came to pass thus. And Gideon rose early on the next day, and he squeezed out the fleece, and dew dripped from the fleece -- a full pan of water.
6:39And Gideon said to God, Let not your rage be provoked to anger against me! for I will speak still once more, and I will test still once more by the fleece. And let there become yet dryness upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there become dew!
6:40And God did so in that night. And there was dryness upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground became dew.