Judges 6 - English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Midian Oppresses Israel

6 ^(A)The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of ^(B)Midian for seven years. ²And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and ^(C)the caves and the strongholds. ³For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and ^(D)the Amalekites and ^(E)the people of the East would come up against them. ⁴They would encamp against them ^(F)and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. ⁵For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come ^(G)like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. ⁶And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel ^(H)cried out for help to the Lord.

⁷When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, ⁸the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(I)I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. ⁹And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and ^(J)drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; ^(K)you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

¹¹Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash ^(L)the Abiezrite, while his son ^(M)Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to hide it from the Midianites. ¹²And ^(N)the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ^(O)“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valour.” ¹³And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir,^[a] if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are ^(P)all his wonderful deeds ^(Q)that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” ¹⁴And the Lord^[b] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; ^(R)do not I send you?” ¹⁵And he said to him, ^(S)“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, ^(T)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” ¹⁶And the Lord said to him, ^(U)“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” ¹⁷And he said to him, ^(V)“If now I have found favour in your eyes, then ^(W)show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. ¹⁸Please ^(X)do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

¹⁹So Gideon went into his house ^(Y)and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah^[c] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. ²⁰And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them ^(Z)on this rock, and ^(AA)pour the broth over them.” And he did so. ²¹Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. ^(AB)And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. ²²Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, ^(AC)“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³But the Lord said to him, ^(AD)“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” ²⁴Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, ^(AE)The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at ^(AF)Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

²⁵That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down ^(AG)the Asherah that is beside it ²⁶and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the ^(AH)stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” ²⁷So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

²⁸When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. ²⁹And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and enquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” ³⁰Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” ³¹But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” ³²Therefore on that day Gideon^[d] was called ^(AI)Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

³³Now ^(AJ)all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in ^(AK)the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴But ^(AL)the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, ^(AM)and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. ³⁵^(AN)And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. ^(AO)And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

³⁶^(AP)Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, ³⁷behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” ³⁸And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. ³⁹Then Gideon said to God, ^(AQ)“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Footnotes

Judges 6:13 Or Please, my Lord
Judges 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16
Judges 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 of a bushel or 22 litres
Judges 6:32 Hebrew he

Cross references

Judges 6 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

6 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Midian seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, from the presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves the flowings which [are] in the mountains, and th...
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Judges 6 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

6 Forsooth the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he betook them into the hand of Midian seven years. (And the Israelites did more evil before the Lord, and he delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years.) 2 And Israel was oppressed of them greatly; and Israel ...
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Judges 6 - World English Bible (WEB)

6 The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, so Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made themselves the dens which are in the mountains, the caves, and the stron...
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Judges 6 - The Voice (VOICE)

6 When the people of Israel again did what the Eternal One considered evil, He made them serve the Midianites for seven years. 2 The power of Midian prevailed over Israel so that the Israelites built for themselves hiding places in the mountains, in caves, and in safe strongholds. 3 Whenever the I...
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Judges 6 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Midianite Oppression6 Then Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, so Adonai gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2 Midian maintained an upper hand over Israel, and because of Midian Bnei-Yisrael made themselves hideouts in the mountains—caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever Isr...
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Judges 6 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Midianite Oppression6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of he Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hand of Mid′ian seven years. 2 And the hand of Mid′ian prevailed over Israel; and because of Mid′ian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the mountains...
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Judges 6 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Judges 6 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

The Midianite Oppression6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongh...
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Judges 6 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

The Midianite Oppression6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding-places in the mountains, caves and str...
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Judges 6 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Judges 6 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Midianite Oppression6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.(A)2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel, and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strong...
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Judges 6 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Gideon Becomes Israel’s Judge6 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. 2 The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted...
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Judges 6 - New Life Version (NLV)

Gideon6 Then the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord. And the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. 2 Midian was stronger than Israel. Because of Midian the people of Israel made big caves in the sides of the mountains where they could live which were safe places for ...
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Judges 6 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Midianites Oppress Israel6 Then the children of Israel did (A)evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of (B)Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, (C)t...
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Judges 6 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Gideon6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted ...
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Judges 6 - New International Version (NIV)

Gideon6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(A) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(B) 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(C) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(D) and strongholds.(E) 3 Whenever the Israel...
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Judges 6 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Gideon6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So for seven years he handed them over to the people of Midian. 2 The Midianites treated the Israelites very badly. That’s why they made hiding places for themselves. They hid in holes in the mountains. They also hid in caves and in...
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Judges 6 - New English Translation (NET)

Oppression and Confrontation6 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight,[a] so the Lord turned them over to[b] Midian for seven years. 2 The Midianites[c] overwhelmed Israel.[d] Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters[e] for themselves in the hills, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the ...
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