-
And the
children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand
of Midian seven years.
02 And the hand of Midian prevailed against
Israel: and because of the Midianites the
children of Israel made them the dens which are
in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
03 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the
Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the
children of the east, even they came up against
them;
04 And they encamped against them, and destroyed
the increase of the earth, till thou come unto
Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither
sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
05 For they came up with their cattle and their
tents, and they came as grasshoppers for
multitude; for both they and their camels were
without number: and they entered into the land to
destroy it.
06 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of
the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried
unto the Lord.
07 And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried unto the Lord because of the
Midianites,
08 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children
of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt,
and brought you forth out of the house of
bondage;
09 And I delivered you out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that
oppressed you, and drave them out from before
you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God;
fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land
ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat
under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained
unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon
threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from
the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him,
and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou
mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the
Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen
us? and where be all his miracles which our
fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord
bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath
forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of
the Midianites.
14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in
this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from
the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith
shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in
Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's
house.
16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be
with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as
one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found
grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou
talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come
unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it
before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou
come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and
unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh
he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a
pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak,
and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the
flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon
this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end
of the staff that was in his hand, and touched
the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there
rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the
flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of
the Lord departed out of his sight.
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22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel
of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for
because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to
face.
23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto
thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the
Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day
it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the
Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young
bullock, even the second bullock of seven years
old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy
father hath, and cut down the grove that is by
it:
26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon
the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and
take the second bullock, and offer a burnt
sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou
shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and
did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was,
because he feared his father's household, and the
men of the city, that he could not do it by day,
that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in
the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast
down, and the grove was cut down that was by it,
and the second bullock was offered upon the altar
that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done
this thing? And when they enquired and asked,
they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this
thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash,
Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he
hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he
hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against
him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he
that will plead for him, let him be put to death
whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him
plead for himself, because one hath cast down his
altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal,
saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he
hath thrown down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and
the children of the east were gathered together,
and went over, and pitched in the valley of
Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered
after him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all
Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he
sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and
unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save
Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the
floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and
it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I
know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as
thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the
morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and
wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of
water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger
be hot against me, and I will speak but this
once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once
with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the
fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon
the fleece only, and there was dew on all the
ground.
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