6 SHOPHETIM - JUDGES 6

Yisrael Oppressed By Midianites

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  1     ^¶  And the children of Yisrael did evil in the sight of YAHWEH: and YAHWEH delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

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  2    And the hand of Midian prevailed against Yisrael: and because of the Midianites the children of Yisrael made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

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  3    And so it was, when Yisrael had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

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  4    And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Yisrael, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

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  5    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.

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  6    And Yisrael was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Yisrael cried to YAHWEH.

Yisrael Rebuked By A Prophet

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  7     ^¶  And it came to pass, when the children of Yisrael cried to YAHWEH because of the Midianites,

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  8    That YAHWEH sent a prophet to the children of Yisrael, which said to them, Thus saith YAHWEH the Sovereign Ruler of Yisrael, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

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  9    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;

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  10    And I said to you, I AM YAHWEH your ABBA; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but you have not obeyed my voice.

Gideon Set To Deliver Yisrael

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  11     ^¶  And there came an malak of YAHWEH, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that [pertained] to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

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  12    And the malak of YAHWEH appeared to him, and said to him, YAHWEH is with you, you mighty man of valor.

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  13    And Gideon said to him, Oh my Sovereign, if YAHWEH 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 YAHWEH bring us up from Egypt? but now YAHWEH has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

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  14    And YAHWEH looked upon him, and said, Go in this your might, and you shall save Yisrael from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?

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  15    And he said to him, Oh my Sovereign YAHWEH, wherewith shall I save Yisrael? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

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  16    And YAHWEH said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.

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  17    And he said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that you talk with me.

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  18    Depart not hence, I pray you, until I come to you, and bring forth my present, and set it before you. And he said, I will tarry until you come again.

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  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 to him under the oak, and presented it.

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  20    And the malak of YAHWEH said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

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  21    Then the malak of YAHWEH 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 malak of YAHWEH departed out of his sight.

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  22    And when Gideon perceived that he was an malak of YAHWEH, Gideon said, Alas, O Sovereign YAHWEH! for because I have seen an malak of YAHWEH face to face.

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  23    And YAHWEH said to him, Shalom be to you; fear not: you shall not die.

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  24    Then Gideon built an altar there to YAHWEH, and called it YAHWEH-shalom: to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Destroys Baal's Altar

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  25     ^¶  And it came to pass the same night, that YAHWEH said to him, Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it:

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  26    And build an altar to YAHWEH your ABBA 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 you shall cut down.

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  27    Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as YAHWEH had said to 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.

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  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.

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  29    And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

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  30    Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it.

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  31    And Joash said to all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you 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 has cast down his altar.

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  32    Therefore on that day he called him Yerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.

Signs Given Him

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  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.

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  34    But the Ruach of YAHWEH came upon Gideon, and he blew a shofar; and Abiezer was gathered after him.

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  35    And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

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  36    And Gideon said to YAHWEH, If you will save Yisrael by my hand, as you have said,

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  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 you will save Yisrael by my hand, as you have said.

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  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.

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  39    And Gideon said to YAHWEH, Let not your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray you, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

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  40    And YAHWEH did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.