The Book of Judges

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 6 -

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years.

And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and eaves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations came up:

And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.

And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.

And he cried to the Lord desiring help against the Madianites.

And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,

And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you their land.

And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice.

The Call of Gideon

And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon his son was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us Out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the bands of Madian.

And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go in this thy strength, and then shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

He answered and said: I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.

And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me,

And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.

So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him.

And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,

The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die.

And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord’s peace, until this present day. And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,

Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar

That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father’s, and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father’s: and cut down the grove that is about the altar:

And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out of the grove.

Then Gedeon taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father’s house, and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night.

And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built.

And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon the son of Joas did all this.

And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove.

He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die before tomorrow light appear: if he be a god, let him revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joss had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

The Sign of the Fleece

Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael.

But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and be sounded the trumpet and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him.

And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him: and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon and Nephtali, and they came to meet him.

And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I, shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel.

And it was so. And rising before day wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

And he said again to God: let not thy wrath be kindled against me if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.

And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

The children of Israel did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

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 strongholds.

So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them.

They encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza. They left no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep, ox, or donkey.

For they came up with their livestock and their tents. They came in as locusts for multitude. Both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it.

Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.

When the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of Midian,

The LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel; and he said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage.

I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land.

I said to you, “I am the LORD your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not listened to my voice.’”

The Call of Gideon

The LORD’s angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.

The LORD’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

The LORD looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”

He said to him, “O Lord,(a) how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

The LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.

Please don’t go away until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.” He said, “I will wait until you come back.”

Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah(b) of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.

The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” He did so.

Then the LORD’s angel stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the LORD’s angel departed out of his sight.

Gideon saw that he was the LORD’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Because I have seen the LORD’s angel face to face!”

The LORD said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.”

Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it “The LORD is Peace.”(c) To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar

That same night, the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.

Then build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.

When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.

They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.”

Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar!”

Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal,(d) saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.”

The Sign of the Fleece

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

But the LORD’s Spirit came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together to follow him.

He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they also were gathered together to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,

behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I’ll know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.”

It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

Gideon said to God, “Don’t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”

God did so that night; for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Footnotes

(a)6:15 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”

(b)6:19 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel

(d)6:32 “Jerub-Baal” means “Let Baal contend”.