2
The power of MidianprevailedagainstIsrael. Because* of Midian the sons of Israelmade for themselves the denswhich were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
4
So they would campagainst them and destroy the produce of the earth as far* as Gaza, and leavenosustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.
5
For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable*; and they came into the land to devastate it.
8
that the LORDsent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, "Thussays the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery.
9
'I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before* you and gave you their land,
11
Then the angel of the LORDcame and satunder the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his sonGideon was beating out wheat in the winepress in order to save it from the Midianites.
13
Then Gideonsaid to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has allthishappened to us? And where are all His miracleswhich our fatherstold us about, saying, 'Did not the LORDbring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."
18
"Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." And He said, "I will remainuntil you return."
19
Then Gideonwent in and prepared a young*goat* and unleavenedbread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them.
21
Then the angel of the LORDput out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavenedbread; and firesprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavenedbread. Then the angel of the LORDvanished from his sight.
25
Now on the samenight the LORDsaid to him, "Take your father'sbull and a secondbullsevenyears old, and pulldown the altar of Baalwhich belongs to your father, and cutdown the Asherah that is beside it;
26
and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of thisstronghold in an orderlymanner, and take a secondbull and offer a burntoffering with the wood of the Asherahwhich you shall cutdown."
27
Then Gideontooktenmen of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father'shousehold and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.
28
When the men of the cityaroseearly in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torndown, and the Asherahwhich was beside it was cutdown, and the secondbull was offered on the altar which had been built.
30
Then the men of the citysaid to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torndown the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cutdown the Asherahwhich was beside it."
31
But Joashsaid to allwhostoodagainst him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torndown his altar."
35
He sentmessengersthroughoutManasseh, and they also were calledtogether to follow him; and he sentmessengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.
37
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshingfloor. If there is dew on the fleeceonly, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliverIsraelthrough me, as You have spoken."
39
Then Gideonsaid to God, "Do not let Your angerburn against me that I may speakoncemore; please let me make a testoncemore with the fleece, let it now be dryonly on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground."