Parallel Bible results for "judges 6"

Judges 6

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 But the people of Isra'el did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, so ADONAI handed them over to Midyan for seven years.

2 Midyan exercised its power harshly against Isra'el, and because of Midyan the people of Isra'el hid themselves in mountains, in caves and in other safe places.

3 One time, after Isra'el's sowing season, Midyan, with 'Amalek and others from the east, attacked them.

4 They set up camp by them and destroyed the produce of the country all the way to 'Azah; they left nothing for people to live on, no sheep, no oxen, no donkeys.

5 For they came up with their cattle and tents, and they came in as thick as locusts; both they and their camels were beyond numbering, and they came into the land to destroy it.

6 Isra'el became very discouraged because of Midyan, and the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI.

7 When the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI because of Midyan,

8 ADONAI sent a prophet to the people of Isra'el, who said to them: "ADONAI the God of Isra'el says, 'I brought you up from Egypt, out of a life of slavery.

9 I delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all your oppressors. I drove them out ahead of you and gave you their land.

10 And I said to you: "I am ADONAI your God; you are not to be afraid of the gods of the Emori in whose land you are living." But you paid no attention to what I said!'"

11 Then the angel of ADONAI came and sat under the pistachio tree in 'Ofrah that belonged to Yo'ash the Avi'ezri. His son Gid'on was threshing wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from Midyan.

12 The angel of ADONAI appeared to him and said to him: "You valiant hero! ADONAI is with you!"

13 "Excuse me, sir," answered Gid'on, "but if ADONAI is with us, then why is all this happening to us? And where are all his miracles our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Didn't ADONAI bring us up from Egypt?' For now ADONAI has abandoned us and handed us over to Midyan."

14 ADONAI turned to him and said, "Go in this strength of yours and save Isra'el from the hands of Midyan. Haven't I sent you?"

15 But Gid'on answered him, "Forgive me, my Lord, but with what am I to save Isra'el? Why, my family is the poorest in M'nasheh, and I'm the youngest person in my father's house!"

16 ADONAI said to him, "Because I will be with you, you will strike down Midyan as easily as if they were just one man."

17 Gid'on replied, "If indeed you favor me, would you mind giving me a sign that it is really you talking with me?

18 Please don't leave until I go and return with a gift and present it to you." He replied, "I'll wait till you come back."

19 Gid'on went in, cooked a young goat and made matzot from a bushel of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them out to him under the pistachio tree and presented them.

20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and matzot, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." Gid'on did so.

21 Then the angel of ADONAI reached out with the stick he was holding, touched the meat and matzot, and fire shot up out of the rock and burned up the meat and matzot. Then the angel of ADONAI disappeared before his eyes.

22 Gid'on realized that he was the angel of ADONAI and said, "Oh no! My Lord! ADONAI! Because I've seen the angel of ADONAI face-to-face!"

23 But ADONAI reassured him, "Shalom to you, don't be afraid, you won't die!"

24 Then Gid'on built an altar there to ADONAI and called it "ADONAI-Shalom"; to this day it remains in 'Ofrah of the Avi'ezri.

25 That very night ADONAI said to him, "Take your father's bull and the other bull, the seven-year-old. Destroy the altar to Ba'al that belongs to your father, cut down the sacred pole next to it,

26 and build a proper altar to ADONAI your God on top of this strong-point. Then take the second bull; and offer it as a burnt offering, using the wood of the sacred pole you cut down."

27 Gid'on took ten of his servants and did what ADONAI had told him to do. He didn't do it by day, because he was afraid of the men in his father's household and those from the city, so he did it at night.

28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, there was the altar of Ba'al destroyed, the sacred pole cut down, and the second bull a burnt offering on the newly built altar.

29 They asked each other, "Who could have done this?" But after investigating, they concluded that Gid'on the son of Yo'ash had done it.

30 "Bring out your son," the men of the city demanded of Yo'ash, "so that he may die, because he destroyed the altar of Ba'al and cut down the sacred pole next to it!"

31 But Yo'ash said to all those crowding around him, "You're defending Ba'al, are you? It's your job to save him? Anyone who defends Ba'al will be put to death before morning! If he's a god, let him defend himself! After all, somebody destroyed his altar!"

32 Therefore on that day Gid'on was given the name Yeruba'al [let Ba'al defend], because they said, "Let Ba'al defend himself against him, since he destroyed his altar."

33 Now all Midyan, 'Amalek and the others from the east joined forces, crossed the Yarden, and set up camp in the Yizre'el Valley.

34 But the Spirit of ADONAI covered Gid'on. He sounded the call on the shofar, and Avi'ezer rallied behind him.

35 He sent messengers throughout all M'nasheh, and they too rallied behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Z'vulun and Naftali; and they came up to join them.

36 Gid'on said to God, "If you are going to save Isra'el through me, as you said you would,

37 then, here: I will lay a wool fleece on the threshing-floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, while all the ground stays dry, I will be convinced that you will save Isra'el through me, as you said you would."

38 And it happened! He got up early in the morning, pressed the fleece together and wrung dew out of it, a bowlful of water.

39 But Gid'on said to God, "Don't be angry with me because I am asking one more thing, let me make one more test, please: this time let it be dry only on the fleece, with dew all over the ground."

40 And that is what God did that night - it was dry only on the fleece, even though there was dew all over the ground.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 The people of Israel did what the LORD considered evil. So the LORD handed them over to Midian for seven years.

2 Midian's power was too strong for Israel. The Israelites made hiding places in the mountains, caves, and mountain strongholds [to protect themselves] from Midian.

3 Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and Kedem came and damaged the crops.

4 The enemy used to camp on the land and destroy the crops all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to live on--not one sheep, cow, or donkey.

5 Like swarms of locusts, they came with their livestock and their tents. They and their camels could not be counted. They came into the land only to ruin it.

6 So the Israelites became very poor because of Midian and cried out to the LORD for help.

7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help because of what the Midianites had done to them,

8 the LORD sent a prophet to them. He said, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I brought you out of Egypt. I took you away from slavery.

9 I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of those who oppressed you. I forced people out of your way. I gave you their land.

10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God. You must never fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you will live.' But you have not obeyed me."

11 The Messenger of the LORD came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash from Abiezer's family. Joash's son Gideon was beating out wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

12 The Messenger of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, "The LORD is with you, brave man."

13 Gideon responded, "Excuse me, sir! But if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about? Didn't they say, 'The LORD brought us out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and has handed us over to Midian."

14 The LORD turned to him and said, "You will rescue Israel from Midian with the strength you have. I am sending you."

15 Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, sir! How can I rescue Israel? Look at my whole family. It's the weakest one in Manasseh. And me? I'm the least important member of my family."

16 The LORD replied, "I will be with you. You will defeat Midian as if it were [only] one man."

17 Gideon said to him, "If you find me acceptable, give me a sign that it is really you speaking to me.

18 Don't leave until I come back. I want to bring my gift and set it in front of you." "I will stay until you come back," he said.

19 Then Gideon went into [his house] and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread made with 18 quarts of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. Then he went out and presented them to the Messenger of the LORD under the oak tree.

20 The Messenger of the LORD told him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." Gideon did so.

21 Then the Messenger of the LORD touched the meat and the bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared up from the rock and burned the meat and the bread. Then the Messenger of the LORD disappeared.

22 That's when Gideon realized that this had been the Messenger of the LORD. So he said, "LORD God! I have seen the Messenger of the LORD face to face."

23 The LORD said to him, "Calm down! Don't be afraid. You will not die."

24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD. He called it The LORD Calms. To this day it is still in Ophrah, which belongs to Abiezer's family.

25 That same night the LORD said to Gideon, "Take a bull from your father's herd, a bull that is seven years old. Tear down your father's altar dedicated to the god Baal and cut down the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah that is next to it.

26 Then, in the proper way, build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this fortified place. Take this second bull and sacrifice it as a burnt offering on the wood from the Asherah pole that you have cut down."

27 Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the LORD had told him to do. However, he didn't do anything during the day. He was too afraid of his father's family and the men of the city, so he did it at night.

28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, they saw that the Baal altar had been torn down. The Asherah pole next to it had also been cut down. They saw that the second bull had been sacrificed as a burnt offering on the altar that had been built.

29 They asked each other, "Who did this?" While they were investigating the matter, someone said, "Gideon, son of Joash, did this."

30 Then the men of the city told Joash, "Bring your son out. He must die. He has torn down the Baal altar and cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it."

31 But Joash said to everyone standing around him, "You're not going to defend Baal, are you? Do you think you should save him? Whoever defends him will be put to death in the morning. If he's a god, let him defend himself when someone tears down his altar."

32 So that day they nicknamed Gideon "Jerubbaal" [Let Baal Defend Himself], because they said, "When someone tears down Baal's altar, let Baal defend himself."

33 All of Midian, Amalek, and Kedem combined their armies, crossed [the Jordan River], and camped in the valley of Jezreel.

34 Then the LORD's Spirit gave Gideon strength. So Gideon blew the ram's horn to summon Abiezer's family to follow him.

35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh to summon the people to follow him. The tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali were also summoned to follow him, and they went to meet the enemy in battle.

36 Then Gideon said to God, "You said that you would rescue Israel through me.

37 I'll place some wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the wool while all the ground is dry, then I'll know that you will rescue Israel through me, as you said."

38 And that is what happened. The next morning Gideon got up early. He squeezed out a bowl full of water from the wool.

39 Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me. But let me ask one more thing. Let me make one more test with the wool. Let the wool be dry while all the ground is covered with dew."

40 During the night, God did what Gideon asked. The wool was dry, but all the ground was covered with dew.