Judges 6:27-37

27 Therefore Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord commanded to him. And Gideon dreaded the house of his father (And Gideon feared his father's family), and the men of that city, and (so) he would not do (it) by day, but he fulfilled all things by night.
28 And when men of that city had risen early, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the wood cut down, and the tother bull put on the altar, that was builded. (And when the men of that city had risen in the morning, they saw that the altar of Baal had been destroyed, and the pole of idolatry had been cut down, and the other bull put on the altar that Gideon had built there.)
29 And they said together, Who hath done this? And when they inquired (of) the doer of the deed, it was said, Gideon, the son of Joash, did all these things.
30 And they said to Joash, Bring forth thy son hither, that he die, for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down the wood about it. (And they said to Joash, Bring thy son here, so that we can kill him, for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down the pole of idolatry that was beside it.)
31 To whom Joash answered, Whether ye be the vengers of Baal, that ye fight for him? he that is (the) adversary of him, die he, before the morrow light come; if he is God, venge he himself of him that hath cast down his altar (yea, if he is a god, avenge he himself upon him who hath thrown down his altar).
32 From that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, for-thy that Joash had said, Baal take vengeance of him that hath cast down his altar. (So from that day, Gideon was called Jerubbaal, or Let Baal contend, for Joash had said, Let Baal himself take vengeance upon him who hath thrown down his altar.)
33 Therefore all Midian, and Amalek, and the peoples of the east were gathered together, and they passed over (the) Jordan, and setted tents in the valley of Jezreel. (And so all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the peoples of the east were gathered together, and they passed over the Jordan River to the west side, and pitched their tents in the Jezreel Valley.)
34 Forsooth the spirit of the Lord clothed, or full-filled, Gideon; and he sounded with a clarion, and called together the house of Abiezer, that it should follow him. (And the spirit of the Lord filled Gideon full; and he sounded with a trumpet, and called out all the house of Abiezer to follow him.)
35 And he sent messengers into all Manasseh, and he followed Gideon (and they followed Gideon); and he sent other messengers into Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they (also) came to him.
36 And Gideon said to the Lord, If thou makest safe Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken, (And Gideon said to the Lord, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,)
37 I shall put this fleece of wool in the cornfloor; if the dew is in the fleece alone, and dryness is in all the earth, I shall know, that thou shalt deliver Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken. (for me to be certain of that, I shall put this fleece of wool on the threshing floor; and tomorrow, if dew is found only on the fleece, and the ground all around it is dry, then I shall know for sure that thou shalt save Israel by my hand, just as thou hast said.)

Judges 6:27-37 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 6

In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in through the Midianites, Jud 6:1-6, of a prophet being sent unto them to reprieve them for their sins, Jud 6:7-10 of an angel appearing to Gideon, with an order to him to go and save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, Jud 6:11-16 and of a sign given him by the angel, whereby he knew this order was of God, Jud 6:17-24, and of the reformation from idolatry in his father's family he made upon this, throwing down the altar of Baal, and building one for the Lord, Jud 6:25-32, and of the preparation he made to fight the Midianites and others, Jud 6:33-35, but first desired a sign of the Lord, that Israel would be saved by his hand, which was granted and repeated, Jud 6:36-40.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.