Judges 6:8-18

8 and he sent to them a man, a prophet, and he spake to them, (and said,) The Lord God of Israel saith these things, I made you to go up from Egypt, and I led you out of the house of servage,

9 and I delivered you from the hand of Egyptians, and of all [the] enemies that tormented you (and from all of the enemies who tormented you); and I casted them out at your entering, and I gave to you the land of them;

10 and I said, I am the Lord your God; dread ye not the gods of Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; and ye would not hear my voice. (and I said, I am the Lord your God; fear ye not, or do not ye worship, the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye live; but ye would not listen to me.)

11 And (then) an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that was in Ophrah, and it pertained to Joash, the father of the family of Abiezrites. And when Gideon, the son of Joash, threshed, and purged wheat in a presser, that he should flee Midian (And when Gideon, the son of Joash, threshed, and purged wheat in a winepress, to hide it from the Midianites),

12 an angel of the Lord appeared to him (the angel of the Lord appeared to him), and said, The Lord be with thee, thou strongest of men.

13 And Gideon said to him, My lord, I beseech, if the Lord is with us, why then have all these evils taken us? Where be the marvels of him, which our fathers told, and said, The Lord hath led us out of Egypt? For now he hath forsaken us, and hath betaken us into the hand of Midian. (And Gideon said to him, My lord, I beseech thee, if the Lord is with us, then why have all these evils overtaken us? Where be his miracles, which our fathers told us about? Yea, they said, The Lord led us out of Egypt. But now, he hath deserted us, and hath delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.)

14 And the Lord beheld to him, and said, Go thou in this strength of thee, and thou shalt deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; (and) know thou, that I have sent thee.

15 And Gideon answered (to the angel), and said, My lord, I beseech, in what thing shall I deliver Israel? (My lord, I beseech thee, how can I save Israel?) Lo! my family is the lowest in Manasseh, and I am the least in the house of my father.

16 And the Lord said to him, I shall be with thee, and thou shalt smite Midian as one man. (And the Lord said to him, I shall be with thee, and thou shalt strike down all of the Midianites like one man.)

17 And Gideon said, If I have found grace before thee, give to me a sign, that thou, that speakest to me, art sent of God's part; (And Gideon said to the angel, If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign, that thou, who speakest to me, art sent from God;)

18 go thou not away from hence, till I turn again to thee, and bring (a) sacrifice, and offer (it) to thee. Which answered, I shall abide thy coming (And he answered, I shall wait for thee).

Judges 6:8-18 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.