Judges 6

Judges Chapter 6 KJV

1The Israelites for their sin are oppressed by Midian. 7They cry to God; a prophet is sent to reprove them. 11An angel sendeth Gideon to deliver them. 17Gideon asketh a sign; he bringeth flesh, broth, and bread, to the angel, which are all miraculously consumed with fire. 25Gideon destroyeth Baal's altar and grove, and sacrificeth upon an altar which he built unto the Lord. 28The men of his city require him to be put to death; his father defendeth him, and giveth him the name of Jerubbaal. 33Gideon gathereth an army to fight the Midianites. 36The double sign granted according to his prayer.
1 And the children of Israel 1did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of 2Midian seven years.
2 And 1the hand of Midian aprevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them 2the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and 1the Amalekites, and 2the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they 1encamped against them, and 2destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto 3Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither asheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their 1tents, and they came as 2grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and 1the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
7 ¶ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,
8 That the Lord sent aa prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, 1Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 2I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, 1I am the Lord your God; fear not 2the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: 3but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11 ¶ And there came an 1angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in 2Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the 3Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, ato hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, 1The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, 1why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles 2which our fathers told us of, saying, 3Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? 4but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, 1Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, 1wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, amy family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the Lord said unto him, 1Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now 1I have found grace in thy sight, 2then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth 1my apresent, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 1And Gideon went in, and made ready aa kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and 1lay them upon this rock, and 2pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 ¶ Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and 1there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. 2Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! 1for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
23 And the Lord said unto him, 1Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then 1Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it aJehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
25 ¶ And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, 1Take thy father's young bullock, aeven the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the 2grove that is by it:
26 And 1build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this arock, bin the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a 2burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and 1did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he 2feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 ¶ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, 1Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, 1Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will 2plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him aJerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
33 ¶ Then 1all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in 2the valley of Jezreel.
34 But 1the Spirit of the Lord acame upon Gideon, and 2he blew a trumpet; and 3Abi-ezer bwas gathered after him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was agathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36 ¶ And Gideon said unto God, 1If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 1Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew 2be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a 1bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, 1Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be 2dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Judges 6