Shophetim (Judges) 6
6
1And the children of Yisra’ĕl did evil in the eyes of יהוה, and יהוה gave them into the hand of Miḏyan for seven years,
2and the hand of Miḏyan was strong against Yisra’ĕl. And before the faces of the Miḏyanites the children of Yisra’ĕl made for themselves the refuges which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
3And it came to be, whenever Yisra’ĕl had sown, that Miḏyan would come up, and Amalĕq and the people of the East would come up against them,
4and encamp against them and destroy the increase of the soil as far as Azzah, and leave no food in Yisra’ĕl, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.
5For they came up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts. And they and their camels were without number. And they came into the land to destroy it.
6Thus Yisra’ĕl was brought very low because of Miḏyan, and the children of Yisra’ĕl cried out to יהוה.
7And it came to be, when the children of Yisra’ĕl cried out to יהוה because of Miḏyan,
8that יהוה sent a prophet to the children of Yisra’ĕl, who said to them, “Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘I have brought you up from Mitsrayim and I brought you out of the house of bondage,
9and I delivered you out of the hand of the Mitsrites and out of the hand of all your oppressors, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10And I said to you, “I am יהוה your Elohim, do not fear the mighty ones of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. And you have not obeyed My voice.” ’ ”
11And the Messenger of יהוה came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Yo’ash the Aḇi‛ezerite, while his son Giḏ‛on threshed wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the eyes of the Miḏyanites.
12And the Messenger of יהוה appeared to him, and said to him, “יהוה is with you, you mighty brave one!”
13And Giḏ‛on said to Him, “O my master, if יהוה is with us, why has all this come upon us? And where are all His wonders which our fathers related to us, saying, ‘Did not יהוה bring us up from Mitsrayim?’ But now יהוה has left us and given us into the hands of Miḏyan.”
14And יהוה turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours, and you shall save Yisra’ĕl from the hand of the Miḏyanites. Have I not sent you?”
15And he said to Him, “O יהוה, with what do I save Yisra’ĕl? See, my clan is the weakest in Menashsheh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16And יהוה said to him, “Because I am with you, you shall strike the Miḏyanites as one man.”
17And he said to Him, “Please, if I have found favour in Your eyes, then show me a sign that it is You who are speaking with me.
18“Please do not move away from here, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I shall stay until you return.”
19And Giḏ‛on went in, and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ĕphah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot. And he brought them out to Him, under the terebinth tree, and presented it.
20And the Messenger of Elohim said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.
21And the Messenger of יהוה put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Messenger of יהוה went from his sight.
22And when Giḏ‛on saw that He was a Messenger of יהוה, Giḏ‛on said, “Oh Master יהוה! For I have seen a Messenger of יהוה face to face.”
23And יהוה said to him, “Peace be with you! Do not fear, you do not die.”
24And Giḏ‛on built a slaughter-place there to יהוה, and called it: יהוה Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Aḇi‛ezerites.
25And the same night it came to be that יהוה said to him, “Take the young bull of your father, and the second bull of seven years old, and you shall throw down the slaughter-place of Ba‛al that your father has, and cut down the Ashĕrah that is beside it.
26“And you shall build a slaughter-place to יהוה your Elohim on top of this rock in an orderly way, and shall take the second bull and offer an ascending offering with the wood of the image which you cut down.”
27And Giḏ‛on took ten men from among his servants and did as יהוה had said to him. And it came to be, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, that he did it by night.
28And the men of the city arose early in the morning and saw the slaughter-place of Ba‛al was broken down, and the Ashĕrah that was beside it had been cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the slaughter-place which was built.
29And they said to each other, “Who has done this deed?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Giḏ‛on son of Yo’ash has done this deed.”
30And the men of the city said to Yo’ash, “Bring out your son, so that he dies, for he has broken down the slaughter-place of Ba‛al, and because he has cut down the Ashĕrah that was beside it.”
31And Yo’ash said to all who stood against him, “You, would you plead for Ba‛al? You, would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a mighty one, let him plead for himself, because his slaughter-place has been broken down!”
32So that day he called him Yerubba‛al, saying, “Let Ba‛al plead against him, because he has broken down his slaughter-place.”
33Now all Miḏyan and Amalĕq and the people of the East, were gathered together. And they passed over and encamped in the Valley of Yizre‛ĕl.
34Then the Spirit of יהוה came upon Giḏ‛on, and he blew the shophar, and the Aḇi‛ezerites gathered behind him.
35And he sent messengers throughout all Menashsheh, who also gathered behind him. And he sent messengers to Ashĕr, and to Zeḇulun, and to Naphtali. And they came up to meet them.
36And Giḏ‛on said to Elohim, “If You are saving Yisra’ĕl by my hand as You have said,
37see, I am placing a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You are saving Yisra’ĕl by my hand, as You have said.”
38And it was so, and he rose early the next morning and pressed the fleece, and wrung dew out of the fleece, to fill a bowl with water.
39And Giḏ‛on said to Elohim, “Do not be displeased with me, and let me speak only this time: Please let me try only this time with the fleece, please let it be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.”
40And Elohim did so that night, and it was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
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Shophetim (Judges) 6: TS2009
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