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¹ And the sons of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

² And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

³ And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the sons of the east; they came up against them;

⁴ and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey.

⁵ For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.

⁶ And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh.

⁷ And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh because of Midian,

⁸ that Yahweh sent a prophet to the sons of Israel: and he said to them, This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of slaves;

⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;

¹⁰ and I said to you, I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you haven't listened to my voice.

¹¹ And the angel of Yahweh came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹² And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him, and said to him, Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor.

¹³ And Gideon said to him, Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, then why does all this befall us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt? but now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

¹⁴ And Yahweh looked on him, and said, Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: haven't I sent you?

¹⁵ And he said to him, Oh, Lord, with which shall I save Israel? look, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

¹⁶ And Yahweh said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.

¹⁷ And he said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you that talks with me.

¹⁸ Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come to you, and bring forth my present, and lay it before you. And he said, I will tarry until you come again.

¹⁹ And Gideon went in, and made ready a young goat, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.

²⁰ And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

²¹ Then the angel of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Yahweh departed out of his sight.

²² And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Yahweh! since I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face.

²³ And Yahweh said to him, Peace be to you; don't be afraid: you shall not die.

²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it Yahweh-shalom: to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ And it came to pass the same night, that Yahweh said to him, Take your father's bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

²⁶ and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.

²⁷ Then Gideon took ten men of his slaves, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so 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, look, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.

²⁹ And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

³¹ And Joash said to all that stood against him, Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? he that will contend for him, let him be put to death while [it is yet] morning: if he is a god, let him contend for himself, because one has broken down his altar.

³² Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.

³³ Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁴ But the Spirit of Yahweh came on Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.

³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

³⁶ And Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,

³⁷ look, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there shall be dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.

³⁸ And it was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

³⁹ And Gideon said to God, Don't let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray you, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.

⁴⁰ And God did so that night: for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.