| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. | 1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, |
| 2The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. | 2and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. |
| 3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, | 3Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them, |
| 4camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. | 4encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys. |
| 5These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. | 5For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it. |
| 6So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help. | 6Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD. |
| 7When they cried out to the LORD because of Midian, | 7Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, |
| 8the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. | 8He sent them a prophet, who told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. |
| 9I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. | 9I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. |
| 10I told you, ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you have not listened to me.” | 10And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.” |
| 11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. | 11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. |
| 12The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!” | 12And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” |
| 13“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The LORD brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” | 13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” |
| 14Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” | 14The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?” |
| 15“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” | 15“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” |
| 16The LORD said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” | 16“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.” |
| 17Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the LORD speaking to me. | 17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me. |
| 18Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.” He answered, “I will stay here until you return.” | 18Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.” And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.” |
| 19Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree. | 19So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak. |
| 20The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.” And Gideon did as he was told. | 20And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. |
| 21Then the angel of the LORD touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. | 21Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. |
| 22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he cried out, “Oh, Sovereign LORD, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” | 22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” |
| 23“It is all right,” the LORD replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.” | 23But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.” |
| 24And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the LORD is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day. | 24So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. |
| 25That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. | 25On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. |
| 26Then build an altar to the LORD your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” | 26Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.” |
| 27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town. | 27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime. |
| 28Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed. | 28When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar. |
| 29The people said to each other, “Who did this?” And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash. | 29“Who did this?” they said to one another. And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” |
| 30“Bring out your son,” the men of the town demanded of Joash. “He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole.” | 30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” |
| 31But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, “Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!” | 31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.” |
| 32From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means “Let Baal defend himself,” because he broke down Baal’s altar. Gideon Asks for a Sign | 32So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar. |
| 33Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. | 33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. |
| 34Then the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. | 34So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him. |
| 35He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. | 35Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him. |
| 36Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, | 36Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, |
| 37prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” | 37then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” |
| 38And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. | 38And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. |
| 39Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” | 39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.” |
| 40So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew. | 40And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground. |
|
