1And the Israelites again did evil in the eyes of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2And the power of the Midianites was so oppressive, that the Israelites made dens in the mountains, caves, and strongholds for themselves. 3And, when Israel had planted their crops, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and other people of the east, came up against them; 4They camped against them, and destroyed their harvest of crops as far as Gaza, and left Israel with no sustenance - neither sheep, ox, nor donkey. 5For they came up with their cattle and their tents, like grasshoppers for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came to destroy the land. 6And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD. 7And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8The LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I brought you up from Egypt, and out of the house of bondage; 9I rescued you from the Egyptians, and all who oppressed you, and I drove them out from before you, and gave you their land; 10And I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell”; but you have not obeyed My voice.’”

11And an Angel of the LORD came, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash, the Abi-ezrite, where his son, Gideon, was threshing wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12And the Angel of the LORD appeared and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor.” 13And Gideon said to Him, “Oh my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14And the LORD looked at him, and said, “Go in your strength, and you shall rescue Israel from the power of the Midianites: Have I not sent you?” 15And Gideon said to Him, “Oh my Lord, how can I save Israel? Mine is the weakest clan in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites, leaving none alive.” 17And Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, then show me a sign that You talk with me. 18Please do not leave until I return to You, and bring my present, and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”

19And Gideon went inside, and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. Then he put the meat in a basket, put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to Him under the oak, and presented it. 20And the Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21Then the Angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire rose from the rock, and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the LORD departed from his sight. 22And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O LORD God! For I have seen an Angel of the LORD face to face.” 23And the LORD said to him, “Peace be unto you; fear not: you shall not die.” 24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it “Jehovah-shalom” (The LORD is Peace): It is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites to this day.

25And that same night, the LORD said to him, “Take the second bullock from your father's herd, the one that is seven years old, and pull down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it; 26Then build a proper altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, and take that second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of that grove you shall cut down.” 27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had told him: and, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it at night. 28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, they saw that the altar of Baal was demolished, and the grove (Asherah pole) beside it was cut down, and the second bullock was offered upon the newly built altar. 29And they said one to another, “Who has done this?” And when they enquired, they were told, “Gideon, son of Joash, has done it.” 30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring your son out, that he may die; because he has demolished the altar of Baal, and has cut down the grove that was beside it.” 31But Joash replied to the hostile crowd that stood against him, “Will you plead the cause for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever pleads for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning. If Baal is a god, let him plead for himself, because someone has demolished his altar.” 32Therefore on that day, they called Gideon “Jerubbaal” (Let Baal contend against him), and they said, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.”

33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites and the children of the east came together, and went and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and the clan of Abiezer gathered to him. 35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they also came up to join him. 36And Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, 37Look, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing room floor; and if the dew is only on the fleece, and the earth beside it is dry, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38And it was so; for he rose early the next morning, and squeezed the fleece, and wrung the dew out of the fleece - a bowlful of water. 39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; but I pray You will let me ask just one more test: let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew upon all the ground.” 40And God did so that night; for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.