Judges 6 Parallel Bible Translations

Judges 6
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1 And the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. From the faces of the Midianite, the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
3 And it came to pass, when Israel had sown, that Midian came up, and Amalek and the sons of the East, and they came up against him. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.
4 And they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, either sheep, or ox, or donkey. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.
5 For they and their livestock and their tents would come up, and they would come as the fullness of the locust for multitude. And of them and their camels was no number, and they would enter the land to destroy it. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianite, and the sons of Israel cried out to YHWH. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
7 And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried out to YHWH on account of the Midianite, When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, When the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,
8 that YHWH sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says YHWH, God of Israel: I brought you⁺ up from Egypt and brought you⁺ out of the house of slavery. the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
9 And I delivered you⁺ out of the hand of Egypt and out of the hand of all who oppressed you⁺, and I drove them out before your⁺ faces, and I gave to you⁺ their land. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10 And I said to you⁺, ‘I am YHWH your⁺ God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorite, in whose land you⁺ dwell.’ You⁺ have not listened to My voice.” And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”
11 And the angel of YHWH came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which was unto Joash the Abi-ezrite, and Gideon his son threshed wheat in the winepress to hide it from the face of the Midianite. Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 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 keep it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of YHWH appeared to him and said to him, “YHWH is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 And Gideon said to Him, “Please, my Lord, if YHWH is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles about which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Did not YHWH bring us up from Egypt?’ And YHWH has forsaken us and given us into the palm of Midian.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 And YHWH turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours, and you shall save Israel from the palm of Midian. Have not I sent you?” And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 And he said to Him, “Please, my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in the house of my father.” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16 And YHWH said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianite as one man.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
17 And he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, show me a sign that You are speaking with me. And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
18 Do not, please, depart from this place until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before Your face.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.”
19 And Gideon went in and prepared a kid of the goats and an ephah of flour of unleavened bread. He put the flesh in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and he brought them out to Him, to under the oak, and brought them near. So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.
21 And the angel of YHWH stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and he touched the flesh and the unleavened bread, and the fire rose out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread. And the angel of YHWH departed out of his sight. Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Then the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.
22 And Gideon perceived that it was the angel of YHWH. And Gideon said, “Alas, Lord YHWH! For upon that I have seen the angel of YHWH face to face.” Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
23 And YHWH said to him, “Peace be with you. Fear not; you shall not die.” But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
24 And Gideon built there an altar to YHWH, and he called it YHWH-Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. So 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.
25 And it came to pass that night, that YHWH said to him, “Take the young bull, that of your father, and the second bull, of seven years, and tear down the altar of Baal that is to your father, and cut down the Asherah pole that is beside it. That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
26 And build an altar to YHWH your God on top of this rock by the arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole that you shall cut down.” and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”
27 And Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as YHWH had said to him. And because he feared the house of his father and the men of the city, to do it by day, he did it by night. So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
28 And the men of the city arose early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah pole that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar—the built one. When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
29 And they said one to another, “Who has done this thing?” And they inquired and asked, and they said, “Gideon son of Joash has done this thing.” And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
30 And the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it.” Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”
31 And Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you⁺ plead for Baal, if you⁺ would save him? The one who would plead for him shall be put to death by the morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself because has been torn down his altar.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”
32 Therefore he called him on that day Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him because he has torn down his altar.” Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”
33 And all the Midianite and Amalekite and the sons of the East gathered together, and they passed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34 And the Spirit of YHWH came upon Gideon, and he blew on the shofar, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and he also gathered after him. And He sent messengers to Asher, and Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said, Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—
37 behold, I shall put a fleece of the wool on the threshing floor. If dew there is on the fleece only, and on all the ground it is dry, I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand as You have said.” behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.”
38 And it was so, and he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, and the dew he wrung out of the fleece, the fullness of the bowl of water. And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
39 And Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, and let me speak just once more. Let me test, please, only this time with the fleece. Let it be now dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.”
40 And God did so that night, and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
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