Judges 6:24-40 ▼

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

32 Therefore he called him on that day Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him because he has torn down his altar.”

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.

34 And the Spirit of YHWH came upon Gideon, and he blew on the shofar, and the Abiezrites gathered behind 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.

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

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.”

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.

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.”

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