And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;
and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
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.
And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.
And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of Midian,
that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
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;
and I said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.
And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the {Or, terebinth}oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.
And Jehovah {Or, turned towards}looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my {Hebrew: thousand.}family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
And he said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me.
Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, 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 unto him under the {Or, terebinth}oak, and presented it.
And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
Then the angel of Jehovah 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 Jehovah departed out of his sight.
And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face.
And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it {That is, Jehovah is peace.}Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father's bullock, {Or, and}even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is {Or, upon}by it;
and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, {Or, with that pertaining to it}in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto 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.
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was {Or, upon}by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was {Or, upon}by it.
And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, {Or, shall be put to death: let be til morning if &c.}let him be put to death {Or, before morning}whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken down his altar.
Therefore on that day he called him {That is, Let Baal contend.}Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar.
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.
But the Spirit of Jehovah {Hebrew: clothed itself with.}came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.
And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken,
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken.
And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Querverweise zu Richter 6,1 Ri 6,1
And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Vex the Midianites, and smite them;
But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; {Hebrew: they let nothing fall of their doings.}they ceased not from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.
for they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.
And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice,
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
and if ye shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhor mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant;
I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies: they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.
And I will break the pride of your power: and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass;
and your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
And I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate.
And if by these things ye will not be reformed {Or, by}unto me, but will walk contrary unto me;
then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins.
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
then I will walk contrary unto you in wrath; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins.
And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-images, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul shall abhor you.
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.
And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy its sabbaths.
As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
And as for them that are left of you, I will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one fleeth from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary unto me,
I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity;
then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
The land also shall be left by them, and shall enjoy its sabbaths, while it lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.
And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Jehovah their God;
but I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am Jehovah.
These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which Jehovah made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by Moses.
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock.
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
Jehovah will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it.
Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with {Or, as otherwise read, drought}the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
Jehovah will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be {Or, a terror unto all}tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth.
And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
Jehovah will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with the {Or, tumors Or, plague boils}emerods, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof.
Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to save thee.
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people; and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nought in the power of thy hand.
The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labors, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway;
so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Jehovah will smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the crown of thy head.
Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee away.
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast its fruit.
Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity.
All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess.
The sojourner that is in the midst of thee shall mount up above thee higher and higher; and thou shalt come down lower and lower.
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young,
and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee to perish.
And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land; and they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee.
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.
The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he hath remaining;
so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates.
The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
and toward her {Or, after-birth}young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH THY GOD;
then Jehovah will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
And he will bring upon thee again all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will Jehovah bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God.
And it shall come to pass, that, as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it.
And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone.
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;
and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life.
In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations.
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.
But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee; therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies,
and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law. Yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thine ordinances, (which if a man do, he shall live in them,) and {Hebrew: they gave a stubborn shoulder.}withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
They did not destroy the peoples,As Jehovah commanded them,
But mingled themselves with the nations,And learned their works,
And served their idols,Which became a snare unto them.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons,
And shed innocent blood,Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan;And the land was polluted with blood.
Thus were they defiled with their works,And played the harlot in their doings.
Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against his people,And he abhorred his inheritance.
And he gave them into the hand of the nations;And they that hated them ruled over them.
Their enemies also oppressed them,And they were brought into subjection under their hand.