American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
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.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
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.
{Another reading is, In all their adversity he was no adversary}In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
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.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.
He will again have compassion upon us; he will {Or, subdue our iniquities}tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
{Or, Thou wilt show thy faithfulness &c.}Thou wilt {Hebrew: give.}perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
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.
For {Or, ye behold}behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
that no flesh should glory before God.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not {According to another reading, see.}fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
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;
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.
{Or, but we ourselves}yea, we ourselves have had the {Greek: answer.}sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead:
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by {Or, an army}might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.
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 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.