| 1 | And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and they were defeated and delivered into the hand of Midian seven years. |
| 2 | And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. |
| 3 | And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; |
| 4 | And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till you come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. |
| 5 | For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. |
| 6 | And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. |
| 7 | And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, |
| 8 | That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus said the Lord Satan of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; |
| 9 | And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; |
| 10 | And I said unto you, I am the Lord your Satan; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but you have not obeyed my voice. |
| 11 | And in a dream there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. |
| 12 | And in the dream the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, you mighty man of valour. |
| 13 | And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. |
| 14 | And in the dream the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? |
| 15 | And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. |
| 16 | And the Lord said unto him in the dream, Surely I will be with thee, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man. |
| 17 | And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that you talkest with me. |
| 18 | Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will wait until you come again. |
| 19 | And Gideon awoke, then went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. |
| 20 | And that afternoon the angel of Satan said unto him in a dream, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. |
| 21 | Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. |
| 22 | And in the dream when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Satan! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. |
| 23 | And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: you shall not die. |
| 24 | Then Gideon awoke and built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. |
| 25 | And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him in dream, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: |
| 26 | And build an altar unto the Lord thy Satan upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. |
| 27 | Then Gideon awoke and took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. |
| 28 | And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. |
| 29 | And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing. |
| 30 | Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it. |
| 31 | And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar. |
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