Judges6
English Standard Version
1The of what was in the of the Lord, and the Lord them into the of .
2And the of , and of the of for themselves the that are in the and the and the .
3For the , the and the and the of the would them.
4They would them and the of the , as , and in and no or or .
5 they would with their and their ; they would in —both they and their could be —so that they the as they .
6And was of . And the of out for help to the Lord.
7 the of to the Lord on of the ,
8the Lord a to the of . And he to them, the Lord, the of : I from and of the of .
9And I you from the of the and from the of all who you, and drove them you and you their .
10And I to you, I am the Lord your ; you shall the of the in you . But you have my .
11Now the of the Lord and the , belonged to the , while his was in the to it the .
12And the of the Lord to him and to him, The Lord is you, O man of .
13And to him, , , the Lord is us, then has to us? And are his our to us, , Did the Lord from ? But the Lord has us and us into the of .
14And the Lord him and , in of yours and from the of ; do I you?
15And he to him, , , can I ? , my is the in , and I am the in my .
16And the Lord to him, I will be you, and you shall the as .
17And he to him, I have in your , then me a that it is you who me.
18 do I to you and bring my and it you. And he , I will you .
19So his house and a and from an of . The he in a , and the he in a , and them to him the and them.
20And the of to him, the and the , and them on , and the over them. And he .
21Then the of the Lord the of the was in his and the and the . And from the and the and the . And the of the Lord from his .
22Then that he was the of the Lord. And , , O God! now I have the of the Lord to .
23But the Lord to him, be to you. Do ; you shall .
24Then an to the Lord and it, The Lord Is . To it stands at , which belongs to the .
25That the Lord to him, your , and the , and pull the of your has, and the is it
26and an to the Lord your the of the , with stones laid in . Then the and it as a with the of the that you shall .
27So of his and the Lord had him. But he was too of his and the of the to it by , he it by .
28When the of the in the , , the of was , and the it was , and the was the that had been .
29And they to , has ? And after they had and , they , the of has .
30Then the of the to , Bring your , that he may , he has the of and the it.
31But to him, Will you for ? will you him? for him shall be by . he is a , let him for himself, his has been .
32Therefore on that Gideon was , that is to , Let against him, he broke his .
33Now the and the and the of the , and they the Jordan and in the of .
34But the of the Lord , and he the , and the were to him.
35And he throughout , and were to him. And he to , , and , and they to them.
36Then to , you by my , you have ,
37 , I am a of on the . there is on the , and it is on the , then I shall that you will by my , you have .
38And it was . When he and the , he enough the to a with .
39Then to , Let your against me; let me . let me more with the . let it be on the , and on the let there be .
40And that ; and it was on the , and on the there was .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Judges 6.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Israel oppressed by Midianites. (1–6). Israel rebuked by a prophet. (7–10). Gideon set to deliver Israel. (11–24). Gideon destroys Baal's altar. (25–32). Signs given him. (33–40).
vv1-6
Israel's sin was renewed, and Israel's troubles were repeated. Let all that sin expect to suffer. The Israelites hid themselves in dens and caves; such was the effect of a guilty conscience. Sin dispirits men. The invaders left no food for Israel, except what was taken into the caves. They prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served, now God justly sends an enemy to take it away in the season thereof.
vv7-10
They cried to God for a deliverer, and he sent them a prophet to teach them. When God furnishes a land with faithful ministers, it is a token that he has mercy in store for it. He charges them with rebellion against the Lord; he intends to bring them to repentance. Repentance is real when the sinfulness of sin, as disobedience to God, is chiefly lamented.
vv11-24
Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says, While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now, under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God, that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Angel turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he had found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world, it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
רַע: bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)
עַיִן: an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
יָד: a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.),
מִדְיָן: Midjan, a son of Abraham; also his country and (collectively) his descendants
שֶׁבַע: seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
Cross References
Judges 6Direct internal parallel describing the Midianites and their camels as grasshoppers for multitude without number.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies 'the children of the east' as the eastern Arabians allied with Midian.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament honor roll of faith explicitly listing Gideon for his deliverance of Israel.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Matches the divine reassurance 'Surely I will be with thee' given to hesitant Moses.
Supported by JFB
Identical miraculous pattern where the Angel of the Lord consumes the offering with fire.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Explicitly names Jerubbaal (Gideon) as a key deliverer raised up by God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes Abraham's humble plea 'let not the Lord be angry' when requesting further proof.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfillment of covenant curses where Israel sows but enemies devour their crops.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies Ophrah in Manasseh belonging to the family of Abiezer (the Abi-ezrite).
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Echoes Abraham's hospitable preparation of a kid and cakes for his divine visitors.
Supported by JFB
Parallels fire coming from God to consume a sacrifice, signifying acceptance of the offerer.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels Jacob's dread and amazement after seeing God face-to-face and surviving.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
New Testament allusion to believers wandering in deserts, mountains, dens, and caves.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Gideon's request for the traveler to tarry matches Abraham's language of finding grace.
Supported by JFB
The prophet's rebuke directly echoes the preface to the Decalogue.
Supported by Matthew Poole