Judges 6:11–18

¹¹And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas, the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon, his son, was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

¹²The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

¹³And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian.

¹⁴And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go, in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

¹⁵He answered, and said: I beseech thee, my lord wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.

¹⁶And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

¹⁷And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me:

¹⁸And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.