^6:16The Lord said to him, “Ah, but³⁹ I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.”⁴⁰^6:17Gideon⁴¹ said to him, “If you really are pleased with me,⁴² then give me⁴³ a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. ^6:18Do not leave this place until I come back⁴⁴ with a gift⁴⁵ and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”

^6:19Gideon went and prepared a young goat,⁴⁶ along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food⁴⁷ to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. ^6:20God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock,⁴⁸ and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed.⁴⁹^6:21The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff.⁵⁰ Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared.⁵¹

^6:22When Gideon realized⁵² that it was the Lord’s messenger, he⁵³ said, “Oh no!⁵⁴ Master, Lord!⁵⁵ I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” ^6:23The Lord said to him, “You are safe!⁵⁶ Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!”

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Footnotes

39 Or “certainly.”
40 Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”
41 Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”
43 Heb “perform for me.”
44 The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
45 Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.
46 Heb “a kid from among the goats.”
47 The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
48 Heb “Take the meat … and put [it] on this rock.”
49 Heb “and he did so.”
50 Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
51 Heb “went from his eyes.”
52 Heb “saw.”
53 Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
54 Or “Ah!”
55 The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yéhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).
56 Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.