Judges 6:11–23

The Lord Calls Gideon

¹¹The Angel ^mof the Lord ⁿcame, and He ^osat under the oak that was in Ophrah, ^pwhich belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹²Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” ^q

¹³Gideon said to Him, “Please Sir, ^rif the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? ^sAnd where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

¹⁴The Lord ^tturned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?” ^u

¹⁵He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

¹⁶“But I will be with you,” ^vthe Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

¹⁷Then he said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your sight, ^wgive me a sign ^xthat You are speaking with me. ¹⁸Please do not leave this place until I return to You. Let me bring my gift and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will stay until you return.”

¹⁹So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel ^yof flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.

²⁰The Angel of God ^zsaid to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” And he did so.

²¹The Angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

²²When Gideon realized that He was the Angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no, Lord God! ^aI have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!” ^b

²³But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.”