The Judges & Ruth

So was Israel exceedingly impouerished by the Midianites: therefore the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord.

And when the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord because of the Midianites,

The Lord sent vnto the children of Israel a Prophet, who sayd vuto them, Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, I haue brought you vp from Egypt, and haue brought you out of the house of bondage,

And I haue deliuered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and haue cast them out before you, and giuen you their land.

And I sayde vnto you, I am the Lord your God: feare not the gods of the Amorites in whose lande you dwell: but ye haue not obeyed my voyce.

And the Angell of the Lord came, and sate vnder the oke which was in Ophrah, that perteined vnto Ioash the father of the Ezrites, and his sonne Gideon threshed wheate by the winepresse, to hide it from the Midianites.

Then the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto him, and said vnto him, The Lord is with thee, thou valiant man.

To whome Gideon answered, Ah my Lord, if the Lord be with vs, why then is all this come vpon vs? and where be all his miracles which our fathers tolde vs of, and sayd, Did not the Lord bring vs out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken vs, and deliuered vs into the hand of the Midianites.

And the Lord looked vpon him, and sayd, Goe in this thy might, and thou shalt saue Israel out of the handes of the Midianites: haue not I sent thee?

And he answered him, Ah my Lord, whereby shall I saue Israel? beholde, my father is poore in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fathers house.

Then the Lord sayd vnto him, I wil therefore be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites, as one man.

And he answered him, I pray thee, if I haue founde fauour in thy sight, then shewe me a signe, that thou talkest with me.

Depart not hence, I pray thee, vntil I come vnto thee, and bring mine offring, and lay it before thee. And he sayde, I will tary vntill thou come againe.

Then Gideon went in, and made ready a kidde, and vnleauened bread of an Ephah of floure, and put the flesh in a basket, and put the broth in a pot, and brought it out vnto him vnder the oke, and presented it.

And the Angell of God saide vnto him, Take the flesh and the vnleauened bread, and lay them vpon this stone, and powre out the broth: and he did so.

Then the Angell of the Lord put forth the ende of the staffe that he had in his hand, and touched the flesh and the vnleauened bread: and there arose vp fire out of the stone, and consumed the flesh and the vnleauened bread: so the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

And when Gideon perceiued that it was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon then sayde, Alas, my Lord God: for because I haue seene an Angell of the Lord face to face, I shall die.

And the Lord said vnto him, Peace be vnto thee: feare not, thou shalt not die.

Then Gideon made an altar there vnto the Lord, and called it, Iehouah shalom: vnto this day it is in Ophrah, of the father of the Ezrites.

And the same night the Lord sayd vnto him, Take thy fathers yong bullocke, and an other bullocke of seuen yeeres olde, and destroy the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut downe the groue that is by it,

And build an altar vnto the Lord thy God vpon the top of this rocke, in a plaine place: and take the seconde bullocke, and offer a burnt offringe with the woode of the groue, which thou shalt cut downe.

Then Gideon tooke tenne men of his seruants, and did as ye Lord bade him: but because he feared to doe it by day for his fathers housholde, and the men of the citie, he did it by night.

And when the men of the citie arose early in the morning, beholde, the altar of Baal was broken, and the groue cut downe that was by it, and the seconde bullocke offred vpon the altar that was made.

Therefore they saide one to another, Who hath done this thing? and when they inquired and asked, they saide, Gideon the sonne of Ioash hath done this thing.

Then the men of the citie said vnto Ioash, Bring out thy sonne, that hee may dye: for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath also cut downe the groue that was by it.