Gideon
1 Once again the people of Israel sinned against the Lord, so he let the people of Midian rule them for seven years. 2 The Midianites were stronger than Israel, and the people of Israel hid from them in caves and other safe places in the hills. 3 Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites would come with the Amalekites and the desert tribes and attack them. 4 They would camp on the land and destroy the crops as far south as the area around Gaza. They would take all the sheep, cattle, and donkeys, and leave nothing for the Israelites to live on. 5 They would come with their livestock and tents, as thick as locusts. They and their camels were too many to count. They came and devastated the land, 6 and Israel was helpless against them.
7 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help against the Midianites, 8 and he sent them a prophet who brought them this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: “I brought you out of slavery in Egypt. 9 I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the people who fought you here in this land. I drove them out as you advanced, and I gave you their land. 10 I told you that I am the Lord your God and that you should not worship the gods of the Amorites, whose land you are now living in. But you have not listened to me.”
11 Then the Lord's angel came to the village of Ophrah and sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer. His son Gideon was threshing some wheat secretly in a wine press, so that the Midianites would not see him. 12 The Lord's angel appeared to him there and said, “The Lord is with you, brave and mighty man!”
13 Gideon said to him, “If I may ask, sir, why has all this happened to us if the Lord is with us? What happened to all the wonderful things that our fathers told us the Lord used to do—how he brought them out of Egypt? The Lord has abandoned us and left us to the mercy of the Midianites.”
14 Then the Lord ordered him, “Go with all your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I myself am sending you.”
15 Gideon replied, “But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.”
16 The Lord answered, “You can do it because I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.”
17 Gideon replied, “If you are pleased with me, give me some proof that you are really the Lord. 18 Please do not leave until I bring you an offering of food.”
He said, “I will stay until you come back.”
19 So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread without any yeast. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to the Lord's angel under the oak tree, and gave them to him. 20 The angel told him, “Put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did so. 21 Then the Lord's angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick he was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel disappeared.
22 Gideon then realized that it was the Lord's angel he had seen, and he said in terror, “Sovereign Lord! I have seen your angel face-to-face!”
23 But the Lord told him, “Peace. Don't be afraid. You will not die.” 24 Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it “The Lord is Peace.” (It is still standing at Ophrah, which belongs to the clan of Abiezer.)
25 That night the Lord told Gideon, “Take your father's bull and another bull seven years old, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the symbol of the goddess Asherah, which is beside it. 26 Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God on top of this mound. Then take the second bull and burn it whole as an offering, using for firewood the symbol of Asherah you have cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his family and the people in town to do it by day, so he did it at night.
28 When the people in town got up early the next morning, they found that the altar to Baal and the symbol of Asherah had been cut down, and that the second bull had been burned on the altar that had been built there. 29 They asked each other, “Who did this?” They investigated and found out that Gideon son of Joash had done it. 30 Then they said to Joash, “Bring your son out here, so that we can kill him! He tore down the altar to Baal and cut down the symbol of Asherah beside it.”
31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, “Are you arguing for Baal? Are you defending him? Anyone who argues for him will be killed before morning. If Baal is a god, let him defend himself. It is his altar that was torn down.” 32 From then on Gideon was known as Jerubbaal, because Joash said, “Let Baal defend himself; it is his altar that was torn down.”
33 Then all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the desert tribes assembled, crossed the Jordan River, and camped in Jezreel Valley. 34 The spirit of the Lord took control of Gideon, and he blew a trumpet to call the men of the clan of Abiezer to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout the territory of both parts of Manasseh to call them to follow him. He sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they also came to join him.
36 Then Gideon said to God, “You say that you have decided to use me to rescue Israel. 37 Well, I am putting some wool on the ground where we thresh the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground, then I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel.” 38 That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don't be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me make one more test with the wool. This time let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet.” 40 That night God did that very thing. The next morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet with dew.
جدعون
1 وعمِلَ بَنو إِسرائيلَ الشَّرَّ في عينَي الرّبِّ، فسَلَّمَهُم إلى قبـيلةِ مِديانَ سبْعَ سِنينَ. 2 فضايَقَهُمُ المِديانيُّونَ، فلَجأوا إلى المَغاوِرِ الّتي في الجِبالِ والكُهوفِ والحُصونِ هرَبا مِنهُم. 3 وكانوا إذا زَرَعوا، يصعَدُ إليهِمِ المِديانيُّونَ والعَماليقيُّونَ وأهلُ الصَّحراءِ ويُهاجِمونَهُم. 4 كانوا يُخَيِّمونَ على أرضِهِم ويُتلِفونَ غَلَّةَ الأرضِ إلى مَدخَلِ غَزَّةَ ولا يُبقونَ قُوتا في إِسرائيلَ ولا غنَما ولا بقَرا ولا حميرا. 5 كانوا يصعدونَ بِماشيَتِهِم وخيامِهِم ويأتونَ الأرضَ ويُفسِدونَها وهُم في كثرَةِ الجَرادِ، لا يُعَدُّونَ هُم ولا جِمالُهُم، 6 فذَلَّ بَنو إِسرائيلَ جِدًّا أمامَ بَني مِديانَ وصرَخوا إلى الرّبِّ. 7 ولمَّا صرَخوا إليهِ بِسبَبِ ظُلْمِ المِديانيِّينَ لهُم 8 أرسَلَ الرّبُّ إليهِم نبـيًّا فقالَ لهُم: «هذا ما يقولُ الرّبُّ إلهُ إِسرائيلَ: أصعَدتُكُم مِنْ مِصْرَ وأخرَجتُكُم مِنْ دارِ العُبوديَّةِ 9 وأنقَذتُكُم مِنْ أيدي المِصْريِّينَ ومِنْ أيدي جميعِ ظالِميكُم وطَرَدتُهُم مِنْ وجهِكُم وأعطَيتُكُم أرضَهُم. 10 وقُلتُ لكُم إنِّي أنا الرّبُّ إلهُكُم. لا تعبُدوا آلهَةَ الأموريِّينَ الّذينَ تُقيمونَ بأرضِهِم، فلم تسمَعوا لِصوتي».
11 وجاءَ ملاكُ الرّبِّ وجلَسَ تَحتَ سَنابِلِ البُطمَةِ الّتي في عَفرَةَ وهيَ لِـيوآشَ الأبـيعَزري، وكانَ جِدعونُ ابنُهُ يَدوسُ سَنابِلَ الحِنطَةِ في المَعصرَةَِ هرَبا مِنَ المِديانيِّينَ. 12 فتَراءى لَه ملاكُ الرّبِّ وقالَ لَه: «الرّبُّ معَكَ أيُّها الجَبَّارُ». 13 فقالَ لَه جِدعونُ: «ناشَدتُكَ يا سيِّدي. إنْ كانَ الرّبُّ معَنا، فلِماذا أصابَنا ما أصابَنا، وأينَ جميعُ مُعجزاتِهِ الّتي حَدَّثَنا بِها آباؤُنا وقالوا لنا إنَّه أخرَجَنا مِنْ أرضِ مِصْرَ. والآنَ خذَلَنا وجعَلَنا في قبضَةِ بَني مِديانَ». 14 فالتفتَ إليهِ الرّبُّ وقالَ: «أنا الّذي أُرسِلُكَ فاذهَبْ بِقُوَّتِكَ هذِهِ وخَلِّصْ بَني إِسرائيلَ مِنْ قبضَةِ مِديانَ». 15 فقالَ لَه جِدعونُ: «ناشَدتُكَ يا سيِّدي. بِماذا أُخَلِّصُ بَني إِسرائيلَ فقَبـيلتي أضعَفُ قبـيلةٍ في بَني منَسَّى، وأنا الأصغَرُ في بـيتِ أبـي». 16 فقالَ لَه الرّبُّ: «أنا معَكَ وسَتضرِبُ بَني مِديانَ كما لو كانوا رَجُلا واحدا». 17 فقالَ لَه: «إنْ كُنتَ راضيا عليَّ، فأعطِني عَلامةً أنَّكَ أنتَ الّذي تُكَلِّمُني. 18 لا تذهبْ مِنْ هُنا حتّى آتيكَ وأضَعَ تَقدِمَتي أمامَكَ». فقالَ لَه: «أنا هُنا حتّى تعودَ».
19 فدخَلَ جِدعونُ وأعَدَّ جَدْيا مِنَ المعَزِ وقُفَّةَ عجينِ فطيرٍ. وجعَلَ اللَّحمَ في سَلٍّ، ووضَعَ مرَقَ اللَّحمِ في قِدْرٍ، وخرَجَ بِذلِكَ تَحتَ البُطمةِ وأمامَهُ وضَعَ التَّقدِمةَ. 20 فقالَ لَه ملاكُ اللهِ: «خُذِ اللَّحمَ والفطيرَ وضَعهُما على هذِهِ الصَّخرةِ وصُبَّ المرَقَ». ففعَلَ، 21 فمَدَّ ملاكُ الرّبِّ طرَفَ العصا الّتي بِيدِهِ ومَسَّ اللَّحمَ والفطيرَ، فصَعِدَت نارٌ مِنَ الصَّخرةِ وأكلَتِ اللَّحمَ والفطيرَ. وغابَ ملاكُ الرّبِّ عَنْ عينَيهِ. 22 فعَلِمَ جِدعونُ أنَّهُ ملاكُ الرّبِّ، فقالَ: «آهِ، أيُّها الرّبُّ الإلهُ رأيتُ ملاكَ الرّبِّ وجها إلى وجهٍ». 23 فقالَ لَه الرّبُّ: «سالِما تبقى. لا تَخَفْ فإنَّكَ لا تموتُ». 24 فبَنى جِدعونُ هُناكَ مذبَحا للرّبِّ ودَعاهُ يَهوَهُ شَلومَ، وهوَ إلى هذا اليومِ لا يَزالُ في عَفرَةِ الأبـيعَزَريِّينَ.
25 وفي تلكَ اللَّيلةِ ذاتِها قالَ لَه الرّبُّ: «خُذْ ثورَ أبـيكَ وثورا ثانيا ابنَ سبْعِ سِنينَ واهدُمْ مذبَحَ البَعلِ الٍذي لأبـيكَ واقْطَعِ الشَّجَرةَ القريـبةَ، 26 وابنِ للرّبِّ إلهِكَ مذبَحا حسَنَ البُنيانِ على رأسِ هذِهِ الصَّخرةِ. وخُذِ الثَّورَ الثَّاني وقَدِّمْهُ مُحرَقةً على حطَبِ الشَّجَرةِ الّتي تقطَعُها». 27 فأخذَ جِدعونُ عشرَةَ رِجالٍ مِنْ عبـيدِهِ وفعَلَ كما أمرَهُ الرّبُّ. ولأنَّهُ خافَ مِنْ أقرِبائِهِ ومِنْ رِجالِ المدينةِ فعَلَ ذلِكَ ليلا عِوضَ أنْ يفعَلَهُ نهارا.
28 وبَكَّرَ رِجالُ المدينةِ صباحا، فوجَدوا مذبَحَ البَعلِ مَهدوما، والشَّجرةَ القريـبةَ مِنهُ مَقطوعةً، والثَّورَ الثَّانيَ مُقَدَّما على المذبَحِ المَبنيِّ. 29 فقالَ بَعضُهُم لِبَعضٍ: «مَنْ فعَلَ هذا؟» وحينَ سألوا وبَحَثوا قيلَ لهُم إنَّ جِدعونَ بنَ يوآشَ هوَ الّذي فعَلَ هذا. 30 فقالَ أهلُ المدينةِ لِـيوآشَ: «هاتِ ابْنَكَ لِنَقتُلَهُ لأنَّهُ هدَمَ مذبَحَ البَعلِ وقطَعَ الشَّجَرةَ القريـبةَ مِنهُ». 31 فقالَ يوآشُ لجميعِ الحاضِرينَ: «أتُدافِعونَ عَنِ البَعلِ وتُنجِدونَهُ؟ مَنْ يُدافِـعُ عنهُ يُقْتَلُ قَبلَ طُلوعِ الصَّباحِ. إنْ كانَ البَعلُ إلها، فليَنتَقِمْ لِنَفسِهِ مِمَّنْ هدَمَ مذبَحَهُ». 32 ودعا يوآشُ جِدعونَ في ذلِكَ اليومِ يَرُبَّعلَ وقالَ: «لِـينتَقِمْ مِنهُ البَعلُ لأنَّهُ هدَمَ مذبَحَهُ».
33 وتحالَفَ بَنو مِديانَ وبَنو عَماليقَ وأهلُ الصَّحراءِ وعبروا الأردُنَّ وخيَّموا في وادي يزرَعيلَ. 34 وحَلَّ روحُ الرّبِّ على جِدعونَ، فنفَخَ في البوقِ فخرَجَ أهلُ أبـيعزَرَ وتَبِــعوه. 35 وأرسَلَ رُسُلا إلى عَشيرَةِ منَسَّى فاجتَمَعوا هُم أيضا وتَبِــعوه. وأرسَلَ رُسُلا إلى عشائِرِ أشيرَ وزَبولونَ ونَفتالي فصَعِدوا جميعا والتَحَقوا بِهِم.
36 وقالَ جِدعونُ للهِ: «إنْ كُنتَ مُخَلِّصَ بَني إِسرائيلَ على يَدي كما قُلتَ، 37 فَها أنا واضِعٌ جَزَّةَ صوفٍ على البَيدَرِ، فإذا سقَطَ النَّدى على الجَزَّةِ وحدَها وكانَ على الأرضِ حَولَها جَفافٌ، عَلِمتُ أنَّكَ مُخَلِّصٌ بَني إِسرائيلَ على يَدي كما قُلتَ». 38 فكانَ كذلِكَ. وبكَّرَ في الغَدِ وعصَرَ الجَزَّةَ فخرَجَ مِنها الماءُ مِلء سَطلٍ. 39 فقالَ جِدعونُ للهِ: «لا تَغضَبْ عليَّ. دَعني أتكَلَّمُ فقط هذِهِ المرَّةَ وأُجَرِّبُ هذِهِ المرَّةَ أيضا بِـجَزَّةِ الصُّوفِ: لِـيكُن على الجَزَّةِ وحدَها جفافٌ وعلى الأرضِ حَولَها نَدىً». 40 ففعَلَ الرّبُّ كذلِكَ في تِلكَ اللَّيلةِ، فكانَ على الجَزَّةِ وحدَها جفافٌ وعلى الأرضِ حَولَها نَدىً.