Jueces 6
Biblia del Jubileo
6 ¶ Mas los hijos de Israel hicieron lo malo ante los ojos del SEÑOR; y el SEÑOR los entregó en las manos de Madián por siete años.
2 Y la mano de Madián prevaleció contra Israel. Y los hijos de Israel, por causa de los madianitas, se hicieron cuevas en los montes, y cavernas, y lugares fuertes.
3 Porque cuando los de Israel habían sembrado, subían los madianitas, y amalecitas, y los hijos del oriente. Subían contra ellos,
4 y asentando campamento contra ellos destruían los frutos de la tierra, hasta llegar a Gaza; y no dejaban qué comer en Israel, ni ovejas, ni bueyes, ni asnos.
5 Porque subían ellos y sus ganados, y venían con sus tiendas en grande multitud como langostas, que no había número en ellos ni en sus camellos; así venían a la tierra destruyéndola.
6 Era, pues, Israel en gran manera empobrecida por los madianitas; y los hijos de Israel clamaron al SEÑOR.
7 ¶ Y cuando los hijos de Israel clamaron al SEÑOR, a causa de los madianitas,
8 el SEÑOR envió un varón profeta a los hijos de Israel, el cual les dijo: Así dijo el SEÑOR Dios de Israel: Yo os saqué de Egipto, y de la casa de servidumbre os saqué;
9 yo os libré de mano de los egipcios, y de mano de todos los que os afligieron, a los cuales eché de delante de vosotros, y os di su tierra.
10 Y os dije: Yo soy el SEÑOR vuestro Dios; no temáis a los dioses de los amorreos, en cuya tierra habitáis; mas no oísteis mi voz.
11 ¶ Y vino el ángel del SEÑOR, y se sentó debajo del alcornoque que está en Ofra, el cual era de Joás abiezerita; y su hijo Gedeón {Heb. El Talador} estaba sacudiendo el trigo en el lagar, para hacerlo esconder de los madianitas.
12 Y el ángel del SEÑOR se le apareció, y le dijo: el SEÑOR es contigo, varón esforzado y valiente.
13 Y Gedeón le respondió: Ah, Señor mío, si el SEÑOR es con nosotros, ¿por qué nos ha sobrevenido todo esto? ¿Y dónde están todas sus maravillas, que nuestros padres nos han contado, diciendo: ¿No nos sacó el SEÑOR de Egipto? Y ahora el SEÑOR nos ha desamparado, y nos ha entregado en manos de los madianitas.
14 Y mirándole el SEÑOR, le dijo: Ve con ésta tu fortaleza, y salvarás a Israel de la mano de los madianitas. ¿No te envío yo?
15 Entonces le respondió: Ahora pues, Señor mío, ¿con qué he de salvar a Israel? He aquí que mi familia es pobre en Manasés, y yo el menor en la casa de mi padre.
16 Y el SEÑOR le dijo: Porque yo estaré contigo, y herirás a los madianitas como a un solo hombre.
17 Y él respondió: Yo te ruego, que si he hallado gracia delante de ti, me des señal de que tú has hablado conmigo.
18 Te ruego que no te vayas de aquí, hasta que a ti vuelva, y saque mi presente, y lo ponga delante de ti. Y él respondió: Yo esperaré hasta que vuelvas.
19 Y entrando Gedeón aderezó un cabrito, y panes sin levadura de un efa de harina; y puso la carne en un canastillo, y el caldo en una olla, y sacándolo se lo presentó debajo de aquel alcornoque.
20 Y el ángel de Dios le dijo: Toma la carne, y los panes sin levadura, y ponlos sobre esta peña, y vierte el caldo. Y él lo hizo así.
21 Y extendiendo el ángel del SEÑOR el canto del bordón que tenía en su mano, tocó en la carne y en los panes sin levadura; y subió fuego de la peña, el cual consumió la carne y los panes sin levadura. Y el ángel del SEÑOR desapareció de delante de él.
22 Y viendo Gedeón que era el ángel del SEÑOR, dijo: Ay, Señor DIOS, que he visto al ángel del SEÑOR cara a cara.
23 Y el SEÑOR le dijo: Paz a ti; no tengas temor, no morirás.
24 Y edificó allí Gedeón altar al SEÑOR, al que llamó El SEÑOR es la Paz (YHWH-salom); el cual dura hasta hoy en Ofra de los abiezeritas.
25 ¶ Y aconteció que la misma noche le dijo el SEÑOR: Toma un toro del hato de tu padre, y otro toro de siete años, y derriba el altar de Baal que tu padre tiene, y corta también el bosque que está junto a él;
26 y edifica altar al SEÑOR tu Dios en la cumbre de este peñasco según el orden debido; y tomando el segundo toro, sacrifícalo en holocausto sobre la leña del bosque que habrás cortado.
27 Entonces Gedeón tomó diez varones de sus esclavos, e hizo como el SEÑOR le dijo. Mas temiendo hacerlo de día, por la familia de su padre y por los hombres de la ciudad, lo hizo de noche.
28 Y a la mañana, cuando los de la ciudad se levantaron, he aquí que el altar de Baal estaba derribado, y el bosque que estaba junto a él, cortado; y aquel segundo toro sacrificado en holocausto sobre el altar edificado de nuevo.
29 Y dijeron el uno al otro: ¿Quién ha hecho esto? Y buscando e inquiriendo, les dijeron: Gedeón hijo de Joás lo ha hecho. Entonces los hombres de la ciudad dijeron a Joás:
30 Saca fuera a tu hijo para que muera, por cuanto ha derribado el altar de Baal y ha cortado el bosque que estaba junto a él.
31 Y Joás respondió a todos los que le estaban en contra suyo: ¿Tomaréis vosotros el pleito por Baal? o ¿le salvaréis vosotros? Cualquiera que tomare el pleito por él, que muera mientras que comienza el día. Si es Dios, pleitee por sí mismo con el que derribó su altar.
32 Y aquel día le llamó Jerobaal; porque dijo: Pleitee Baal contra el que derribó su altar.
33 ¶ Y todos los madianitas, y amalecitas, y los hijos del oriente, se juntaron a una, y pasando asentaron campamento en el valle de Jezreel.
34 Y el Espíritu del SEÑOR se envistió en Gedeón, el cual cuando hubo tocado el shofar, Abiezer se juntó con él.
35 Y envió mensajeros por todo Manasés, el cual también se juntó con él; asimismo envió mensajeros a Aser, y a Zabulón, y a Neftalí, los cuales salieron a encontrarles.
36 Y Gedeón preguntó a Dios: ¿has de salvar a Israel por mi mano, como has dicho?
37 He aquí que yo pondré un vellón de lana en la era; y si el rocío estuviere en el vellón solamente, quedando seca toda la otra tierra, entonces entenderé que has de salvar a Israel por mi mano, como lo has dicho.
38 Y aconteció así; porque cuando se levantó de mañana, exprimiendo el vellón sacó de él el rocío, un vaso lleno de agua.
39 Mas Gedeón dijo a Dios: No se encienda tu ira contra mí, si aún hablare esta vez; solamente probaré ahora otra vez con el vellón. Te ruego que la sequedad sea sólo en el vellón, y el rocío sobre la tierra.
40 Y aquella noche lo hizo Dios así; porque la sequedad fue sólo en el vellón, y en toda la tierra estuvo el rocío.
Judges 6
New King James Version
Midianites Oppress Israel
6 Then the children of Israel did (A)evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of (B)Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, (C)the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the (D)people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and (E)destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor (F)donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were [a]without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel (G)cried out to the Lord.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the (H)house of [b]bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and (I)drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; (J)do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My (K)voice.’ ”
Gideon
11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (L)the Abiezrite, while his son (M)Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the (N)Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is (O)with you, you mighty man of valor!”
13 Gideon said to Him, “O [c]my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And (P)where are all His miracles (Q)which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has (R)forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, (S)“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. (T)Have I not sent you?”
15 So he said to Him, “O [d]my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed (U)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 And the Lord said to him, (V)“Surely I will be with you, and you shall [e]defeat the Midianites as one man.”
17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then (W)show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 (X)Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”
And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
19 (Y)So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and (Z)lay them on this rock, and (AA)pour out the broth.” And he did so.
21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and (AB)fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22 Now Gideon (AC)perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! (AD)For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”
23 Then the Lord said to him, (AE)“Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it [f]The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still (AF)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and (AG)tear down the altar of (AH)Baal that your father has, and (AI)cut down the [g]wooden image that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this [h]rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you [i]plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him (AJ)Jerubbaal,[j] saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”
33 Then all (AK)the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in (AL)the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But (AM)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he (AN)blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to (AO)Asher, (AP)Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
The Sign of the Fleece
36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 (AQ)look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, (AR)“Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
Footnotes
- Judges 6:5 innumerable
- Judges 6:8 slavery
- Judges 6:13 Heb. adoni, used of man
- Judges 6:15 Heb. Adonai, used of God
- Judges 6:16 Lit. strike
- Judges 6:24 Heb. YHWH Shalom
- Judges 6:25 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
- Judges 6:26 stronghold
- Judges 6:31 contend
- Judges 6:32 Lit. Let Baal Plead
Judges 6
English Standard Version
Midian Oppresses Israel
6 (A)The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of (B)Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and (C)the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and (D)the Amalekites and (E)the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them (F)and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come (G)like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel (H)cried out for help to the Lord.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (I)I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and (J)drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; (K)you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”
The Call of Gideon
11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (L)the Abiezrite, while his son (M)Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And (N)the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, (O)“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are (P)all his wonderful deeds (Q)that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord[a] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; (R)do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, (S)“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, (T)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, (U)“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, (V)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, then (W)show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please (X)do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
19 So Gideon went into his house (Y)and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah[b] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them (Z)on this rock, and (AA)pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. (AB)And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, (AC)“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, (AD)“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, (AE)The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at (AF)Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down (AG)the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the (AH)stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon[c] was called (AI)Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
33 Now (AJ)all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in (AK)the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But (AL)the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, (AM)and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 (AN)And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. (AO)And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
The Sign of the Fleece
36 (AP)Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, (AQ)“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Footnotes
- Judges 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16
- Judges 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Judges 6:32 Hebrew he
Biblia del Jubileo 2000 (JUS) © 2000, 2001, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2020 by Ransom Press International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
