Judges 6:14-15

6:14 Then the Lord himself 1  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. 2  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! 3  Have I not sent you?” 6:15 Gideon 4  said to him, “But Lord, 5  how 6  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” 7 

Judges 6:36

6:36 Gideon said to God, “If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, 8  as you promised, then give me a sign as proof. 9 

Judges 10:15

10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, 10  but deliver us today!” 11 

1 sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

2 tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

3 tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

5 tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.

6 tn Heb “with what.”

7 tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

8 tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”

9 tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

10 tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

11 sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”