Judges 6:14-16

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  6:16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but 8  I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” 9 

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 Or “certainly.”

9 tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”