6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. 1 Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. 2 Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants 3 and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family 4 and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. 5
6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw 6 the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar. 6:29 They said to one another, 7 “Who did this?” 8 They investigated the matter thoroughly 9 and concluded 10 that Gideon son of Joash had done it. 6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! 11 He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.”
1 tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.
2 tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.
3 tn Heb “men from among his servants.”
4 tn Heb “house.”
5 tn Heb “so he did it at night.”
6 tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.
7 tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”
8 tn Heb “this thing.”
9 tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.
10 tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”
11 tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.