¹ Mojsije pasao ovce svoga tasta Jitra, midjanskoga svećenika. Goneći tako stado po pustari, dođe do Horeba, brda Božjega.

² Anđeo mu se Jahvin ukaže u rasplamtjeloj vatri iz jednog grma. On se zagleda: grm sav u plamenu, a ipak ne izgara.

³ "Hajde da priđem, " reče Mojsije, "i promotrim ovaj čudni prizor: zašto grm ne sagorijeva."

⁴ Kad je Jahve vidio kako prilazi da razmotri, iz grma ga Bog zovne: "Mojsije! Mojsije!" "Evo me!" - javi se.

⁵ "Ne prilazi ovamo!" - reče. "Izuj obuću s nogu! Jer mjesto na kojem stojiš sveto je tlo.

⁶ Ja sam", nastavi, "Bog tvoga oca; Bog Abrahamov, Bog Izakov, Bog Jakovljev." Mojsije zakloni lice: bojao se u Boga gledati.

⁷ "Vidio sam jade svoga naroda u Egiptu", nastavi Jahve, "i čuo mu tužbu na tlačitelje njegove. Znane su mi muke njegove.

⁸ Zato sam sišao da ga izbavim iz šaka egipatskih i odvedem ga iz te zemlje u dobru i prostranu zemlju - u zemlju kojom teče med i mlijeko: u postojbinu Kanaanaca, Hetita, Amorejaca, Perižana, Hivijaca i Jebusejaca.

⁹ Vapaji sinova Izraelovih dopriješe do mene. I sam vidjeh kako ih Egipćani tlače.

¹⁰ Zato, hajde! Ja te šaljem faraonu da izbaviš narod moj, Izraelce, iz Egipta."

¹¹ "Tko sam ja da se uputim faraonu", odgovori Mojsije Bogu, "i izvedem Izraelce iz Egipta!"

¹² "Ja ću biti s tobom", nastavi. "I ovo će ti biti znak da sam te ja poslao: kad izvedeš narod iz Egipta, Bogu ćete iskazati štovanje na ovome brdu."

¹³ Nato Mojsije reče Bogu: "Ako dođem k Izraelcima pa im kažem: 'Bog otaca vaših poslao me k vama', i oni me zapitaju: 'Kako mu je ime?' - što ću im odgovoriti?"

¹⁴ "Ja sam koji jesam", reče Bog Mojsiju. Onda nastavi: "Ovako kaži Izraelcima: 'Ja jesam' posla me k vama."

¹⁵ Dalje je Bog Mojsiju rekao: "Kaži Izraelcima ovako: 'Jahve, Bog vaših otaca, Bog Abrahamov, Bog Izakov i Bog Jakovljev, poslao me k vama.' To mi je ime dovijeka, tako će me zvati od koljena do koljena."

¹⁶ "Idi, skupi starješine Izraelaca pa im kaži: 'Jahve, Bog otaca - Bog Abrahamov, Izakov i Jakovljev - objavio mi se i rekao mi: Pohodio sam vas i razabrao što vam se čini u Egiptu.

¹⁷ Odlučio sam vas izvesti iz egipatske bijede u zemlju Kanaanaca, Hetita, Amorejaca, Perižana, Hivijaca i Jebusejaca - u zemlju kojom teče med i mlijeko!'

¹⁸ Oni će te poslušati. Onda pođi sa starješinama Izraelaca k egipatskom kralju i reci mu: 'Objavio nam se Jahve, Bog Hebreja. Pusti nas da odemo tri dana hoda u pustinju, da ondje prinesemo žrtvu Jahvi, Bogu svojemu.'

¹⁹ Znam ja da vas egipatski kralj neće pustiti ako ne bude natjeran teškom šakom.

²⁰ Zato ću ja pružiti svoju šaku i pritisnuti Egipat svakovrsnim čudesima što ću ih u njemu izvesti. Poslije će vas pustiti.

²¹ Dobro ću raspoložiti Egipćane prema ovome narodu, pa kad pođete, nećete poći praznih ruku.

²² Svaka će žena zatražiti od svoje susjede i stanarke u svojoj kući nakita srebrnog i zlatnog i odjeće. To stavite na svoje sinove i kćeri. Tako ćete oplijeniti Egipćane."

¹ The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

² The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

³ So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;

⁴ and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey.

⁵ For they came up with their livestock and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.

⁶ Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to Yahweh.

⁷ It happened, when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh because of Midian,

⁸ that Yahweh sent a prophet to the children of Israel: and he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;

¹⁰ and I said to you, "I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not listened to my voice.'"

¹¹ The angel of Yahweh came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹² The angel of Yahweh appeared to him, and said to him, "Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!"

¹³ Gideon said to him, "Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Didn't Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian."

¹⁴ Yahweh looked at him, and said, "Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven't I sent you?"

¹⁵ He said to him, "O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

¹⁶ Yahweh said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

¹⁷ He said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.

¹⁸ Please don't go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you." He said, "I will wait until you come back."

¹⁹ Gideon went in, and prepared a young goat, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." He did so.

²¹ Then the angel of Yahweh stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock, and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Yahweh departed out of his sight.

²² Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh! Because I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!"

²³ Yahweh said to him, "Peace be to you! Don't be afraid. You shall not die."

²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it "Yahweh is Peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ It happened the same night, that Yahweh said to him, "Take your father's bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

²⁶ and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down."

²⁷ Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him: and it happened, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

²⁸ When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.

²⁹ They said one to another, "Who has done this thing?" When they 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 broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it."

³¹ Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death while [it is yet] morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar."

³² Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, "Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar."

³³ Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁴ But the Spirit of Yahweh came on Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.

³⁵ He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

³⁶ Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,

³⁷ behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken."

³⁸ It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

³⁹ Gideon said to God, "Don't let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew."

⁴⁰ God did so that night: for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.