¹ 先前满有人民的城，现在何竟独坐！先前在列国中为大的，现在竟如寡妇；先前在诸省中为王后的，现在成为进贡的。

² 她夜间痛哭，泪流满腮；在一切所亲爱的中间没有一个安慰她的。她的朋友都以诡诈待她，成为她的仇敌。

³ 犹大因遭遇苦难，又因多服劳苦就迁到外邦。她住在列国中，寻不着安息；追逼她的都在狭窄之地将她追上。

⁴ 锡安的路径因无人来守圣节就悲伤；她的城门凄凉；她的祭司叹息；她的处女受艰难，自己也愁苦。

⁵ 她的敌人为首；她的仇敌亨通；因耶和华为她许多的罪过使她受苦；她的孩童被敌人掳去。

⁶ 锡安城（原文是女子；下同）的威荣全都失去。她的首领像找不着草场的鹿；在追赶的人前无力行走。

⁷ 耶路撒冷在困苦窘迫之时，就追想古时一切的乐境。她百姓落在敌人手中，无人救济；敌人看见，就因她的荒凉嗤笑。

⁸ 耶路撒冷大大犯罪，所以成为不洁之物；素来尊敬她的，见她赤露就都藐视她；她自己也叹息退後。

⁹ 她的污秽是在衣襟上；她不思想自己的结局，所以非常地败落，无人安慰她。她说：耶和华啊，求你看我的苦难，因为仇敌夸大。

¹⁰ 敌人伸手，夺取她的美物；她眼见外邦人进入她的圣所─论这外邦人，你曾吩咐不可入你的会中。

¹¹ 她的民都叹息，寻求食物；他们用美物换粮食，要救性命。他们说：耶和华啊，求你观看，因为我甚是卑贱。

¹² 你们一切过路的人哪，这事你们不介意麽？你们要观看：有像这临到我的痛苦没有─就是耶和华在他发烈怒的日子使我所受的苦？

¹³ 他从高天使火进入我的骨头，克制了我；他铺下网罗，绊我的脚，使我转回；他使我终日凄凉发昏。

¹⁴ 我罪过的轭是他手所绑的，犹如轭绳缚在我颈项上；他使我的力量衰败。主将我交在我所不能敌挡的人手中。

¹⁵ 耶和华轻弃我中间的一切勇士，招聚多人〔原文作大会〕攻击我，

¹⁶ 我因这些事哭泣；我眼泪汪汪；因为那当安慰我、救我性命的，离我甚远。我的儿女孤苦，因为仇敌得了胜。

¹⁷ 锡安举手，无人安慰。耶和华论雅各已经出令，使四围的人作他仇敌；耶路撒冷在他们中间像不洁之物。

¹⁸ 耶和华是公义的！他这样待我，是因我违背他的命令。众民哪，请听我的话，看我的痛苦；我的处女和少年人都被掳去。

¹⁹ 我招呼我所亲爱的，他们却愚弄我。我的祭司和长老正寻求食物、救性命的时候，就在城中绝气。

²⁰ 耶和华啊，求你观看，因为我在急难中。我心肠扰乱；我心在我里面翻转，因我大大悖逆。在外，刀剑使人丧子；在家，犹如死亡。

²¹ 听见我叹息的有人；安慰我的却无人！我的仇敌都听见我所遭的患难；因你做这事，他们都喜乐。你必使你报告的日子来到，他们就像我一样。

²² 愿他们的恶行都呈在你面前；你怎样因我的一切罪过待我，求你照样待他们；因我叹息甚多，心中发昏。

¹⁸ 求你看顾我的困苦，我的艰难，赦免我一切的罪。

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.