Berean Standard Bible
Judges 6:15
15“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
Judges 6:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
- New International Version (NIV)“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Context of Judges 6:15
13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” 14The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?” “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.” 17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
Read all of Judges 6Judges 6:15 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָ֔י בַּמָּ֥ה אוֹשִׁ֖יעַ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הִנֵּ֤ה אַלְפִּי֙ הַדַּ֣ל בִּמְנַשֶּׁ֔ה וְאָנֹכִ֥י הַצָּעִ֖יר בְּבֵ֥ית אָבִֽי׃Read the interlinear
- Pleaseבִּיbîy · pleaseH994
- my Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- repliedאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- ·אֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- howמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- can I saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- Indeedהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
- my clanאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousand: clanH505
- is the weakestדַּלdal · poorH1800
- in Manassehמְנַשֶּׁהmenashsheh · ManassehH4519
- and Iאָֽנֹכִ֫י'ânôkîy · IH595
- am the youngestצָעִירtsâ‛îyr tsâ‛ôr · littleH6810
- in my father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
Cross-references for Judges 6:15
- Exodus 3:11But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
- Exodus 4:10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Jeremiah 1:6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
- Luke 1:34“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
- Exodus 18:21Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- 1 Samuel 9:21Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”
- 1 Samuel 18:23But when Saul’s servants relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial in your sight to be the son-in-law of the king? I am a poor man and lightly esteemed.”
- Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel— One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
- Genesis 32:10I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
- Jeremiah 50:45Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
- 1 Corinthians 15:9For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
- Ephesians 3:8Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Commentaries on Judges 6:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Wherewith shall I save Israel? - I have neither men nor money. Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh - הדל אלפי הנה , Behold, my thousand is impoverished. Tribes were anciently divided into tens, and fifties, and hundreds, and thousands; the thousands therefore marked grand divisions, and consequently numerous families; Gideon here intimates that the families of which he made a part were very much diminished. But if we take אלפי alpey for the contracted…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Gideon now perceived that the Lord was speaking to him by His angel. He saw, however, no qualifications in himself, or in his family or tribe, for the office of saviour to his people. He therefore desires some assurance that the message he had just received was indeed from God, and not a mere dream or delusion. He asks as a sign Judges 6:18 that his mysterious visitor should tarry under the oak until he should return to Him with his gifts and offerings.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-24Verses 11-24 Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Gideon's personal and clan status was not enough to gather troops.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1614-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might ... have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 6:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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