Judges 6:15

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

13Gideon replied, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this trouble happened to us? Our ancestors told us about all the great things that the Lord did for them. They told us how he brought them safely out of Egypt. But the Lord has not helped us like that. He has turned away from us. He has put us under the power of the Midianites.’ 14The Lord himself then said to Gideon, ‘Go now and use the strength that you have. Rescue Israel from the power of the Midianites. I myself am sending you to do this.’ Gideon said, ‘But sir, how can I rescue Israel? Look at me! My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I am the youngest person in my family.’ 16The Lord answered him, ‘Understand that I will be with you! You will destroy the Midianites as if they were only one man.’ 17Gideon replied, ‘If you are pleased with me, please do something special. I want to know that you really are the Lord who is speaking to me.

Judges 6:15 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָ֔י בַּמָּ֥ה אוֹשִׁ֖יעַ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הִנֵּ֤ה אַלְפִּי֙ הַדַּ֣ל בִּמְנַשֶּׁ֔ה וְאָנֹכִ֥י הַצָּעִ֖יר בְּבֵ֥ית אָבִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Ohבִּיbîy · pleaseH994
• my Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• wherewithמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• shall I saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• behold, my familyאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousand: clanH505
• behold, my familyאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · cattleH504
• poorדַּלdal · poorH1800
• in Manassehמְנַשֶּׁהmenashsheh · ManassehH4519
• the leastצָעִירtsâ‛îyr tsâ‛ôr · littleH6810
• in my father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004

Cross-references for Judges 6:15

• Exodus 3:11But Moses said to God, ‘I am not an important person. I cannot go to Pharaoh. I cannot lead the Israelites out of Egypt!’
• Exodus 4:10Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’
• Jeremiah 1:6I answered, ‘Lord God, I do not know how to speak. I am only a child.’
• Luke 1:34Mary asked, ‘How can this happen? I have never had sex with anyone.’
• Exodus 18:21But you must also choose some other clever men to help you. They must be honest men who respect God. They must not want to take money from people. Choose these men to be officers with authority over groups of the people. They will be leaders of 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people.
• 1 Samuel 9:21Saul answered, ‘I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. It is the smallest tribe in the nation of Israel. And my family belongs to the smallest clan in that tribe. So why do you speak like this to me?’
• 1 Samuel 18:23Saul's servants said this to David. But David replied, ‘It is a great honour for someone to marry the king's daughter. But I am poor. I am not important enough.’
• Micah 5:2But God tells us this: ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah is only a little town, among all the many towns in Judah,’ God says. ‘But I will choose someone who is born there. He will rule Israel for me. Long, long ago, I prepared for him to come.’
• Genesis 32:10You have always loved me. You have continued to be kind to me. I do not deserve this. When I crossed the Jordan River to go to Haran, I only had my stick. But now I can make two big groups of people and animals.
• Jeremiah 50:45So listen to me, the Lord! This is what I have decided to do to Babylon. Yes, this is the trouble that I will bring to the people of Babylonia. Soldiers will catch their children and take them away, like little lambs that they take from their mothers. I will completely destroy their homes.
• 1 Corinthians 15:9Among all the apostles, I am the least important. I caused so much trouble for God's church that people should not really call me an apostle.
• Ephesians 3:8I am the least important of all God's people. But God has given this special work to me because he is so kind. He has sent me to tell his good news to the Gentiles. Then they know about the many valuable things that Christ has prepared for us.

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

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Call
• Communion
• Doubting
• Excuses
• Faith
• Gideon
• God
• Judge
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Manasseh
• Den
• Gideon
• God
• Midianite
• Mighty
• Sign
• Wherewith
• Wring

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