God’s Word Translation
Judges 6:22
22That’s when Gideon realized that this had been the Messenger of the Lord. So he said, “Lord God! I have seen the Messenger of the Lord face to face.”
Judges 6:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
- New International Version (NIV)When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”
Context of Judges 6:22
20The Messenger of the Lord told him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did so. 21Then the Messenger of the Lord touched the meat and the bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared up from the rock and burned the meat and the bread. Then the Messenger of the Lord disappeared. That’s when Gideon realized that this had been the Messenger of the Lord. So he said, “Lord God! I have seen the Messenger of the Lord face to face.” 23The Lord said to him, “Calm down! Don’t be afraid. You will not die.” 24So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord. He called it The Lord Calms. To this day it is still in Ophrah, which belongs to Abiezer’s family.
Read all of Judges 6Judges 6:22 word by word
וַיַּ֣רְא גִּדְע֔וֹן כִּֽי־מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה ה֑וּא ס וַיֹּ֣אמֶר גִּדְע֗וֹן אֲהָהּ֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֤ן רָאִ֙יתִי֙ מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֔ה פָּנִ֖ים אֶל־פָּנִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And when Gideonגִּדְעוֹןgid‛ôn · GideonH1439
- perceivedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: examineH7200
- an angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Alasאֲהָהּ'ăhâhh · alas!H162
- O Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- for because[כִּי עַל] כֵּןkên · sinceH3651
- I have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
Cross-references for Judges 6:22
- Judges 13:21The Messenger of the Lord didn’t appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that this had been the Messenger of the Lord.
- Judges 13:22So Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die because we have seen God.”
- Genesis 16:13Hagar named the Lord, who had been speaking to her, “You Are the God Who Watches Over Me.” She said, “This is the place where I watched ⌞the one⌟ who watches over me.”
- Genesis 32:30So Jacob named that place Peniel [Face of God], because he said, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved.”
- Exodus 33:20But you can’t see my face, because no one may see me and live.”
- Deuteronomy 5:5I stood between the Lord and you to tell you the Lord’s word, because you were afraid of the fire and didn’t go up on the mountain. The Lord said:
- Isaiah 6:5So I said, “Oh, no! I’m doomed. Every word that passes through my lips is sinful. I live among people with sinful lips. I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
- John 1:18No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.
- John 12:41Isaiah said this because he had seen Jesus’ glory and had spoken about him.
Commentaries on Judges 6:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen - This is an elliptical sentence, a natural expression of the distressed state of Gideon's mind: as if he had said, Have mercy on me, O Lord God! else I shall die; because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face. We have frequently seen that it was a prevalent sentiment, as well before as under the law, that if any man saw God, or his representative angel he must surely die. On this account Gideon is alarmed…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Alas, O Lord GOD! - Compare Joshua 7:7. “because I have seen an angel of the Lord” Compare the marginal references, in which the notion that it was death for mortal man to see God appears clearly. The same notion prevailed among the pagan.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. 22Encounters with divine holiness are naturally dangerous (compare Genesis 32:30; Deuteronomy 5:4–5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2319-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the traveller. The miraculous fire that consumed it and the vanishing of…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 6:22
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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