Judges 6:14
in Judges 6The 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?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?
KJV
And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
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This verse in Judges 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verseGo in this thy might - What does the angel mean? He had just stated that Jehovah was with him; and he now says, Go in This thy might, i.e., in the might of Jehovah, who is with thee.
This site's exposition
if the LORD is with us
on Judges 6:13-14
Gideon answers with the history the prophet had just recited and draws the opposite conclusion, "now the LORD has forsaken us". Deuteronomy 31:17 puts the same complaint in Israel's mouth as a covenant warning, so he voices the sentence he lives under. Verse 14 leaves the question aside and sends him, and its last clause carries the answer, "Am I not sending you".
This site's exposition
Go in the strength you have
Adam Clarke asks what strength is meant and answers from verse 12: the strength Gideon has is the LORD who is with him. The speaker here is called the LORD, where verse 12 said the angel of the LORD. The two titles alternate through the scene.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
), and he said, I will be with thee. This divine person appeared here to Gideon, and it is observable how he found him, (1.) Retired--all alone. God often manifests himself to his people when they are out of the noise and hurry of this world.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honour put upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family the worship of Baal (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Go - Or, go now, in thy might: in the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now farther receive from me. Have not I sent thee - I do hereby give thee command and commission for this work. God's fitting men for his work, is a sure evidence of his calling them to it.
And the Lord looked upon him,....
It was a speaking look, like Christ's upon Peter ( Luke xxii. 61 ), a powerful look, a look that strangely darted new light and life into Gideon's breast, and inspired him with a generous heat, far above what he felt before. [2.] But there was much more in what he said to him.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord looked upon him - That gracious look conferred immediate strength (compare Eph 6:10; 2Co 12:9; Joh 20:22; Act 3:6) The change of phrase from “the angel of the Lord” to “the Lord” is remarkable. When messages are delivered by the Angel of the Lord, the form of the message is as if God Himself were speaking (compare Jdg 2:1). The sending implied a valid commission and sufficient powers. Compare Exo 3:10; Isa 44:26; Eze 2:3; Zec 2:11; Mal 3:1; Luk 10:3; Joh 20:21; and the term APOSTLE, as applied to our Lord Heb 3:1 and to the Twelve.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Turned to him. The Holy One, blessed is He, Himself. 9 Gidon was visited by Adonoy himself in the merit of his advocacy of Yisroel. (Yalkut, ibid)
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
If [lit. and] Adonoy is with us. 6 Not “And Adonoy is with us,” as the literal reading would indicate, but “If Adonoy is with us,” as demonstrated by the following phrase cited by Rashi, “why has [all this] occurred, etc.”.
Behold, my unit [lit. thousand]. The thousand member unit of which I am a constituent, under the command of its captain, is the most inadequate unit among all the units in Menasheh.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֤פֶן | vaiyifen | and he turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֵ֚ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּכֹחֲךָ֣ | bekhochakha | in strength your | H3581 → | 126 times |
| זֶ֔ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְהוֹשַׁעְתָּ֥ | vehosha'ta | and you will deliver | H3467 → | 206 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִכַּ֣ף | mikaf | from [the] hand of | H3709 → | 192 times |
| מִדְיָ֑ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| הֲלֹ֖א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שְׁלַחְתִּֽיךָ׃ | shelachtikha | have I sent you | H7971 → | 845 times |
וַיִּ֤פֶןand he turned
vaiyifenH6437 →135 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֵ֚ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּכֹחֲךָ֣in strength your
bekhochakhaH3581 →126 times
זֶ֔הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
וְהוֹשַׁעְתָּ֥and you will deliver
vehosha'taH3467 →206 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִכַּ֣ףfrom [the] hand of
mikafH3709 →192 times
מִדְיָ֑ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
הֲלֹ֖א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
שְׁלַחְתִּֽיךָ׃have I sent you
shelachtikhaH7971 →845 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 11:34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:51–52
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him; and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that…
- 2 Kings 6:16–18
“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
- 1 Samuel 17:51–52
Through
1 Samuel 12:11So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.
it leads to
- Judges 6:32
So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.
- Judges 6:32
Through
Hebrews 11:32And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:20
So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
- 1 Samuel 1:20
Through
Judges 4:6She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten…
it leads to
- Acts 13:47
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
- Judges 8:18
Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
- Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
- Acts 13:47
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.