So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh’s Spirit came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together to follow him.
- KJV But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
- NKJV But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.
- NASB So the Spirit of the Lord covered Gideon like clothing; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.
- NLT Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon, who blows a trumpet and rallies his clan to follow him.
Overview
The Spirit of Yahweh clothes Gideon with power, enabling him to summon Israel to battle. The text literally says the Spirit 'clothed himself with' Gideon, stressing that the empowerment is wholly God's gift. Such Spirit-empowerment for God's work foreshadows the fuller ministry of the Spirit poured out on all believers in the new covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 2 Chr 24:20Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’”
- Rom 13:14Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
- Judg 3:10The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
- 1 Chr 12:18Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.
- Judg 3:27On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.
- Ps 51:11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
- Gal 3:27For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
- 1 Cor 12:8–11To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit,
- 1 Sam 16:14After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.
- 1 Sam 11:6When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.
- Josh 17:2So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.
- Judg 15:14When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
- Num 10:3When both are sounded, the whole congregation is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Judg 13:25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
- Judg 6:11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
- Judg 14:19Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
- Judg 8:2But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
- 1 Sam 10:6Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 6:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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