11. Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak (terebinth) at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage.
13. And Gideon said to him, O sir, if the Lord is with us, why is all this befallen us? And where are all His wondrous works of which our fathers told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.
14. The Lord turned to him and said, Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?
15. Gideon said to Him, Oh Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16. The Lord said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.