11Now the angel of the Lord came and took his seat under the oak-tree in Ophrah, in the field of Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon was crushing grain in the place where the grapes were crushed, so that the Midianites might not see it.
12And the angel of the Lord came before his eyes, and said to him, The Lord is with you, O man of war.
13Then Gideon said to him, O my lord, if the Lord is with us why has all this come on us? And where are all his works of power, of which our fathers have given us word, saying, Did not the Lord take us out of Egypt? But now he has given us up, handing us over to the power of Midian.
14And the Lord, turning to him, said, Go in the strength you have and be Israel's saviour from Midian: have I not sent you?
15And he said to him, O Lord, how may I be the saviour of Israel? See, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16Then the Lord said to him, Truly, I will be with you, and you will overcome the Midianites as if they were one man.
17So he said to him, If now I have grace in your eyes, then give me a sign that it is you who are talking to me.
