Judges 6 · Verse 15

Judges 6:15

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
Judges 6:15, King James Version

Judges 6:15 in other translations

BSB“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
WEBHe said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
ASVAnd he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
YLTAnd he saith unto him, ‘O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief is weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.'
DARBYAnd he said to him, Ah Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
BBEAnd 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.
WebsterAnd he said to him, O my Lord, by what means shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

What does Judges 6:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 6:14-16

14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might ... have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily…

Read the full comment on Judges 6:14-16 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Wherewith shall I save Israel? - I have neither men nor money. Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh - הנה אלפי הדל, Behold, my thousand is impoverished. Tribes were anciently divided into tens, and fifties, and hundreds, and thousands; the thousands therefore marked grand divisions, and consequently numerous families; Gideon here intimates that the families of which he made a part were very much diminished. But if we take אלפי alpey for the contracted form of the plural, which is frequently in Hebrew nouns joined with a verb in the singular, then the translation will be, "The thousands in Manasseh are thinned;" i.e., this tribe is greatly reduced, and can do little against their enemies.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 6:11-24

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…

Read the full comment on Judges 6:11-24 →

Judges 6:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֵלָיו֙'e.Lavto himH413
בִּ֣יbipardon meH994
אֲדֹנָ֔י'a.do.NaiO LordH136
בַּמָּ֥הba.Mah<in> how?H4100
אוֹשִׁ֖יעַ'o.Shi.a'will I deliverH3467
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
הִנֵּ֤הhi.Nehhere!H2009
אַלְפִּי֙'al.Pifamily myH505
הַדַּ֣לha.Dal[is] the weakH1800
בִּמְנַשֶּׁ֔הbim.na.Shehin ManassehH4519
וְאָנֹכִ֥יve.'a.no.Khiand IH595
הַצָּעִ֖ירha.tza.'Ir[am] the insignificantH6810
בְּבֵ֥יתbe.Veitin [the] house ofH1004
אָבִֽי\׃'a.Vifather myH1

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 6:15

  • Exodus 3:11

    And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

  • 1 Samuel 9:21

    And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

  • Exodus 4:10

    And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

  • Jeremiah 1:6

    Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

  • Ephesians 3:8

    Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

  • Luke 1:34

    Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

  • Micah 5:2

    But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

  • Jeremiah 50:45

    Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

  • 1 Samuel 18:23

    And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

  • 1 Corinthians 15:9

    For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

  • Exodus 18:21-25

    Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. …

  • Genesis 32:10

    I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
wherewith.
Ex 3:11; 4:10; Jer 1:6; Lu 1:34
my family is poor. Heb. my thousand is the meanest.
Ex 18:21-25; 1Sa 9:21; 18:23; Mic 5:2
the least.
Ge 32:10; Jer 50:45; 1Co 15:9; Eph 3:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 6:14

    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?

  • Judges 6:15

    And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

  • Judges 6:16

    And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Read all of Judges 6

Judges 6:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces le respondió: Ah, Señor mío, ¿con qué tengo de salvar á Israel? He aquí que mi familia es pobre en Manasés, y yo el menor en la casa de mi padre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
– Et il lui dit: Ah! Seigneur, avec quoi sauverai-je Israël? Voici, mon millier est le plus pauvre en Manassé, et moi je suis le plus petit dans la maison de mon père.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er sprach zu ihm: Bitte, mein Herr! womit soll ich Israel retten? Siehe, mein Tausend ist das ärmste in Manasse, und ich bin der Jüngste im Hause meines Vaters.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Qui respondens ait: Obsecro, mi domine, in quo liberabo Israël? ecce familia mea infima est in Manasse, et ego minimus in domo patris mei.