Judges 6:4 (ASV)

Passage

and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

Judges 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;

Judges 6:4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

Judges 6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.

Judges 6:6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "encamped", "against", "destroyed", "increase", "earth", "till", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "encamped", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And so it was when Israel had..." into verse 5's "For they came up with their cattle...", so "sheep" and "encamped" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "encamped" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.