Judges 6:15 (DBY)

Passage

And 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.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:13 And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.

Judges 6:14 And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee?

Judges 6:15 And 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.

Judges 6:16 And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and thou shalt smite Midian as one man.

Judges 6:17 And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "lord", "wherewith", "shall", "save", "israel", "behold", and "thousand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And Jehovah looked upon him and said..." into verse 16's "And Jehovah said to him I will...", so "said" and "lord" 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 "said" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.