Judges 6:4 (DBY)

Passage

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

Judges 6:3 And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up, and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against them.

Judges 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

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

Judges 6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "encamped", "against", "destroyed", "produce", "land", "until", 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 it came to pass when Israel..." 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.