Judges 6:15 (GNV)

Passage

And he answered him, Ah my Lord, whereby shall I saue Israel? beholde, my father is poore in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fathers house.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:13 To whome Gideon answered, Ah my Lord, if the Lord be with vs, why then is all this come vpon vs? and where be all his miracles which our fathers tolde vs of, and sayd, Did not the Lord bring vs out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken vs, and deliuered vs into the hand of the Midianites.

Judges 6:14 And the Lord looked vpon him, and sayd, Goe in this thy might, and thou shalt saue Israel out of the handes of the Midianites: haue not I sent thee?

Judges 6:15 And he answered him, Ah my Lord, whereby shall I saue Israel? beholde, my father is poore in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fathers house.

Judges 6:16 Then the Lord sayd vnto him, I wil therefore be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites, as one man.

Judges 6:17 And he answered him, I pray thee, if I haue founde fauour in thy sight, then shewe me a signe, that thou talkest with me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "answered", "lord", "whereby", "shall", "saue", "israel", "beholde", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "answered" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And the Lord looked vpon him and..." into verse 16's "Then the Lord sayd vnto him I...", so "answered" 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 "answered" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.