Judges 6:30 (GNV)

Passage

Then the men of the citie said vnto Ioash, Bring out thy sonne, that hee may dye: for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath also cut downe the groue that was by it.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:28 And when the men of the citie arose early in the morning, beholde, the altar of Baal was broken, and the groue cut downe that was by it, and the seconde bullocke offred vpon the altar that was made.

Judges 6:29 Therefore they saide one to another, Who hath done this thing? and when they inquired and asked, they saide, Gideon the sonne of Ioash hath done this thing.

Judges 6:30 Then the men of the citie said vnto Ioash, Bring out thy sonne, that hee may dye: for he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath also cut downe the groue that was by it.

Judges 6:31 And Ioash said vnto all that stood by him, Will ye pleade Baals cause? or will ye saue him? he that will contend for him, let him dye or the morning. If he be God, let him pleade for himselfe against him that hath cast downe his altar.

Judges 6:32 And in that day was Gideon called Ierubbaal, that is, Let Baal pleade for himselfe because he hath broken downe his altar.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "citie", "said", "vnto", "ioash", "bring", "sonne", "hath", and "destroyed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "citie" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "Therefore they saide one to another Who..." into verse 31's "And Ioash said vnto all that stood...", so "citie" and "said" 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 "citie" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.