Judges 6:30 (LSB)

Passage

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.”

Nearby Context

Judges 6:28 Then the men of the city arose early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built.

Judges 6:29 And they said to one another, “Who did this thing?” And when they searched about and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.”

Judges 6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.”

Judges 6:31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? Whoever will contend for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.”

Judges 6:32 Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "city", "said", "joash", "bring", "torn", "down", "altar", and "baal". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "city" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "And they said to one another Who..." into verse 31's "But Joash said to all who stood...", so "city" 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 "city" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.