Judges 6:26 (WEB)

Passage

Then build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”

Nearby Context

Judges 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Judges 6:25 That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.

Judges 6:26 Then build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”

Judges 6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.

Judges 6:28 When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "build", "altar", "yahweh", "stronghold", "orderly", "take", "second", and "bull". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "build" and "altar", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "That same night Yahweh said to him..." into verse 27's "Then Gideon took ten men of his...", so "build" and "altar" 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 "build" and "altar" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.