Judges 6:37 (YLT)

Passage

lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought--then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;'

Nearby Context

Judges 6:35 and messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them.

Judges 6:36 And Gideon saith unto God, `If Thou art Saviour of Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken,

Judges 6:37 lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought--then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;'

Judges 6:38 and it is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece--the fulness of the bowl, of water.

Judges 6:39 And Gideon saith unto God, `Let not Thine anger burn against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray Thee, only this time with the fleece--let there be, I pray Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth let there be dew.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "placing", "fleece", "wool", "threshing-floor", "alone", "earth", and "drought--then". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "placing" and "fleece", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 36's "And Gideon saith unto God If Thou..." into verse 38's "and it is so and he riseth...", so "placing" and "fleece" 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 "placing" and "fleece" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.