< Judges 7 >

1 And Jerobaal rose early, the same is Gedeon, and all the people with him, and encamped at the fountain of Arad; and the camp of Madiam was to the north of him, [reaching] from Gabaathamorai, in the valley.
Early in the morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
2 And the Lord said to Gedeon, The people with you [are] many, so that I may not deliver Madiam into their hand, lest at any time Israel boast against me, saying, My hand has saved me.
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3 And now speak in the ears of the people, saying, Who [is] afraid and fearful? let him turn and depart from mount Galaad: and there returned of the people twenty-two thousand, and ten thousand were left.
Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gedeon, The people is yet numerous; bring them down to the water, and I will purge them there for you: and it shall come to pass that of whoever I shall say to you, This one shall go with you, [even] he shall go with you; and of whoever I shall say to you, This one shall not go with you, [even] he shall not go with you.
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 And he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gedeon, Whosoever shall lap of the water with his tongue as if a dog should lap, you shall set him apart, and [also] whoever shall bow down upon his knees to drink.
So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”
6 And the number of those that lapped with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed upon their knees to drink water.
And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.
7 And the Lord said to Gedeon, I will save you by the three hundred men that lapped, and I will give Madiam into your hand; and all the [rest of the] people shall go every one to his place.
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”
8 And they took the provision of the people in their hand, and their horns; and he sent away every man of Israel each to his tent, and he strengthened the three hundred; and the army of Madiam were beneath him in the valley.
So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
9 And it came to pass in that night that the Lord said to him, Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
10 And if you are afraid to go down, go down you and your servant Phara into the camp.
But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
11 And you shall hear what they shall say, and afterwards your hands shall be strong, and you shall go down into the camp: and he went down and Phara his servant to the extremity of the [companies of] fifty, which were in the camp.
and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.
12 And Madiam and Amalec and all the children of the east [were] scattered in the valley, as the locust for multitude; and there was no number to their camels, but they were as the sand on the seashore for multitude.
Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 And Gedeon came, and behold a man [was] relating to his neighbour a dream, and he said, Behold, I have dreamt a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread rolling into the camp of Madiam, and it came as far as a tent, and struck it, and it fell, and it turned it up, and the tent fell.
And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
14 And his neighbour answered and said, This is none other than the sword of Gedeon, son of Joas, a man of Israel: God has delivered Madiam and all the host into his hand.
His friend replied: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has delivered Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”
15 And it came to pass when Gedeon heard the account of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped the Lord, and returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Rise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Madiam into our hand.
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”
16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put horns in the hands of all, and empty pitchers, and torches in the pitchers:
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
17 and he said to them, You shall look at me, and so shall you do; and behold, I will go into the beginning of the host, and it shall come to pass [that] as I do, so shall you do.
“Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do.
18 And I will sound with the horn, and all you with me shall sound with the horn round about the whole camp, and you shall say, For the Lord and Gedeon.
When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
19 And Gedeon and the hundred men that were with him came to the extremity of the army in the beginning of the middle watch; and they completely roused the guards, and sounded with the horns, and they broke the pitchers that were in their hands,
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the changing of the guard. They blew their horns and broke the jars that were in their hands.
20 and the three companies sounded with the horns, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands their horns to sound with; and they cried out, A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon.
The three companies blew their horns and shattered their jars. Holding the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
21 And [every] man stood in his place round about the host; and all the host ran, and sounded [an alarm], and fled.
Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
22 And they sounded with the three hundred horns; and the Lord set [every] man's sword in all the host against his neighbour.
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
23 And the host fled as far as Bethseed Tagaragatha Abel-meula to Tabath; and the men of Israel from Nephthali, and from Aser, and from all Manasse, came to help, and followed after Madiam.
Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
24 And Gedeon sent messengers into all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down to meet Madiam, and take to yourselves the water as far as Baethera and Jordan: and every man of Ephraim cried out, and they took the water before hand to Baethera and Jordan.
Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.
25 And they took the princess of Madiam, even Oreb and Zeb; and they killed Oreb in Sur Oreb, and they killed Zeb in Jakephzeph; and they pursued Madiam, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon from beyond Jordan.
They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. So they pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

< Judges 7 >