士师记 7
1 耶路·巴力就是基甸，他和一切跟随的人早晨起来，在哈律泉旁安营。米甸营在他们北边的平原，靠近摩利冈。
The next morning, Gideon and his men got up early and went as far as Harod Spring. The army of Midian was camped north of them, in the valley near Moreh Hill.
2 耶和华对基甸说：“跟随你的人过多，我不能将米甸人交在他们手中，免得以色列人向我夸大，说：‘是我们自己的手救了我们。’
Yahweh said to Gideon, “You have too many soldiers with you. If I allow all of you to fight the army of Midian, [if your army defeats them], they will boast to me that they defeated their enemies by themselves, [without my help].
3 现在你要向这些人宣告说：‘凡惧怕胆怯的，可以离开基列山回去。’”于是有二万二千人回去，只剩下一万。
So tell the men, ‘Whoever among you is timid or afraid may leave us and go home.’” So [after Gideon told that to them], 22,000 of them went home. Only 10,000 men were left there.
4 耶和华对基甸说：“人还是过多；你要带他们下到水旁，我好在那里为你试试他们。我指点谁说：‘这人可以同你去’，他就可以同你去；我指点谁说：‘这人不可同你去’，他就不可同你去。”
But Yahweh told Gideon, “There are still too many men! Take them down to the spring, and there I will choose from among them, which ones will go with you and which ones will not go.”.
5 基甸就带他们下到水旁。耶和华对基甸说：“凡用舌头舔水，像狗舔的，要使他单站在一处；凡跪下喝水的，也要使他单站在一处。”
When Gideon took the men down to the spring, Yahweh told him, “When they drink, put into one group the ones who scoop the water into their hands, and then lap it up like dogs do. Put into another group the ones who kneel down [and bend over] and drink with their mouths in the water.”
6 于是用手捧着舔水的有三百人，其余的都跪下喝水。
So when they drank, only 300 men drank from their hands. All the others drank with their mouths down in the water.
7 耶和华对基甸说：“我要用这舔水的三百人拯救你们，将米甸人交在你手中；其余的人都可以各归各处去。”
Then Yahweh told Gideon, “The 300 men who lapped the water from their hands will be your army! I will enable them to defeat the Midian army. Let all the others go home!”
8 这三百人就带着食物和角；其余的以色列人，基甸都打发他们各归各的帐棚，只留下这三百人。米甸营在他下边的平原里。
So Gideon’s 300 men collected the food and rams’ horns from all the other men, and then he sent them home. The men of Midian were camping in the valley below Gideon.
9 当那夜，耶和华吩咐基甸说：“起来，下到米甸营里去，因我已将他们交在你手中。
That night, Yahweh said to Gideon, “Get up and go down to their camp, [and you will hear something that will convince you that] I will enable your men to defeat them.
10 倘若你怕下去，就带你的仆人普拉下到那营里去。
But if you are afraid to attack them by yourself, take your servant Purah with you.
11 你必听见他们所说的，然后你就有胆量下去攻营。”于是基甸带着仆人普拉下到营旁。
Go down and listen to what some of the Midian soldiers are saying. Then you will be very encouraged, and you will be ready to attack their camp.” So Gideon took Purah with him, and they went down to the edge of the enemy camp.
12 米甸人、亚玛力人，和一切东方人都布散在平原，如同蝗虫那样多。他们的骆驼无数，多如海边的沙。
The armies of the people of Midian and Amalek and from the east had set up their tents and looked like a swarm of locusts. It seemed that their camels were as impossible to count as the grains of sand on the seashore.
13 基甸到了，就听见一人将梦告诉同伴说：“我做了一梦，梦见一个大麦饼滚入米甸营中，到了帐幕，将帐幕撞倒，帐幕就翻转倾覆了。”
Gideon crept closer and heard one man telling a friend about a dream. He said, “I just had a dream, and in the dream I saw a round loaf of barley bread tumble down into our Midian camp. It struck a tent so hard that the tent turned upside down and collapsed!”
14 那同伴说：“这不是别的，乃是以色列人约阿施的儿子基甸的刀； 神已将米甸和全军都交在他的手中。”
His friend said, “Your dream can mean only one thing. It means that God will enable Gideon, the man of Israel, to defeat all of the armies that are here with us men from Midian.”
15 基甸听见这梦和梦的讲解，就敬拜 神，回到以色列营中，说：“起来吧！耶和华已将米甸的军队交在你们手中了。”
When Gideon heard the [man tell about his] dream and the meaning of that dream, he thanked God. Then he [and Purah] returned to the Israeli camp, and he shouted to the men, “Get up! Because God is enabling you to defeat the men from Midian!”
16 于是基甸将三百人分作三队，把角和空瓶交在各人手里（瓶内都藏着火把），
He divided his men into three groups. He gave each man a ram’s horn and an empty clay jar. He also gave each of them a torch [that they lit].
17 吩咐他们说：“你们要看我行事：我到了营的旁边怎样行，你们也要怎样行。
Then he said to them, “Watch me. When we come close to the enemy camp, [spread out to surround the camp]. Then do exactly what I do.
18 我和一切跟随我的人吹角的时候，你们也要在营的四围吹角，喊叫说：‘耶和华和基甸的刀！’”
As soon as I and the men with me blow our ram’s horns, you men in the other two groups surrounding the camp blow your horns and shout, ‘[We are doing this] for Yahweh and for Gideon!’”
19 基甸和跟随他的一百人，在三更之初才换更的时候，来到营旁，就吹角，打破手中的瓶。
A while before midnight, just after a new group of Israeli guards took the places of the previous group, Gideon and the 100 men with him arrived at the edge of the Midian camp. Suddenly they all blew their horns, and broke their jars.
20 三队的人就都吹角，打破瓶子，左手拿着火把，右手拿着角，喊叫说：“耶和华和基甸的刀！”
Then the men in all three groups blew their horns and smashed their jars. They held the torches high with their left hands, and held up the horns with their right hands and alternatively blew them and shouted, “[We have] swords [to fight] for Yahweh and for Gideon!”
21 他们在营的四围各站各的地方；全营的人都乱窜。三百人呐喊，使他们逃跑。
Each of Gideon’s men stood in his position around the enemy camp. As they watched, all the Midian men started running around and shouting in a panic.
22 三百人就吹角，耶和华使全营的人用刀互相击杀，逃到西利拉的伯·哈示他，直逃到靠近他巴的亚伯·米何拉。
While the 300 Israeli men kept blowing their horns, Yahweh caused their enemies to start fighting each other with their swords/daggers. Some of them killed each other. The rest fled. Some fled south to Beth-Shittah. Some fled to Zerarah [village], near Tabbath.
23 以色列人就从拿弗他利、亚设，和玛拿西全地聚集来追赶米甸人。
Then Gideon sent messages to the soldiers in the areas where the descendants of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh lived, to tell them to come and pursue the army of Midian.
24 基甸打发人走遍以法莲山地，说：“你们下来攻击米甸人，争先把守约旦河的渡口，直到伯·巴拉。”于是以法莲的众人聚集，把守约旦河的渡口，直到伯·巴拉，
He also sent messengers throughout the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, saying, “Come down to attack the army of Midian. Come down to the Jordan River, to the place where people can wade across, to prevent enemy troops from crossing it! Station men as far south as Beth-Barah.” So the men of Ephraim did what Gideon told them to do.
25 捉住了米甸人的两个首领：一名俄立，一名西伊伯；将俄立杀在俄立磐石上，将西伊伯杀在西伊伯酒榨那里；又追赶米甸人，将俄立和西伊伯的首级带过约旦河，到基甸那里。
They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two generals of the Midian army. They killed Oreb at [the big rock which is now called] the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at [the place where people crush grapes that is now called] the winepress of Zeeb. Afterwards, the Israelis cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb and brought them to Gideon, while he was near the Jordan River.
