Judges 7
1 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.
Then Yerubba'al, who is Gid'on, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Charod; and the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 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.’
And the Lord said unto Gid'on, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand: lest Israel should vaunt themselves against me, saying, my own hand hath saved me.
3 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.
Now therefore, do proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gil'ad. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and ten thousand remained.
4 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.”
And the Lord said unto Gid'on, The people are yet too many; let them go down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I will say unto thee, This one shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee: and of whomsoever I will say unto thee, This one shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
5 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.”
So he caused the people to go down unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gid'on, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as the dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that bendeth down upon his knees to drink.
6 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.
And the number of those that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bent down upon their knees to drink water.
7 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.”
And the Lord said unto Gid'on, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
8 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.
And they took the provision of the people in their hand, and their cornets; and all the rest of Israel he dismissed, every man unto his tent; but those three hundred men he retained: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
9 That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
And it came to pass, during the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down into the camp; for I have delivered it into thy hand.
10 But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
And if thou fear to go down, then go thou down with Purah thy servant to the camp.
11 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.
And thou shalt hear what they will say; and after that shall thy hands be strengthened, and thou wilt go down unto the camp. And he went down with Purah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the camp.
12 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.
And the Midianites and the 'Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like the locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is by the seaside for multitude.
13 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.”
And when Gid'on was come, behold, a man was telling a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and, lo, a baked cake of barley bread was rolling round through the camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and struck against it so that it fell, and it turned it bottom upward, and the tent thus tumbled down.
14 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.”
And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gid'on the son of Joash, a man of Israel; into whose hand God hath delivered Midian, and the whole camp.
15 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.”
And it was, when Gid'on heard the narration of the dream, and its interpretation, that he prostrated himself, and returned unto the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the camp of Midian.
16 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.
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put cornets in the hand of all of them, with empty pitchers, and torches in the pitchers.
17 “Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do.
And he said unto them, What you see me do, do ye likewise; and, behold, when I am come to the edge of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
18 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!’”
When I blow the cornet, I and all that are with me, then shall ye blow the cornets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For the Lord, and for Gid'on.
19 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.
And Gid'on, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the edge of the camp in the bcginning of the middle watch; when they had but newly set the sentinels: and they blew the cornets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hand.
20 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!”
And the three companies blew the cornets, and broke the pitchers, and seized with their left hand the torches, and with their right hand the cornets to blow; and they cried, The sword for the Lord, and for Gid'on.
21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
And they remained standing every man in his place round about the camp; and all [in] the camp ran, and shouted, and fled.
22 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.
And as the three hundred cornets sounded, the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the camp; and [those in] the camp fled as far as Beth-hashittah to Zererah, up to the border of Abelmecholah, near Tabbath.
23 Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Menasseh, and they pursued after the Midianites.
24 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.
And Gid'on sent messengers throughout all the mountain of Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim assembled themselves, and seized on the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.
25 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.
And they captured two princes of the Midianites, 'Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew 'Oreb upon the rock 'Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued the Midianites; and the heads of 'Oreb and Zeeb they brought to Gid'on from the other side of the Jordan.
