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 Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian 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.’
YHWH said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, 'My own hand has 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 proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.' There returned of the people twenty-two thousand; but 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.”
YHWH said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, 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 brought down the people to the water. And YHWH said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; and everyone who gets down on his knees to drink with hand to mouth shall be on the other side."
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.
The number of those who lapped with their tongues was three hundred men, but all the rest of the people got down on 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.”
YHWH said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his home."
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.
So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. 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.
It happened the same night, that YHWH said to him, "Arise, get down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.
10 But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
But if you fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down 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 you shall hear what they say; and afterward will your hands be strengthened to go down into the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who 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 Midian, Amalek, and all the Kedemites lay along in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand which is on the seashore.
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.”
When Gideon had come, look, there was a man telling a dream to his friend; and he said, "Look, I had a dream, and look, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent collapsed."
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.”
His friend answered, "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the army."
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.”
It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped, and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, "Get up, for YHWH has delivered into your hand the army 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.
He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within 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.
He said to them, "Look at me, and do likewise. And look, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall 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 trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, "For YHWH and for Gideon."
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.
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
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!”
The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they called out, "The sword of YHWH and of Gideon.'"
21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
They each stood in his place every man around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
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.
They blew the three hundred trumpets, and YHWH set every man's sword against each other throughout the camp; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
23 Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
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.
Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against Midian, and capture the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and seized the waters as far as Beth Barah, even 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.
They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian. Then they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
