< Judges 7 >
1 And Jerubba‘al (he [is] Gideon) rises early, and all the people who [are] with him, and they encamp by the well of Harod, and the camp of Midian has been on the south of him, on the height of Moreh, in the valley.
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 And YHWH says to Gideon, “The people who [are] with you [are] too many for My giving Midian into their hand, lest Israel beautify itself against Me, saying, My hand has given salvation to 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 and now, please call in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever [is] afraid and trembling, let him turn back and go early from Mount Gilead”; and there return twenty-two thousand of the people, and ten thousand have been left.
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 And YHWH says to Gideon, “The people [are] yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I refine him for you there; and it has been, he of whom I say to you, This goes with you—he goes with you; and any of whom I say to you, This does not go with you—he does 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 And he brings the people down to the water, and YHWH says to Gideon, “Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue as the dog laps—you set him apart; also everyone who bows on his knees 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 lapping with their hand to their mouth is three hundred men, and all the rest of the people have bowed down on their knees to drink water.
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 And YHWH says to Gideon, “I save you by the three hundred men who are lapping, and have given Midian into your hand, and all the people go, each to his place.”
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 And the people take the provision in their hand, and their horns, and he has sent every man of Israel away, each to his tents; and he has kept hold on the three hundred men, and the camp of Midian has been by him at the lower part of 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 And it comes to pass, on that night, that YHWH says to him, “Rise, go down into the camp, for I have given 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 and if you are afraid to go down—go down, you and your young man Phurah, to the camp,
And if thou fear to go down, then go thou down with Purah thy servant to the camp.
11 and you have heard what they speak, and afterward your hands are strengthened, and you have gone down against the camp.” And he goes down, he and his young man Phurah, to the extremity of the fifties who [are] in 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 and Midian, and Amalek, and all the sons of the east are lying in the valley, as the locust for multitude, and of their camels there is no number, as sand which [is] on the seashore for multitude.
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 Gideon comes in, and behold, a man is recounting a dream to his companion, and says, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley-bread is turning itself over into the camp of Midian, and it comes to the tent, and strikes it, and it falls, and turns it upwards, and the tent has fallen.”
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 And his companion answers and says, “This is nothing except the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the 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 And it comes to pass, when Gideon hears the narration of the dream and its interpretation, that he bows himself, and turns back to the camp of Israel, and says, “Rise, for YHWH has given 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 divides the three hundred men [into] three detachments, and puts horns into the hand of all of them, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
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 And he says to them, “Look at me, and thus do; and behold, I am coming into the extremity of the camp—and it has been—as I do so you 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 and I have blown with a horn—I and all who [are] with me, and you have blown with horns, even you, around all the camp, and have said, For YHWH 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 And Gideon comes—and the hundred men who [are] with him—into the extremity of the camp, [at] the beginning of the middle watch (they had just posted watchmen), and they blow with horns—also dashing in pieces the pitchers which [are] in their hand;
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 and the three detachments blow with horns, and break the pitchers, and keep hold with their left hand on the lamps, and with their right hand on the horns to blow, and they cry, “The sword of YHWH and of 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 And they each stand in his place, around the camp, and all the camp runs, and they shout, and flee;
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 the three hundred blow the horns, and YHWH sets the sword of each against his companion, even through all the camp; and the camp flees to Beth-Shittah, at Zererath, to the border of Abel-Meholah, by 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 And the men of Israel are called from Naphtali, and from Asher, and from all Manasseh, and pursue after Midian.
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 And Gideon has sent messengers into all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Midian, and capture the waters from them as far as Beth-Barah, and the Jordan”; and every man of Ephraim is called, and they capture the waters as far as Beth-Barah, and the Jordan,
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 and they capture two of the heads of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and slay Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they have slain Zeeb at the wine-vat of Zeeb, and they pursue into Midian; and they have brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond 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.