< Judges 7 >
1 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.
耶路‧巴力就是基甸,他和一切跟隨的人早晨起來,在哈律泉旁安營。米甸營在他們北邊的平原,靠近摩利岡。
2 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].
耶和華對基甸說:「跟隨你的人過多,我不能將米甸人交在他們手中,免得以色列人向我誇大,說:『是我們自己的手救了我們。』
3 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.
現在你要向這些人宣告說:『凡懼怕膽怯的,可以離開基列山回去。』」於是有二萬二千人回去,只剩下一萬。
4 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.”.
耶和華對基甸說:「人還是過多;你要帶他們下到水旁,我好在那裏為你試試他們。我指點誰說:『這人可以同你去』,他就可以同你去;我指點誰說:『這人不可同你去』,他就不可同你去。」
5 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.”
基甸就帶他們下到水旁。耶和華對基甸說:「凡用舌頭舔水,像狗舔的,要使他單站在一處;凡跪下喝水的,也要使他單站在一處。」
6 So when they drank, only 300 men drank from their hands. All the others drank with their mouths down in the water.
於是用手捧着舔水的有三百人,其餘的都跪下喝水。
7 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!”
耶和華對基甸說:「我要用這舔水的三百人拯救你們,將米甸人交在你手中;其餘的人都可以各歸各處去。」
8 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.
這三百人就帶着食物和角;其餘的以色列人,基甸都打發他們各歸各的帳棚,只留下這三百人。米甸營在他下邊的平原裏。
9 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.
當那夜,耶和華吩咐基甸說:「起來,下到米甸營裏去,因我已將他們交在你手中。
10 But if you are afraid to attack them by yourself, take your servant Purah with you.
倘若你怕下去,就帶你的僕人普拉下到那營裏去。
11 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.
你必聽見他們所說的,然後你就有膽量下去攻營。」於是基甸帶着僕人普拉下到營旁。
12 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.
米甸人、亞瑪力人,和一切東方人都布散在平原,如同蝗蟲那樣多。他們的駱駝無數,多如海邊的沙。
13 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!”
基甸到了,就聽見一人將夢告訴同伴說:「我做了一夢,夢見一個大麥餅滾入米甸營中,到了帳幕,將帳幕撞倒,帳幕就翻轉傾覆了。」
14 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.”
那同伴說:「這不是別的,乃是以色列人約阿施的兒子基甸的刀;上帝已將米甸和全軍都交在他的手中。」
15 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!”
基甸聽見這夢和夢的講解,就敬拜上帝,回到以色列營中,說:「起來吧!耶和華已將米甸的軍隊交在你們手中了。」
16 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].
於是基甸將三百人分作三隊,把角和空瓶交在各人手裏(瓶內都藏着火把),
17 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.
吩咐他們說:「你們要看我行事:我到了營的旁邊怎樣行,你們也要怎樣行。
18 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!’”
我和一切跟隨我的人吹角的時候,你們也要在營的四圍吹角,喊叫說:『耶和華和基甸的刀!』」
19 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.
基甸和跟隨他的一百人,在三更之初才換更的時候,來到營旁,就吹角,打破手中的瓶。
20 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!”
三隊的人就都吹角,打破瓶子,左手拿着火把,右手拿着角,喊叫說:「耶和華和基甸的刀!」
21 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.
他們在營的四圍各站各的地方;全營的人都亂竄。三百人吶喊,使他們逃跑。
22 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.
三百人就吹角,耶和華使全營的人用刀互相擊殺,逃到西利拉的伯‧哈示他,直逃到靠近他巴的亞伯‧米何拉。
23 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.
以色列人就從拿弗他利、亞設,和瑪拿西全地聚集來追趕米甸人。
24 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.
基甸打發人走遍以法蓮山地,說:「你們下來攻擊米甸人,爭先把守約旦河的渡口,直到伯‧巴拉。」於是以法蓮的眾人聚集,把守約旦河的渡口,直到伯‧巴拉,
25 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.
捉住了米甸人的兩個首領:一名俄立,一名西伊伯;將俄立殺在俄立磐石上,將西伊伯殺在西伊伯酒醡那裏;又追趕米甸人,將俄立和西伊伯的首級帶過約旦河,到基甸那裏。