< Judges 7 >
1 Then Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon) rose up early, and all the people who were with him, and they encamped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was to their north in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, arose early, and all the people that were with him, and they encamped beside the spring Harod; and he had the camp of Midian on the north by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are too many soldiers for me to give you victory over the Midianites, so that Israel may not boast over me, saying, 'Our own power has saved us.'
And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people and say, 'Whoever is afraid, whoever trembles, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'” So twenty-two thousand people went away, and ten thousand remained.
And now proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is timid and afraid, let him go back and turn from mount Gilead. And there went back of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
4 Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will make their number smaller for you there. If I say to you, 'This one will go with you,' he will go with you; but if I say, 'This one will not go with you,' he will not go.”
And Jehovah said to Gideon, Still the people are many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there, and it shall be, that of whom I shall say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
5 So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and Yahweh said to him, “Separate everyone who laps up the water, as a dog laps, from those who kneel down to drink.”
And he brought down the people to the water; and Jehovah said to Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down on his knees to drink.
6 Three hundred men lapped. The rest of the men kneeled down to drink water.
And the number of them that lapped, with their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
7 Yahweh said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped, I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Let every other man go back to his own place.”
And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.
8 So those who were chosen took their supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent away all the men of Israel, every man to his tent, but he kept the three hundred men. Now the Midian camp was down below him in the valley.
And they took the victuals of the people in their hand, and their trumpets; and all the men of Israel he sent away, every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
9 That same night Yahweh said to him, “Get up! Attack the camp, for I am going to give you victory over it.
And it came to pass in that night, that Jehovah said to him, Arise, go down to the camp; for I have given it into thy hand.
10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,
And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the camp;
11 and listen to what they are saying, and your courage will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So Gideon went with Purah his servant, down to the guard posts of the camp.
and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thy hand be strengthened, and thou shalt go down unto the camp. And he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the camp.
12 The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the people of the east settled along in the valley, as thick as a cloud of locusts. Their camels were more than could be counted; they were more in number than the grains of the sand on the seashore.
And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand upon the sea-shore for multitude.
13 When Gideon arrived there, a man was telling a dream to his companion. The man said, “Look! I had a dream, and I saw a round loaf of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian. It came to the tent, and hit it so hard that it fell down and turned it upside down, so that it lay flat.”
And Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and the tent lay along.
14 The other man said, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon (the son of Joash), the Israelite. God has given him victory over Midian and all their army.”
And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, the man of Israel: God hath given into his hand Midian and all the host.
15 When Gideon heard the retelling of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down in worship. He went back to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up! Yahweh has given you victory over the Midian army.”
And it came to pass when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. And he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.
16 He divided the three hundred men into three groups, and he gave them all trumpets and empty jars, with torches inside each jar.
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers.
17 He said to them, “Look at me and do what I do. Watch! When I come to the edge of the camp, you must do what I do.
And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold, when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow your trumpets also on every side of the entire camp and shout, 'For Yahweh and for Gideon!'”
And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon!
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp, right at the beginning of the middle watch. Just as the Midianites were changing guard, they blew the trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
20 The three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands to blow them. They shouted out, “The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon.”
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand, and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!
21 Every man stood in his place around the camp and all the Midianite army ran. They shouted and ran away.
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled.
22 When they blew the three hundred trumpets, Yahweh set every Midianite man's sword against his comrades and against all their army. The army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, near Tabbath.
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp. And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
23 The men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh were called out, and they went after Midian.
And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Go down against Midian and take control of the Jordan River, as far as Beth Barah, to stop them.” So all the men of Ephraim gathered together and took control of the waters, as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River.
And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan.
25 They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They went after the Midianites, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was on the other side of the Jordan.
And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.