7 The Lord commandeth Gideon to send away a great part of his company. 22 The Midianites are discomfitted by a wondrous sort. 25 Oreb and Zeeb are slain.
1 Then (A)Jerubbaal (who is Gideon) rose up early, and all the people that were with him, and pitched beside [a]the well of Harod, so that the host of the Midianites was on the North side of them, in the valley by the hill of [b]Moreh.
2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee, are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel make their vaunt [c]against me, and say, Mine hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore proclaim in the audience of the people, and say, (B)Who so is timorous or fearful, let him return, and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people which were at mount Gilead, two and twenty thousand: so ten thousand remained.
4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many: bring them down unto the water, and I will [d]try them for thee there: and of whom I say unto thee, This man shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee: and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This man shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
5 So he brought down the people unto the water. And the Lord said unto Gideon, As many as lap the water with their tongues, as a dog lappeth, them put by themselves, and everyone that shall bow down his knees to drink, [e]put apart.
6 And the number of them that lapped by putting their hands to their mouths, were three hundred men: but all the remnant of the people kneeled down upon their knees to drink water.
7 ¶ Then the Lord said unto Gideon, By these three hundred men that lapped, will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other [f]people go every man unto his place.
8 ¶ So the people took victuals [g]with them, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel, every man unto his tent, and [h]retained the three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in a valley.
9 ¶ And the same night the Lord said unto him, Arise, [i]get thee down unto the host: for I have delivered it into thine hand.
10 But if thou fear to go down, then go thou, and Purah thy servant down to the host,
11 And thou shalt hearken what they say, and so shall thine hands be strong to go down unto the host. Then went he down and Purah his servant unto the outside of the soldiers that were in the host.
12 ¶ And the Midianites, and the Amalekites and all (C)they of the East, lay in the valley like grasshoppers in multitude, and their camels were without number, as the sand which is by the seaside for multitude.
13 And when Gideon was come, behold, a man told a dream unto his neighbor, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream and lo, a [j]cake of barley bread tumbled from above into the host of Midian, and came into a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent fell down.
14 And his fellow answered, and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host.
15 ¶ When Gideon heard the dream told, and the interpretation of the same, he [k]worshipped, and returned unto the host of Israel, and said, Up: for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
16 And he divided the three hundred men into three bands, and gave every man a trumpet in his hand with empty pitchers, and [l]lamps [m]within the pitchers.
17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise, when I come to the side of the host: even as I do, so do you.
18 When I blow with a trumpet and all that are with me, blow ye with trumpets also on every side of the host, and say, [n]For the Lord, and for Gideon.
19 ¶ So Gideon and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the host, in the beginning of the middle watch, and they raised up the watchmen, and they blew with their trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
20 And the three companies blew with trumpets and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The [o]sword of the Lord and of Gideon.
21 And they stood, every man in his place round about the host: and all the host [p]ran, and cried, and fled.
22 And the three hundred blew with trumpets, and (D)the Lord set every man’s sword upon his [q]neighbor, and upon all the host: so the host fled to Beth Hashittah in Zererah, and to the border of Abel Meholah, unto Tabbath.
23 Then the men of Israel being gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, pursued after the Midianites.
24 And Gideon sent messengers unto all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the [r]waters unto Beth Barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and took the waters unto Beth Barah, and Jordan.
25 And they took two (E)princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and slew Zeeb at [s]the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued the Midianites, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond Jordan.
Footnotes
- Judges 7:1 Hebrew, En-harod.
- Judges 7:1 Hebrew, Hammoreh.
- Judges 7:2 God will not that any creature deprive him of his glory.
- Judges 7:4 I will give thee a proof to know them that shall go with thee.
- Judges 7:5 Let them depart as unmeet for this enterprise.
- Judges 7:7 That is, the one and thirty thousand, and 700. See verses 3 and 6.
- Judges 7:8 Hebrew, in their hands.
- Judges 7:8 Or, encouraged.
- Judges 7:9 Thus the Lord by divers means doth strengthen him, that he faint not in so great an enterprise.
- Judges 7:13 Some read, a trembling noise of barley bread: meaning, that one of no reputation should make their great army to tremble.
- Judges 7:15 Or, gave God thanks, as it is in the Chaldea text.
- Judges 7:16 Or, firebrands.
- Judges 7:16 These weak means God used to signify that the whole victory came of him.
- Judges 7:18 That is, the victory shall be the Lord’s and Gideon’s his servant.
- Judges 7:20 Shall destroy the enemies.
- Judges 7:21 Or, broke their array.
- Judges 7:22 The Lord caused the Midianites to kill one another.
- Judges 7:24 Meaning, the passages or the fords, that they should not escape.
- Judges 7:25 These places had their names of the acts that were done there.