Judges 7

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

1Gideon, who was also called Jerubbaal, got up early. All his men came with him. They set up camp beside the spring of Harod. The army of Midian camped north of them, in the valley by the hill of Moreh.

2And 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 vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

2The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men. If I let this many win, Israel will brag. They will say, 'We saved ourselves by our own strength.'

3Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

3So tell the men this: 'Anyone who is scared and shaking may go home now. Leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men went home. Ten thousand stayed.

4And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

4Then the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water. I will sort them out for you there. If I say a man should go with you, he goes. If I say a man should not go, he stays."

5So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto 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 upon his knees to drink.

5So Gideon brought the men down to the water. The LORD said to him, "Watch how each man drinks. Some will lap the water with their tongue, like a dog. Put those men in one group. Put the men who kneel down to drink in another group."

6And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

6Three hundred men lapped the water from their hands. All the rest knelt down to drink.

7And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

7The LORD said to Gideon, "I will save you with these three hundred men who lapped. I will hand Midian over to you. Send all the other men home."

8So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

8So the three hundred men took the food and the horns. Gideon sent all the other men of Israel home to their tents. He kept the three hundred with him. The camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

9And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

9That same night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up. Go down to the enemy camp. I have handed it over to you.

10But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:

10But if you are afraid to go, take your servant Purah with you.

11And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

11Listen to what they are saying there. Then you will feel brave enough to attack." So Gideon and Purah went down to the edge of the camp, where armed guards stood.

12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

12The men of Midian and Amalek and other peoples from the east filled the valley. There were as many of them as locusts. Their camels could not be counted, like sand on the seashore.

13And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

13When Gideon got there, a man was telling his friend a dream. He said, "Listen, I had a dream. A round loaf of barley bread came rolling into our camp. It hit a tent so hard that the tent flipped over and fell flat."

14And 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.

14His friend answered, "That can only mean one thing. It is the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the man from Israel. God has handed Midian and our whole army over to him."

15And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

15When Gideon heard the dream and what it meant, he bowed down and worshiped God. He went back to the camp of Israel and said, "Get up! The LORD has handed the army of Midian over to you."

16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

16He split the three hundred men into three groups. He gave each man a horn to blow. He also gave each man an empty clay jar with a torch hidden inside it.

NoteThe KJV says "lamps" and "pitchers." These were burning torches hidden inside big clay jars, so the light stayed covered until the jars were smashed.

17And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

17He told them, "Watch me and do what I do. When I reach the edge of their camp, copy me.

18When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

18When my group and I blow our horns, you blow yours too. Do it all around the camp. Then shout, 'A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!'"

19So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto 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 brake the pitchers that were in their hands.

19Gideon and his hundred men reached the edge of the camp late at night. The guards had just changed places. Gideon's men blew their horns and smashed the jars in their hands.

NoteThe "middle watch" was the middle part of the night, when one set of guards took over from another. Gideon came right when the new guards were still settling in.

20And the three companies blew the 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 sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

20All three groups blew their horns and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands. They held the horns in their right hands to blow. And they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

21And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

21Each man stood still in his own spot around the camp. The whole enemy army ran, shouting as they fled.

22And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

22As the three hundred horns blew, the LORD made the enemy soldiers turn their swords on each other. That happened all through the camp. The army ran away toward Beth-shittah, toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

23And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

23Then men of Israel were called out from the families of Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh. They chased after the men of Midian.

24And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

24Gideon sent messengers all through the hills of Ephraim. He said, "Come down and fight Midian. Get to the river crossings before they do, all the way to Beth-barah." So all the men of Ephraim came and took the crossings of the Jordan River, as far as Beth-barah.

25And they took 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 Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

25They caught Oreb and Zeeb, the two leaders of Midian. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. They killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They kept chasing Midian. Then they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan River.