Judges 7

Gideon’s Three Hundred Chosen Men

1Then 1Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him got up early, and camped beside 2the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of 3them by the hill of 4Moreh in the valley.

2And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to hand Midian over to them, 5otherwise Israel would 6become boastful, saying, ‘My own 7power has saved me.’ 3Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘8Whoever is afraid and worried, is to return and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand from the people returned, but ten thousand remained.

49Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. So it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5So he brought the people down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall put everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps 10in one group, and everyone who kneels down to drink in another.” 6Now the number of those who lapped, 11putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people kneeled down to drink water. 7And the Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you 12with the three hundred men who lapped, and will hand the Midianites over to you; so have all the other people go, each man to his 13home.” 8So 14the three hundred men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And 15Gideon dismissed all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

9Now on the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, 16for I have handed it over to you. 10But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, 11so that you will hear what they say; and 17afterward 18you will have the courage to go down against the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to the 19outposts of the army that was in the camp. 12Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the 20people of the east were lying in the valley 21as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, 22as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I 23had a dream; 24a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it 25upside down so that the tent collapsed.” 14And his friend replied, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has 26handed over to him Midian and all the camp.”

15When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has handed over to you the camp of Midian!” 16And he divided the three hundred men into three 27units, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, 28do as I do. 18When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets around the entire camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

Confusion of the Enemy

19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle night watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20When the three 29units blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21And each stood in his place around the camp; and 30all the 31army ran, crying out as they fled. 22And when they blew the three hundred trumpets, the 32Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the entire 33army; and the 34army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of 35Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel were summoned from 36Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

24Then Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down 37against Midian and 38take control of the waters ahead of them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they took control of the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. 25And they captured the two leaders of Midian, 39Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon 40from across the Jordan.