Judges 7
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
1 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.
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 vaunt themselves against me, saying,
Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now 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.
4 And 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.
5 So 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.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8 So 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.
9 And 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.
10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou
with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 And 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.
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 And 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.
16 And 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.
17 And 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.
18 When 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.
19 So 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.
20 And 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.
21 And they stood every man in his place
round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
22 And 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.
23 And the men of Israel
gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all
Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
24 And 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.
25 And 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.
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