Judges 7:1-7
New American Standard Bible
Gideon’s Three Hundred Chosen Men
7 Then (A)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him got up early, and camped beside [a]the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of [b]them by the hill of (B)Moreh in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to hand Midian over to them, (C)otherwise Israel would [c]become boastful, saying, ‘My own [d]power has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘(D)Whoever is afraid and worried, is to return and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand from the people returned, but ten thousand remained.
4 (E)Then 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.” 5 So 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 [e]in one group, and everyone who kneels down to drink in another.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, [f]putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people kneeled down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you (F)with 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 [g]home.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 7:1 Or En-Harod
- Judges 7:1 Lit him
- Judges 7:2 Lit boast against me
- Judges 7:2 Lit hand
- Judges 7:5 Lit by himself
- Judges 7:6 Lit with their
- Judges 7:7 Lit place
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