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

And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My own hand has saved me.

Now, therefore, cause it to be proclaimed in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead. And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

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 one shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whoever I say unto thee, This one shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

So he brought the people down unto the water, and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that laps of the water with his tongue as a dog laps, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that bows down upon his knees to drink.

And the number of those 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 the water.

Then the LORD said unto Gideon, With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the other people go each one to his place.

And having taken provision for the people in his hands with their shofarot; he sent all the other Israelites each one to his tent and retained those three hundred men, and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

¶ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise and descend to the camp, for I have delivered it in thy hands.

10 But if thou art afraid to go down, go with Phurah thy servant down to the camp,

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

12 And Midian and Amalek and all the sons of the east lay along in the valley like locusts in multitude, and their camels were not numbered as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

13 And when Gideon arrived, behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow, saying, Behold, I dreamed a dream that I saw a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and come unto the tents, and it smote them so that they fell and overturned them, and the tents fell.

14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel, for God has delivered the Midianites with all the camp into his hand.

15 And when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped; and when he had returned into the camp of Israel, he said, Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hands.

16 ¶ And dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he put a shofar in each man’s hand with empty pitchers and torches burning within the pitchers.

17 And he said unto them, Look at me and do as I do; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, as I do, so shall ye do.

18 I shall blow the shofar, I and all that are with me, then ye shall blow the shofarot on every side of all the camp, and say, I AM The Hewer! {YHWH-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 when only the guards were awake, and they blew the shofarot and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

20 And the three companies blew the shofarot; and breaking the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the shofarot in their right hands to blow with; and they cried, The sword of I AM The Hewer! {YHWH-Gideon}

21 And they stood in their places round about the camp; and all the camp was routed, and they fled crying out.

22 But the three hundred blew the shofarot, and the LORD set each man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the camp; 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 Gideon also sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and the Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and took the waters unto Bethbarah and the 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 after they pursued Midian, they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal(A) (that is, Gideon(B)) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod.(C) The camp of Midian(D) was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.(E) The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength(F) has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.(G)’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many(H) men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them(I) drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.(J) Let all the others go home.”(K) So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.(L) 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites(M) and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts.(N) Their camels(O) could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.(P)

13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash,(Q) the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped.(R) He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”(S) 16 Dividing the three hundred men(T) into three companies,(U) he placed trumpets(V) and empty jars(W) in the hands of all of them, with torches(X) inside.

17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets,(Y) then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars(Z) that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches(AA) in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword(AB) for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.(AC)

22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded,(AD) the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other(AE) with their swords.(AF) The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah(AG) near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher(AH) and all Manasseh were called out,(AI) and they pursued the Midianites.(AJ) 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan(AK) ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”

So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb(AL). They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb,(AM) and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites(AN) and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.(AO)