Open English Translation JDG Chapter 7

7 Then Gideon (also known as Yerub-Baal) and the warriors with him got up early and went to Harod spring. The Midianite camp was north of them in the valley below the Moreh hill.

2 Then Yahweh told Gideon, “You’ve got too many warriors with you for me to give victory over the Midianites, because what if Israel takes the glory for themselves thinking that their own strength saved them. 3 So tell the men that anyone who’s afraid or trembling can leave Mt. Gilead and go back home.” Twenty-two thousand of them went back, leaving only ten thousand.[ref]

4 “That’s still too many,” Yahweh told Gideon. “Bring them down to the spring and I’ll short-list them there. Whoever I tell you to go with you, can do so, but anyone that I say won’t go with you, won’t go.” 5 So he took them down to the water and Yahweh told him, “Separate out those who lap up the water with their tongues like a dog would, along with those who kneel down to drink.” 6 It turned out that only three hundred men used their hands to bring water to their mouths, and all the rest knelt down to drink the water. 7 “I’ll rescue you all from Midian with the three hundred men who lapped the water from their hands,” Yahweh told Gideon. “Let all the others go back to their homes.” 8 Then the three-hundred warriors collected the food and ram’s horns from the others before Gideon sent the others back to their own homes.

The Midian camp was below them down in the valley 9 and during the night Yahweh told Gideon, “Get ready and lead them down into the camp, because I have made you victorious. 10 But if you’re afraid to attack, take your servant Purah down to their camp 11 and you’ll hear what they’re saying, then you’ll have the courage to go down and attack the camp.” So Gideon and his servant Purah went quietly down to the unit at the edge of the camp.

12 The Midianites and Amalekites and others from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Even their camels were as numerous as sand grains on the beach. 13 When Gideon got close, a man was telling his companion about his dream. “Listen,” he said, “I had a dream and wow, a round loaf of barley bread was tumbling into our camp. It came as far as the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, and collapsed completely.”

14 “That could only be the sword of Yoash’s son Gideon from Israel,” the other man replied. “The true God has caused Midian and all of the camp to be defeated by him.”

15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he thanked God, then they returned to their camp and commanded, “Get ready to go because Yahweh has given you all victory over the Midianite camp.” 16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three units, and gave each of them rams’ horns and clay jars with burning torches inside them, 17 and instructed them, “Watch me and do what I do. See, when I get to the edge of their camp, do the same as me. 18 When I blow the ram’s horn trumpet, all of you with horns should blow them and everyone will shout, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon!’ ”

19 When Gideon and the hundred men with him got to the edge of the camp, it was the beginning of the middle nightwatch and the fresh guards had just gotten into their places. Gideon and his unit blew their trumpets and smashed the jars that they were carrying. 20 Then all three units blew the trumpets and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands, and they shouted out, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon.” 21 Then everyone stood in their place around the camp, but the Midianite army cried out in alarm and took off. 22 When the three hundred ram’s horns sounded, Yahweh caused the Midianite army to start fighting each other with their swords, and the army fled as far as Beyt-Shittah (towards Tsererah) and towards the border of Abel-Meholah (towards Tabbat).

23 Then the warriors from Naftali, Asher, and from all of Manashsheh were summoned to help with pursuing the Midianites. 24 Gideon also sent messengers through Efraim’s hill country to tell them, “Go down to the Yordan river opposite Midian and take control of the crossings to capture them between as far as Beyt-Barah.” So all the men of Efraim were summoned and they commandeered the Yordan crossings as far as Beyt-Barah. 25 They chased after the Midianites and captured their two princes, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock now called ‘Oreb’s rock’, and they killed Zeeb at a winepress now called ‘Zeeb’s winepress’, and they brought their heads back across the Yordan to Gideon.