Judges, Chapter 7:
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Verses from Judges, Chapter 7 of the book of Judges in the Bible.
Gideon defeats the Midianites
- 1. Early in the morning, Gideon, whose name was also Jerubbaal, and his entire army camped near the spring of Harod. The camp of the Midianites was north of them in the valley near Mount Moreh.
- 2. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many soldiers for me to hand over to you. So Israel will not boast against me that their own strength freed them.
- 3. Therefore proclaim to the people, 'Whoever is afraid may return home from the hills of Gilead.' Twenty-two thousand men returned home, and only ten thousand remained.
- 4. The Lord said to Gideon again, “There are still many soldiers. Bring them down to the water's edge, and there I will separate them. If I say to him, 'This one will go with you,' he will go; but if I say to him, 'This one will not go with you,' he will not go.”
- 5. Gideon led the men to the water's edge, and the Lord said to him, "Separate those who lap up the water with their tongue like a dog from those who kneel to drink."
- 6. The number of those who drank and licked the water with their hands in their mouths was three hundred men. Everyone else knelt down to drink.
- 7. The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who drank the water like a dog, I will rescue them and deliver the Midianites into their hands. Send away all the other men.” Midian's camp was below them in the valley.
- 8. Gideon sent the Israelites back to their tents, but he retained the three hundred men. They kept the provisions and the trumpets of those who left.
- 9. That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up and go down to the camp, for I will deliver you into your hands.
- 10. If you are afraid of attacking them, go down to the camp with your servant Pura,
- 11. and listen to what they are saying. After that, you will have the courage to attack.” Then Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the outpost of the camp.
- 12. The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the people of the east were scattered throughout the valley. They were as numerous as swarms of locusts. It was not possible to count the men or the camels, as there were as many as the sand on the beach.
- 13. When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling his companion a dream. He said: “I had a dream: A barley loaf rolled into the Midianite camp, reached the tent and knocked it over, turning it upside down.”
- 14. His companion replied, “This can only be the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite. God will deliver the Midianites and the entire camp into his hands.”
- 15. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he fell down and worshiped God. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into our hands.”
- 16. He divided the three hundred men into three groups and gave each one a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch inside.
- 17. Then he said, “Watch me and do what I do. When I reach the edge of the camp, do the same.
- 18. When I and everyone with me blow the trumpets around the camp, you also blow your trumpets and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon!'”
- 19. Gideon and the hundred men with him arrived at the outposts of the camp early at midnight, just as the sentries had been changed. Then they blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
- 20. The three groups blew the trumpets and broke the jars. Holding torches in their left hands and trumpets in their right, they shouted, “By the sword of the Lord and by Gideon!”
- 21. Every man remained in his place around the camp, and all the Midianites ran in fear, shouting.
- 22. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men in the camp to turn against each other, fighting with their own swords. Those who managed to escape fled toward Beth-Sita, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-Meholah, near Tabath.
- 23. Then the men of Ephraim were summoned and occupied the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah. The men of Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh were also summoned, and they pursued the Midianites.
- 24. Gideon sent messengers throughout Mount Ephraim, saying, “Go down and fight against the Midianites and occupy the Jordan crossings ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and occupied the passages of the Jordan to Beth-barah.
- 25. Gideon captured the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. He killed Oreb on Oreb's rock and Zeeb in Zeeb's grape pressing pool. And after he had pursued the Midianites, he brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was on the other side of the Jordan.
