Gideon’s Army of Three Hundred 2 DRA And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: I was delivered by my own strength. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3 DRA Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all, I Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. So two and twenty thousand men went away from mount Galaad and returned home, and only ten thousand remained. BSB BSB: Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the men: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
4 DRA And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 DRA And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side. BSB BSB: So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”
6 DRA And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. BSB BSB: And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.
7 DRA And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”
8 DRA So taking victuals and trumpets according to their number, he ordered all the rest of the multitude to depart to their tents: and he with the three hundred gave himself to the battle. Now the camp of Madian was beneath him in the valley. BSB BSB: So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
The Sword of Gideon 9 DRA The same night the Lord said to him: Arise, and go down into the camp: because I have delivered them into thy hand. BSB BSB: That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
10 DRA But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Phara thy servant go down with thee. BSB BSB: But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
11 DRA And when thou shalt hear what they are saying, then shall thy hands be strengthened, and thou shalt go down more secure to the enemies’ camp. And he went down with Phara his servant into part of the camp, where was the watch of men in arms. BSB BSB: and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.
12 DRA But Madian and Amalec, and all the eastern people lay scattered in the valley, as a multitude of locusts: their camels also were innumerable as the sand that lieth on the sea shore. BSB BSB: Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 DRA And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream: and in this manner related what he had seen: I dreamt a dream, and it seemed to me as if a hearth cake of barley bread rolled and came down into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to a tent it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground. BSB BSB: And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
14 DRA He to whom he spoke, answered: This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon the son of Joas a man of Israel. For the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hand. BSB BSB: His friend replied: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has delivered Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”
Gideon Defeats Midian 15 DRA And when Gedeon had heard the dream, and the interpretation thereof, he adored: and returned to the camp of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands. BSB BSB: When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”
16 DRA And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. BSB BSB: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
17 DRA And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into one part of the camp, and do you as I shall do. BSB BSB: “Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do.
18 DRA When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp. BSB BSB: When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
19 DRA And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him, went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the midnight watch, and the watchmen being alarmed, they began to sound their trumpets, and to clap the pitchers one against another. BSB BSB: Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the changing of the guard. They blew their horns and broke the jars that were in their hands.
20 DRA And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held their lamps in their left hands, and with their right hands the trumpets which they blew, and they cried out: The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon; BSB BSB: The three companies blew their horns and shattered their jars. Holding the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
21 DRA Standing every man in his place round about the enemies’ camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and howling they fled away. BSB BSB: Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
22 DRA And the three hundred men nevertheless persisted sounding the trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp, and they killed one another, BSB BSB: And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
23 DRA Fleeing as far as Bethsetta, and the border of Abelmahula in Tebbath. But the men of Israel shouting from Nephtali and Aser, and from all Manasses pursued after Madian. BSB BSB: Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
24 DRA And Gedeon sent messengers into all mount Ephraim, saying: Come down to meet Madian, and take the waters before them to Bethbera and the Jordan. And all Ephraim shouted, and took the waters before them and the Jordan as far as Bethbera. BSB BSB: Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.
25 DRA And having taken two men of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: Oreb they slew in the rock of Oreb, and Zeb in the winepress of Zeb. And they pursued Madian, carrying the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon beyond the waters of the Jordan. BSB BSB: They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. So they pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
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