Gideon’s Army of Three Hundred 2 ULT And Yahweh said to Gideon,“The people who{ are} with you{ are}{ too} many for my giving Midian into their hand, lest Israel glorify itself over me, saying,‘My hand has saved me.’ 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 ULT So now please proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,‘Whoever{ is} afraid and trembling, may he turn back and depart from Mount Gilead.’” And from the people 22, 000 turned back, but 10, 000 were left. 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 ULT Then Yahweh said to Gideon,“Still the people{ are}{ too} many. Bring them down to the water, and I will refine it for you there. And it will be,{ of} whom I say to you,‘This{ one} shall go with you,’ he shall go with you, but all{ of} whom I say to you,‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 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 ULT So he brought the people down to the water, and Yahweh said to Gideon,“Anyone who laps with his tongue from the water just as a dog laps, you shall set him apart, and anyone who kneels upon his knees to drink.” 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 ULT And the number of the ones lapping with their hand to their mouth was 300 men, and all of the rest of the people knelt upon their knees to drink the water. 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 ULT Then Yahweh said to Gideon,“With the 300 men, the ones lapping, I will save you, and I will give Midian into your hand. But all the people may go, a man to his 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 ULT So the people took provision into their hand and their shofars, but every man of Israel he sent away, a man to his tents, but he held onto the 300 men. Now the camp of Midian was to him from below, 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 ULT And it happened during that night that Yahweh said to him,“Arise! Go down into the camp, for I have given it into your 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 ULT But if you fear to go down, go down, you and Purah your servant, to the camp, BSB BSB: But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah
11 ULT and you shall hear what they are speaking, and afterward, your hands will be strong and you shall go down against the camp.” So he went down, he and Purah his servant, to the edge of the armed{ ones} who{ were} in the camp. 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 ULT Now Midian and Amalek and all of the sons of the east were lying in the valley like the locust in multitude. And to their camels there was not a number, like the sand that{ is} along the edge of the sea in multitude. 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 ULT And Gideon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his comrade. And he said,“Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a loaf of bread of barley was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it and it fell, for it overturned it upwards, and the tent fell.” 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 ULT And his comrade answered and said,“This{ is} nothing except if{ it is} the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the man of Israel. God has given into his hand Midian and all of the camp.” 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 ULT And it happened, when Gideon heard the recounting of the dream and its interpretation, that he bowed down. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said,“Arise, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hand!” 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 ULT Then he divided the 300 men{ into} three companies, and he put shofars in the hand of all of them, and empty jars, and torches inside of the jars. 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 ULT And he said to them,“You shall look at me, and thus you shall do. And behold,{ as} I am arriving at the edge of the camp, then it shall be, just as I do, thus shall you 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 ULT And I will blow on the shofar, I and all who{ are} with me, and you shall blow on the shofars, also you, around all of the camp. And you shall say,‘For Yahweh and for Gideon!’” 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 ULT So Gideon and the 100 men who{ were} with him came to the edge of the camp,{ at} the start of the middle watch. Stationing, they had just stationed the guards, and they blew on the shofars and shattered the jars that{ were} in their hand. 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 ULT Then the three companies blew on the shofars and broke the jars. And they held the torches in their left hand and the shofars in their right hand to blow. And they called out,“A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon.” 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 ULT And they stood, a man in his place, around the camp, and all of the camp ran and cried out and fled. BSB BSB: Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
22 ULT And they blew the 300 shofars, and Yahweh set the sword of a man against his comrade and against all of the camp. And the camp fled unto Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, unto the edge of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. 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 ULT Then a man of Israel from Naphtali and from Asher and from all of Manasseh was summoned, and they pursued after Midian. BSB BSB: Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
24 ULT And Gideon sent messengers through all of the hill country of Ephraim, saying,“Come down to meet Midian and capture before them the waters unto Beth Barah and the Jordan.” So every man of Ephraim was summoned, and they captured the waters unto Beth Barah and the Jordan. 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 ULT And they captured the two commanders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. And they chased after Midian, and they brought the head of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, from across 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.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.