Net English TranslationJudges 7 =
Gideon Reduces the Ranks
7

1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men1 got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod.2 The Midianites3 were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you.4 Israel might brag,5 ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’6 3 Now, announce to the men,7 ‘Whoever is shaking with fear8 may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’”9 Twenty-two thousand men10 went home;11 ten thousand remained. 4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men.12 Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more.13 When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go;14 when I say,15 ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.”16 5 So he brought the men17 down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.”18 6 Three hundred men lapped;19 the rest of the men20 kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army21 and I will hand Midian over to you.22 The rest of the men should go home.”23 8 The men24 who were chosen25 took supplies26 and their trumpets. Gideon27 sent all the men of Israel back to their homes;28 he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites29 were camped down below30 in the valley.

Gideon Reassured of Victory

9 That night the Lord said to Gideon,31 “Get up! Attack32 the camp, for I am handing it over to you.33 10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant 11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave34 and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp.35 12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts.36 Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had.37 The man38 said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw39 a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.”40 14 The other man said,41 “Without a doubt this symbolizes42 the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God.43 Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 16 He divided the three hundred men into three units.44 He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.45 17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely!46 I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp47 at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.48 20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right.49 Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 They stood in order50 all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away.51 22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords52 throughout53 the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went54 to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites.55

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites.56 Take control of the fords of the streams57 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.”58 When all the Ephraimites had assembled,59 they took control of the fords60 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb.61 They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb62 in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites63 and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.64

17:1tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.” 27:1sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.” 37:1tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33). 47:2tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.” 57:2tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.” 67:2tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.” 77:3tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.” 87:3tn Heb “afraid and shaking.” 97:3tc Many interpreters reject the MT reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner). 107:3tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because warriors are in view, and in ancient Israelite culture these would be only males. (This is also the case in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.) 117:3tn Or “turned around, back.” 127:4tn Heb “too many people.” 137:4tn Heb “test them for you there.” 147:4tn Heb “he should go with you.” 157:4tn Heb also has “to you.” 167:4tn Heb “he should not go.” 177:5tn Heb “the people.” 187:5tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.” 197:6tc The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place. 207:6tn Heb “the people.” 217:7tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army. 227:7tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular. 237:7tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.” 247:8tn Heb “The people.” 257:8tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 267:8tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.” 277:8tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 287:8tn Heb “tents.” 297:8tn Heb “Midian.” 307:8tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon). 317:9tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 327:9tn Heb “Go down against.” 337:9tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise. 347:11tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.” 357:11tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.” 367:12tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.” 377:13tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.” 387:13tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 397:13tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation. 407:13tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.” 417:14tn Heb “answered and said.” 427:14tn Heb “This can be nothing but.” 437:15tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.” 447:16tn Heb “heads.” 457:16tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze. 467:17tn Or “look.” 477:19tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.” 487:19tn Heb “that were in their hands.” 497:20tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons. 507:21tn Heb “each in his place.” 517:21tn Or “fled.” 527:22tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.” 537:22tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here. 547:22tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 557:23tn Heb “Midian.” 567:24tn Heb “to meet Midian.” 577:24tn Heb “capture before them the waters.” 587:24tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse). 597:24tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.” 607:24tn Heb “they captured the waters.” 617:25sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel. 627:25tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons. 637:25tn Heb “Midian.” 647:25tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).
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