1
And Jerubbaal rose early, the same is Gideon, and all the people with him, and encamped at the fountain of Arad; and the camp of Midian was to the north of him, reaching from Gibeath-moreh, in the valley.
2
And the Lord said to Gideon, The people with thee are many, so that I may not deliver Midian into their hand, lest at any time Israel boast against me, saying, My hand has saved me.
3
And now speak in the ears of the people, saying, Who is afraid and fearful? let him turn and depart from Mount Gilead: and there returned of the people twenty-two thousand, and ten thousand were left.
4
And the Lord said to Gideon, The people is yet numerous; bring them down to the water, and I will purge them there for thee: and it shall come to pass that of whomsoever I shall say to thee, This one shall go with thee, even he shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say to thee, This one shall not go with thee, even he shall not go with thee.
5
And he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, Whosoever shall lap of the water with his tongue as if a dog should lap, thou shalt set him apart, and also whosoever shall bow down upon his knees to drink.
6
And the number of those that lapped with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed upon their knees to drink water.
7
And the Lord said to Gideon, I will save you by the three hundred men that lapped, and I will give Midian into thy hand; and all the rest of the people shall go every one to his place.
8
And they took the provision of the people in their hand, and their horns; and he sent away every man of Israel each to his tent, and he strengthened the three hundred; and the army of Midian were beneath him in the valley.
9
And it came to pass in that night that the Lord said to him, Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into thy hand.
10
And if thou art afraid to go down, go down thou and thy servant Purah into the camp.
11
And thou shalt hear what they shall say, and afterward thy hands shall be strong, and thou shalt go down into the camp: and he went down and Purah his servant to the extremity of the companies of fifty, which were in the camp.
12
And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east were scattered in the valley, as the locust for multitude; and there was no number to their camels, but they were as the sand on the seashore for multitude.
13
And Gideon came, and behold a man was relating to his neighbor a dream, and he said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread rolling into the camp of Midian, and it came as far as a tent, and smote it, and it fell, and it turned it up, and the tent fell.
14
And his neighbor answered and said, This is none other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, a man of Israel: God has delivered Midian and all the host into his hand.
15
And it came to pass when Gideon heard the account of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshiped the Lord, and returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Rise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into our hand.
16
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put horns in the hands of all, and empty pitchers, and torches in the pitchers:
17
and he said to them, Ye shall look at me, and so shall ye do; and behold, I will go into the beginning of the host, and it shall come to pass that as I do, so shall ye do.
18
And I will sound with the horn, and all ye with me shall sound with the horn round about the whole camp, and ye shall say, For the Lord and Gideon.
19
And Gideon and the hundred men that were with him came to the extremity of the army in the beginning of the middle watch; and they completely roused the guards, and sounded with the horns, and they broke the pitchers that were in their hands,
20
and the three companies sounded with the horns, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands their horns to sound with; and they cried out, A sword for the Lord and for Gideon.
21
And every man stood in his place round about the host; and all the host ran, and sounded an alarm, and fled.
22
And they sounded with the three hundred horns; and the Lord set every man’s sword in all the host against his neighbor.
23
And the host fled as far as Beth-shittah Zererah Abel-meholah to Tabbath; and the men of Israel from Naphtali, and from Asher, and from all Manasseh, came to help, and followed after Midian.
24
And Gideon sent messengers into all Mount Ephraim, saying, Come down to meet Midian, and take to yourselves the water as far as Beth-barah and Jordan: and every man of Ephraim cried out, and they took the water beforehand unto Beth-barah and Jordan.
25
And they took the princes of Midian, even Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb in Sur Oreb, and they slew Zeeb in Jakeph-zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from beyond Jordan.