Judges 7 - 8
Gideon’s 300 Men
7Then aJerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and camped beside 1the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of 2them by the hill of bMoreh in the valley.
2And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, alest Israel honor themselves, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3“So now, 1come, call out in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘aWhoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.
4aThen Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it will be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5So he brought the people down to the water. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set him aside by himself, and so also everyone who kneels to drink.” 6Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will save you awith the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his place.” 8So 1the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And 2Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9Now it happened the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, afor I have given it into your hands. 10“But if you are afraid to go down, then both you and Purah your young man, go down to the camp, 11and you will hear what they say; and aafterward your hands will be strengthened, that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his young man down to the 1outskirts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley aas numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, bas numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13Then Gideon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I 1had a dream; 2a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it 3upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14And his friend answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp ainto his hand.”
15Now it happened that when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” 16And he divided the 300 men into three 1companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, I will come to the outskirts of the camp, and it will be that just as I do so you do likewise. 18“And I and all who are with me will blow the trumpet. Then you also shall blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon.’”
Gideon Kills the Princes of Midian
19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set up the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20Then the three 1companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and called out, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” 21And each stood in his place around the camp. Then aall of the camp ran, and they made a loud shout and fled. 22So they blew 300 trumpets. And aYahweh set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole camp. And the camp fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of bAbel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel were summoned from aNaphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.
24Now Gideon had sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Midian and acapture the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. 25Then they captured the two princes of Midian, aOreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon bfrom across the Jordan.
Gideon Pursues Zebah and Zalmunna
8Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “aWhat is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they strongly contended with him. 2But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3“God has given the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their 1anger toward him subsided when he spoke this word.
4Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came ato the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. 5And he said to the men of aSuccoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6But the princes of Succoth said, “1,aAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” 7And Gideon said, “Thus, awhen Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will 1thrash your 2bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8So he went up from there to 1,aPenuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, aI will tear down this tower.”
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire camp of the sons of the east; afor the fallen were 120,000 men who drew the sword. 11And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the camp when the camp was 1unsuspecting. 12Then Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw the whole camp into utter fright.
13Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle 1by the ascent of Heres. 14And he captured a youth from the men of Succoth and questioned him. So the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you reproached me, saying, ‘1,aAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’” 16Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he 1taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17aAnd he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one 1resembling the son of a king.” 19And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth. 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might.” aSo Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and btook the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.
Gideon Makes an Ephod
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; aYahweh shall rule over you.” 24Yet Gideon said to them, “I would 1make one request of you, that each of you give me 2an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings because they were aIshmaelites.) 25And they said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks. 27Then Gideon made it into aan ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. 28So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.
The Death and Burial of Gideon
29Then aJerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30Now Gideon had aseventy sons who 1were his direct descendants, for he had many wives. 31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he 1named him Abimelech. 32Then Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33Then it happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, athat the sons of Israel turned back and played the harlot with the Baals and made bBaal-berith their god. 34Thus the sons of Israel adid not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35anor did they show lovingkindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.