Gideon’s 300 Men

1Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and camped beside [†]the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of [†]them by the hill of Moreh 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, lest Israel honor themselves, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3So now, [†]come, call out in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.

4Then 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 with 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 [†]the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And [†]Gideon 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, for I have given it into your hands. 10But 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 afterward your hands will be strengthened, that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his young man down to the [†]outskirts 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 as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as 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 [†]had a dream; [†]a 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 [†]upside 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 into 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 [†]companies, 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. 18And 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 [†]companies 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 all of the camp ran, and they made a loud shout and fled. 22So they blew 300 trumpets. And Yahweh 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 Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali 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 capture 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, Oreb 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 from across the Jordan.