Juízes 7

¹ Then Ierubbaal (who is Gideon) rose vp early, and all the people that were with him, and pitched beside the well of Harod, so that the hoste of the Midianites was on the Northside of them in the valley by the hill of Moreh.

² And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with thee [are] too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest IsraelGod will not that any creature deprive him of his glory.vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

³ Now therefore proclaime in the audience of the people, and say, Who so is timerous or fearefull, let him returne, and depart earely from mount Gilead; there returned of the people which were at mount Gilead, two and twentie thousand: so ten thousand remayned.

⁴ And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too] many; bring them down unto the water, and I willI will give you a proof to know those who will go with you.try them for thee there: and it shall be, [that] of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

⁵ So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;Let them depart as unfit for this enterprise.likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

⁶ And the nomber of them that lapped by putting their handes to their mouthes, were three hundreth men: but all the remnant of the people kneeled downe vpo their knees to drinke water.

⁷ And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the [other]That is, the 31,000 and 700. See (Jdg_7:3,6).people go every man unto his place.

⁸ So the people tooke vitailes with them, & their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel, euery man vnto his tent, and reteined the three hundreth men: and the hoste of Midian was beneath him in a valley.

⁹ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise,Thus the Lord by various means strengthens him, that he faint not in so great an enterprise.get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

¹⁰ But if thou feare to go downe, then go thou, and Phurah thy seruant downe to the hoste,

¹¹ And thou shalt hearken what they say, and so shal thine handes be strong to go downe vnto the hoste. Then went he downe and Phurah his seruant vnto the outside of the souldiers that were in the hoste.

¹² And the Midianites, and the Amalekites and all they of the East, lay in the valley like grashoppers in multitude, and their camels were without nomber, as the sande which is by the sea side for multitude.

¹³ And when Gideon was come, behold, [there was] a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, aSome read, a trembling noise of barley bread: meaning, that one of no reputation would make their great army tremble.cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

¹⁴ And his fellow answered, and sayde, This is nothing els saue the sworde of Gideon the sonne of Ioash a man of Israel: for into his hande hath God deliuered Midian and all the hoste.

¹⁵ And it was [so], when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that heOr, gave God thanks, as it is in the Chaldea text.worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

¹⁶ And he divided the three hundred men [into] three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lampsThese weak means God used to signify that the whole victory came from him.within the pitchers.

¹⁷ And he sayd vnto them, Looke on me, and do likewise, when I come to the side of the hoste: euen as I do, so do you.

¹⁸ When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that [are] with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say,That is, the victory shall be the Lord's and Gideon's his servant.[The sword] of the LORD, and of Gideon.

¹⁹ So Gideon and the hundreth men that were with him, came vnto the outside of the hoste, in the beginning of the middle watche, and they raised vp the watchmen, and they blew with their trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their handes.

²⁰ And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, TheShall destroy the enemies.sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

²¹ And they stoode, euery man in his place round about the hoste: and all the hoste ranne, and cryed, and fled.

²² And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against hisThe Lord caused the Midianites to kill one another.fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, [and] to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

²³ Then the men of Israel being gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, pursued after the Midianites.

²⁴ And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them theMeaning, the passages or the fords so they could not escape.waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

²⁵ And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew atThese places got their names from the acts that were done there.the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.