0 SAB Judges 7

Judges

CHAPTER 7

As a dog lappeth: God selects Gideon's army
7:1-8

1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

Then Jerubbaal (who is Gideon), and all the people who were with him, got up early and camped by the well of Harod.

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 Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

God said to Gideon,
There are too many people with you.

If you defeat the Midianites, people will say that you did it without my help.

So say to the people, "Whoever is afraid should leave."

And 22,000 people left, with 10,000 remaining.

4And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will 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.

God said to Gideon,
There are still too many people.

Bring them down to the water and I'll decide which of them will go with you.

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; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

So Gideon brought the people down to the water.

And God said to him,

Those who lap water with their tongues like a dog will go with you.

Those who kneel down to drink will stay.

6And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

There were 300 who lapped water like a dog.

All the rest drank water on their knees.

7And 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 people go every man unto his place.

God said to Gideon,

I'll save you with the 300 that lapped water like a dog.

Send all the others home.

8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

So the 300 men who lapped water like dogs went with Gideon. Everyone else went home.
A cake of barley bread
7:9-15

9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:

11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

That same night, God said to Gideon,
Get up and fight the Midianites. I've delivered them into your hand.

If you're afraid to go alone, go with Phurah your servant.

When you hear what they say, you'll be brave enough to attack them.

So Gideon and Phurah went to listen to the Midianites outside their camp.

12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

But there were so many Midianites and Amalekites they seemed like grasshoppers, with more camels than could be counted, like the sand on the sea shore.

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, a 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.

When Gideon came back to camp, there was a man who had a dream who told his friend,
I dreamed there was a barley cake that fell into the Midianite camp.

When the cake came to a tent, it knocked the tent over.

14And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

His friend said,
This is the sword of Gideon.

God has delivered Midian into his hand.

15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

When Gideon heard about the dream, he said,
Get up, because God has delivered the Midianites into your hand.
The LORD set every man's sword against his fellow
7:16-24

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 lamps within the pitchers.

Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups, and gave every man a trumpet and some empty pitchers, with lamps inside the pitchers.

17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

He told them,
Look at me and do what I do.

18When 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, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

When I blow my trumpet, blow your trumpets, and say,
The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.

19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.

20And 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, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

Then they all blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and shouted,
The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.

21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

All the Midianites screamed and ran away.

22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

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

And God forced the Midianites to kill each other [1], while the Israelites chased after them.

24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

Gideon sent messengers thoughout Ephraim, saying,
Come fight the Midianites.

And the men of Ephraim took the waters of Bethbarah and Jordan.

The heads of two princes are brought to Gideon
7:25

25And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

The men of Ephraim killed the two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and brought their heads to Gideon. [2]

«
»

Copyright © 1999-2024
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com