Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites

7 Then Jerubba′al (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Mid′ian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Mid′ianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ ³ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’” And Gideon tested them;^[a] twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained.

⁴ And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; take them down to the water and I will test them for you there; and he of whom I say to you, ‘This man shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and any of whom I say to you, ‘This man shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” ⁵ So he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one that laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself; likewise every one that kneels down to drink.” ⁶ And the number of those that lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. ⁷ And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Mid′ianites into your hand; and let all the others go every man to his home.” ⁸ So he took the jars of the people from their hands,^[b] and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Mid′ian was below him in the valley.

⁹ That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp; for I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you fear to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant; ¹¹ and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. ¹² And the Mid′ianites and the Amal′ekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is upon the seashore for multitude. ¹³ When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Mid′ian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” ¹⁴ And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Jo′ash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Mid′ian and all the host.”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise; for the Lord has given the host of Mid′ian into your hand.” ¹⁶ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. ¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”