Gideon’s Three Hundred Men

7 Then Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) rose early, and all the army that was with him. They were camped beside the spring of Harod;^[a] the camp of Midian was north of the hill of Moreh, in the valley. ² And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The troops that are with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hands; Israel will boast, saying, ‘My hand has delivered me.’ ³ So then, please proclaim in the hearing^[b] of the troops, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.’” About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained. ⁴ And Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them^[c] for you there. For whomever I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ he will not go.” ⁵ So he brought down the troops to the water, and Yahweh said to Gideon, “You must separate everyone who laps up the water to drink with his tongue like a dog from those who kneel.”^{[d] 6} The number of those lapping up the water with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; all the rest of the troops kneeled to drink the water. ⁷ And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the three hundred men lapping up the water; I will give Midian into your hand, so let the other troops go, each to his own place. ⁸ So they took their provisions and their trumpets into their hand, and he sent all the men of Israel, each one, to his tent; but three hundred of the men he kept; the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.