Gideon Spies on the Midianite Camp

That night the Lord said to him, “Get up and attack the camp, for I have handed it over to you.(A) 10 But if you are afraid to attack the camp, go down with Purah your servant. 11 Listen to what they say, and then you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the troops[a] who were in the camp.

12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the people of the east had settled down in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Listen, I had a dream:(B) a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed.”

14 His friend answered, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has handed the entire Midianite camp over to him.”

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Footnotes

  1. 7:11 Lit of those who were arranged in companies of 50

And that night Yahweh said to him, “Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward you will have courage,[a] and you will go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men[b] that were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites,[c] Amalekites,[d] and all the people of the east were lying in the valley, like a great multitude of locusts; their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand that is on the shore of the sea. 13 When Gideon came, a man was recounting a dream[e] to his friend, and he said, “Behold, I had a dream;[f] a round loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell.” 14 His friend answered him and said, “This cannot be anything except the sword of Gideon son of Jehoash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand.”

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 7:11 Literally “your hands will be strong”
  2. Judges 7:11 Or “edge of the men lined up in array”
  3. Judges 7:12 Hebrew “Midianite”
  4. Judges 7:12 Hebrew “Amalekite”
  5. Judges 7:13 Or “telling a dream”
  6. Judges 7:13 Literally “I dreamed a dream”

During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.(A) 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites(B) and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts.(C) Their camels(D) could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.(E)

13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash,(F) the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

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