Judges 7
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites
7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops that were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them, below[a] the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’” Thus Gideon sifted them out;[b] twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there. When I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the troops down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths,[c] you shall put to the other side.” 6 The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.” 8 So he took the jars of the troops from their hands,[d] and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents, but retained the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; 11 and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.”
15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hand.” 16 After 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 he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; 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 you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
19 So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,[e] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after the Midianites.
24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they seized the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 They captured the two captains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the wine press of Zeeb, as they pursued the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Judges 7:1 Heb from
- Judges 7:3 Cn: Heb home, and depart from Mount Gilead’”
- Judges 7:5 Heb places the words putting their hands to their mouths after the word lapped in verse 6
- Judges 7:8 Cn: Heb So the people took provisions in their hands
- Judges 7:22 Another reading is Zeredah
Jueces 7
Spanish Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition
7 LEVANTÁNDOSE pues de mañana Jerobaal, el cual es Gedeón, y todo el pueblo que estaba con él, asentaron el campo junto á la fuente de Harod: y tenía el campo de los Madianitas al norte, de la otra parte del collado de More, en el valle.
2 Y Jehová dijo á Gedeón: El pueblo que está contigo es mucho para que yo dé á los Madianitas en su mano: porque no se alabe Israel contra mí, diciendo: Mi mano me ha salvado.
3 Haz pues ahora pregonar, que lo oiga el pueblo, diciendo: El que teme y se estremece, madrugue y vuélvase desde el monte de Galaad. Y volviéronse de los del pueblo veintidós mil: y quedaron diez mil.
4 Y Jehová dijo á Gedeón: Aun es mucho el pueblo; llévalos á las aguas, y allí yo te los probaré; y del que yo te dijere: Vaya este contigo, vaya contigo: mas de cualquiera que yo te dijere: Este no vaya contigo, el tal no vaya.
5 Entonces llevó el pueblo á las aguas: y Jehová dijo á Gedeón: Cualquiera que lamiere las aguas con su lengua como lame el perro, aquél pondrás aparte; asimismo cualquiera que se doblare sobre sus rodillas para beber.
6 Y fué el número de los que lamieron las aguas, llegándola con la mano á la boca, trescientos hombres: y todo el resto del pueblo se dobló sobre sus rodillas para beber las aguas.
7 Entonces Jehová dijo á Gedeón: Con estos trescientos hombres que lamieron el agua os salvaré, y entregaré á los Madianitas en tus manos: y váyase toda la gente cada uno á su lugar.
8 Y tomada provisión para el pueblo en sus manos, y sus bocinas, envió á todos los Israelitas cada uno á su tienda, y retuvo á aquellos trescientos hombres: y tenía el campo de Madián abajo en el valle.
9 Y aconteció que aquella noche Jehová le dijo: Levántate, y desciende al campo; porque yo lo he entregado en tus manos.
10 Y si tienes temor de descender, baja tú con Phara tu criado al campo,
11 Y oirás lo que hablan; y entonces tus manos se esforzarán, y descenderás al campo. Y él descendió con Phara su criado al principio de la gente de armas que estaba en el campo.
12 Y Madián, y Amalec, y todos los orientales, estaban tendidos en el valle como langostas en muchedumbre, y sus camellos eran innumerables, como la arena que está á la ribera de la mar en multitud.
13 Y luego que llegó Gedeón, he aquí que un hombre estaba contando á su compañero un sueño, diciendo: He aquí yo soñé un sueño: que veía un pan de cebada que rodaba hasta el campo de Madián, y llegaba á las tiendas, y las hería de tal manera que caían, y las trastornaba de arriba abajo, y las tiendas caían.
14 Y su compañero respondió, y dijo: Esto no es otra cosa sino la espada de Gedeón hijo de Joas, varón de Israel: Dios ha entregado en sus manos á los Madianitas con todo el campo.
15 Y como Gedeón oyó la historia del sueño y su interpretación, adoró; y vuelto al campo de Israel, dijo: Levantaos, que Jehová ha entregado el campo de Madián en vuestras manos.
16 Y repartiendo los trescientos hombres en tres escuadrones, dió á cada uno de ellos bocinas en sus manos, y cántaros vacíos con teas ardiendo dentro de los cántaros.
17 Y díjoles: Miradme á mí, y haced como yo hiciere; he aquí que cuando yo llegare al principio del campo, como yo hiciere, así haréis vosotros.
18 Yo tocaré la bocina y todos los que estarán conmigo; y vosotros tocaréis entonces las bocinas alrededor de todo el campo, y diréis: ¡Por Jehová y Gedeón!
19 Llegó pues Gedeón, y los cien hombres que llevaba consigo, al principio del campo, á la entrada de la vela del medio, cuando acababan de renovar las centinelas; y tocaron las bocinas, y quebraron los cántaros que llevaban en sus manos:
20 Y los tres escuadrones tocaron las bocinas, y quebrando los cántaros tomaron en las manos izquierdas las teas, y en las derechas los cuernos con que tañian, y dieron grita: ¡La espada de Jehová y de Gedeón!
21 Y estuviéronse en sus lugares en derredor del campo: y todo el campo fué alborotado, y huyeron gritando.
22 Mas los trescientos tocaban las bocinas: y Jehová puso la espada de cada uno contra su compañero en todo el campo. Y el ejército huyó hasta Beth-sitta, hacia Cerera, y hasta el término de Abel-mehola en Tabbat.
23 Y juntándose los de Israel, de Nephtalí, y de Aser, y de todo Manasés, siguieron á los Madianitas.
24 Gedeón también envió mensajeros á todo el monte de Ephraim, diciendo: Descended al encuentro de los Madianitas, y tomadles las aguas hasta Beth-bara y el Jordán. Y juntos todos los hombres de Ephraim, tomaron las aguas de Beth-bara y el Jordán.
25 Y tomaron dos príncipes de los Madianitas, Oreb y Zeeb: y mataron á Oreb en la peña de Oreb, y á Zeeb lo mataron en el lagar de Zeeb: y después que siguieron á los Madianitas, trajeron las cabezas de Oreb y de Zeeb á Gedeón de la otra parte del Jordán.
Judges 7
New King James Version
Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred
7 Then (A)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel (B)claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, (C)‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, (D)“By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his [a]place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 It happened on the same (E)night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall (F)hear what they say; and afterward [b]your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, (G)all the people of the East, were lying in the valley (H)as numerous as locusts; and their camels were [c]without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.
13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”
14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand (I)God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”
15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’ ”
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” 21 And (J)every man stood in his place all around the camp; (K)and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred (L)blew the trumpets, (M)the Lord set (N)every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to [d]Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of (O)Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
23 And the men of Israel gathered together from (P)Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.
24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the (Q)mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and (R)seized the watering places as far as (S)Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured (T)two princes of the Midianites, (U)Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the (V)other side of the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Judges 7:7 home
- Judges 7:11 you shall be encouraged
- Judges 7:12 innumerable
- Judges 7:22 Heb. Beth Shittah
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Spanish Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition (SRV-BRG)
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
