Judges 7-8

GOD’S WORD Translation

Gideon Defeats Midian

7 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops with him got up early and camped above En Harod. Midian’s camp was north of him at the hill of Moreh in the valley.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men with you for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag and say, ‘We saved ourselves.’ ³ Announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is scared or frightened should leave Mount Gilead and go back home.’ ” So 22,000 men went back home, and 10,000 were left.

⁴ The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he must go with you. And if I say to you, ‘This one won’t go with you,’ he must not go.”

⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. The Lord said to him, “Separate those who lap water with their tongues like dogs from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred men lapped water with their hands to their mouths. All the rest of the men knelt down to drink water. ⁷ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped water I will save you and hand Midian over to you. All the other men should go home.” ⁸ So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home, but the 300 men who stayed kept all the supplies and rams’ horns.

The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁹ That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Attack! Go into the camp! I will hand it over to you. ¹⁰ But if you’re afraid to go, take your servant Purah to the camp with you. ¹¹ Listen to what people are saying. After that, you will have the courage to go into the camp and attack it.”

So Gideon and his servant Purah went to the edge of the camp. ¹² Midian, Amalek, and all of Kedem were spread out in the valley like a swarm of locusts. There were so many camels that they could not be counted. They were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.

¹³ When Gideon got there, he heard a man telling his friend a dream. The man said, “I had a strange dream. There was a loaf of barley bread rolling around in the camp of Midian. When it got to the command post, the loaf of bread hit that tent so hard that the tent collapsed, turned upside down, and fell flat.”

¹⁴ His friend replied, “That can only be the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, from Israel. God is going to hand Midian and the whole camp over to him.”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped the Lord. Then he went back to the camp of Israel and said, “Attack! The Lord will hand Midian’s camp over to you.”

¹⁶ Gideon divided the 300 men into three companies. He gave them each rams’ horns and jars with torches inside. ¹⁷ He said to them, “Watch me, and do what I do. When I come to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. ¹⁸ When I and those with me blow our rams’ horns, then the rest of you around the camp do the same and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ ”

¹⁹ Gideon and his 100 men came to the edge of the camp. It was the beginning of the midnight watch just at the change of the guards. They blew their rams’ horns and smashed the jars they were holding in their hands. ²⁰ The three companies also blew their rams’ horns and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the rams’ horns in their right hands so that they could blow them. They shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ While each man kept his position around the camp, everyone in the Midianite camp began to run away, screaming as they fled. ²² The 300 men kept on blowing their rams’ horns, and the Lord caused the whole camp of Midian to fight among themselves. They fled as far as Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, and as far as the bank of the stream at Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

²³ The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh to help pursue the troops of Midian. ²⁴ Gideon also sent messengers to the whole mountain region of Ephraim with this message, “Go into battle against Midian. Capture the watering holes as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” All the men of Ephraim were also summoned to help. They captured the watering holes as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River. ²⁵ They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders. They killed Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the Winepress of Zeeb and kept on pursuing Midian. Then they brought the severed heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan River.

8 The men from Ephraim strongly protested Gideon’s actions. They said, “Why did you do this to us? You didn’t invite us to go fight Midian with you.”

² Gideon replied, “I haven’t done anything compared with what you have done. Aren’t the grapes that Ephraim picked after the harvest better than all the grapes in Abiezer’s entire harvest? ³ God handed Oreb and Zeeb, Midian’s commanders, over to you. What have I done compared with that?” When they heard what Gideon said, they weren’t angry with him anymore.

⁴ Gideon and his 300 men headed toward the Jordan River. They were exhausted when they crossed it, but they kept pursuing the enemy. ⁵ So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give me some food for the men under my command. They’re exhausted, and I’m pursuing King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian.”

⁶ The generals at Succoth replied, “We shouldn’t give your army food. You haven’t captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”

⁷ Gideon responded, “Alright, then. When the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I’ll whip your bodies with thorns and thistles from the desert.”

⁸ Then Gideon went to Penuel and asked the people there for the same help. But they gave him the same reply that the men of Succoth gave. ⁹ So he told them, “When I come back after my victory, I’ll tear down this tower.”

¹⁰ Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with an army of about 15,000 men. This was all that was left of Kedem’s entire army. In the battle, 120,000 soldiers died. ¹¹ So Gideon went up Tent Dwellers Road, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and defeated the unsuspecting Midianite army. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna fled as Gideon pursued them. He captured King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian, and the whole Midianite army panicked.

¹³ Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass ¹⁴ and captured a young man from Succoth. He questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the 77 officials and leaders of Succoth. ¹⁵ Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me when you said, ‘We shouldn’t give your exhausted men food before you’ve captured Zebah and Zalmunna.’ ” ¹⁶ So Gideon took the leaders of the city and taught them a lesson using thorns and thistles from the desert. ¹⁷ Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of that city.

¹⁸ He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

They answered, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”

¹⁹ Gideon replied, “They were my brothers, my mother’s sons. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not have to kill you now.” ²⁰ Then he told Jether, his firstborn son, “Get up and kill them!” But Jether didn’t draw his sword. He was afraid because he was only a young man.

²¹ Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and do it yourself! It’s a man’s job!” So Gideon got up and killed them. Then he took the half-moon ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Gideon Makes a Gold Idol

²² The men of Israel said to Gideon, “You, then your son, and then your grandson, must rule us. You rescued us from Midian.”

²³ Gideon replied, “I will not rule you nor will my son. The Lord will rule you.” ²⁴ Then Gideon said to them, “Do me a favor. Each of you give me the earrings from your loot.” (Their enemies, the Ishmaelites, wore gold earrings.)

²⁵ The men of Israel answered, “Yes, we’ll give them to you.” So they spread out a coat. Each man took the earrings from his loot and dropped them on it. ²⁶ The gold earrings Gideon had asked for weighed 40 pounds. This did not include the half-moon ornaments, the earrings, the purple clothes worn by the kings of Midian, and the chains from their camels’ necks. ²⁷ Then Gideon used the gold to make an idol ^[a] and placed it in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel chased after it there as though it were a prostitute. It became a trap for Gideon and his family.

²⁸ The power of Midian was crushed by the people of Israel, and Midian never again became a threat. So the land had peace for 40 years during Gideon’s life.

²⁹ Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went home to live. ³⁰ Gideon had 70 sons because he had many wives. ³¹ His concubine ^[b] at Shechem also gave birth to a son. That son was named Abimelech.

³² Gideon, son of Joash, died at a very old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah, the city belonging to Abiezer’s family.

³³ As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel chased after other gods—the Baals—as though they were prostitutes. They made Baal Berith their god. ³⁴ The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies around them. ³⁵ And they were not kind to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) despite all the good he had done for Israel.