The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Then Yeruba'al, that is, Gid'on, and all the people with him, got up early and set up camp by 'Ein-Harod; the camp of Midyan was north of them, by Giv'at-Moreh, in the valley.
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Then Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, and all the people with him, got up early and put up their tents by the side of the water-spring of Harod; the tents of Midian were on the north side of him, under the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 ADONAI said to Gid'on, "There are too many people with you for me to hand Midyan over to them, because I don't want Isra'el to be able to boast against me, 'We saved ourselves by our own strength.'
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And the Lord said to Gideon, So great is the number of your people, that if I give the Midianites into their hands they will be uplifted in pride over me and will say, I myself have been my saviour.
3 Therefore, proclaim to the people 'Anyone who is anxious or afraid should go back home, while we stay here on Mount Gil'ad.'" Twenty-two thousand returned, but ten thousand remained.
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So now, let it be given out to the people that anyone who is shaking with fear is to go back from Mount Galud. So twenty-two thousand of the people went back, but there were still ten thousand.
4 ADONAI said to Gid'on, "There are still too many people. Have them come down to the water, and there I will screen them for you. If I say of anyone, 'This one is for you,' he will go with you; and if I say, 'This one is not for you,' he won't go with you."
4
Then the Lord said to Gideon, There are still more people than is necessary; take them down to the water so that I may put them to the test for you there; then whoever I say is to go with you will go, and whoever I say is not to go will not go.
5 So he brought the people down to the water, and ADONAI said to Gid'on, "Put to one side everyone who laps up water with his tongue the way a dog does, and put to the other side everyone who gets down on his knees to drink."
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So he took the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, Put on one side by themselves all those drinking up the water with their tongues like a dog; and in the same way, all those who go down on their knees to the water while drinking.
6 Three hundred lapped, putting their hand to their mouth; all the rest of the men got down on their knees to drink water.
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Now the number of those who took up the water with their tongues was three hundred; all the rest of the people went down on their knees to the water.
7 ADONAI said to Gid'on, "I will use the three hundred men who lapped the water to save you; I will hand Midyan over to you. Let all these others go back home."
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And the Lord said to Gideon, By those three hundred who were drinking with their tongues I will give you salvation and give the Midianites into your hands; let the rest of the people go away, every man to his place.
8 So they took the provisions and the shofars of the people; then he sent all the men of Isra'el away, each to his tent. But the three hundred men he kept. The camp of Midyan was in the valley below him.
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So they took the vessels of the people, and their horns from their hands, and he sent them away, every man to his tent, keeping only the three hundred; and the tents of Midian were lower down in the valley.
9 That night ADONAI said to him, "Get up and attack the camp, because I have handed it over to you.
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The same night the Lord said to him, Up! go down now against their army, for I have given them into your hands.
10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down with your servant Purah;
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But if you have fear of going down, take your servant Purah with you and go down to the tents;
11 and after you hear what they are saying, you will have the courage to attack the camp." So with his servant Purah he went down to the outposts of the camp.
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And after hearing what they are saying, you will get strength to go down against the army. So he went down with his servant Purah to the outer line of the tents of the armed men.
12 Now Midyan, 'Amalek and all the others from the east had settled in the valley as thick as locusts; their camels too were beyond counting, like the sand on the seashore.
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Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east were covering the valley like locusts; and their camels were like the sand by the seaside, without number.
13 Gid'on got there just as a man was telling a comrade about a dream he had had: "I just now dreamt that a loaf of barley bread fell into the camp of Midyan, came to the tent and struck it so hard that it overturned the tent and knocked it flat."
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When Gideon came there, a man was giving his friend an account of his dream, saying, See, I had a dream about a cake of barley bread which, falling into the tents of Midian, came on to the tent, overturning it so that it was stretched out flat on the earth.
14 His comrade answered, "This can only be the sword of Gid'on son of Yo'ash, a man of Isra'el. God has given Midyan and all its army into his hands."
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And his friend in answer said, This is certainly the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the men of Israel: into their hands God has given up all the army of Midian.
15 When Gid'on heard the dream and its interpretation, he fell on his knees in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Isra'el and said, "Get up! because ADONAI has handed Midyan's army over to you."
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Then Gideon, hearing the story of the dream and the sense in which they took it, gave worship; then he went back to the tents of Israel, and said, Up! for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hands.
16 He divided the three hundred men into three companies. He put in the hands of all of them shofars and empty pitchers with torches in them.
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Then separating the three hundred men into three bands, he gave every man a horn, and a vessel in which was a flaming branch.
17 Then he said to them, "Watch me, and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you do the same.
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And he said to them, Keep your eyes on me, and do what I do; when I come to the outer line of tents, whatever I do, you are to do the same.
18 When I and everyone with me blow the shofar, then you blow your shofars all around the whole camp, and shout, "For ADONAI and for Gid'on!"
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At the sound of my horn, and the horns of those who are with me, let your horns be sounded all round the tents, and say, For the Lord and for Gideon.
19 Gid'on and the hundred men with him arrived at the edge of the camp a little before midnight, just after they had changed the guard. They blew the shofars and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
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So Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came to the outer line of tents, at the start of the middle watch, when the watchmen had only then taken their stations; and the horns were sounded and the vessels broken.
20 All three companies blew the shofars, broke the pitchers and held the torches in their left hands, keeping their right hands free for the shofars they were blowing; and they shouted, "The sword for ADONAI and for Gid'on!"
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So the three bands all gave a loud note on their horns, and when the vessels had been broken, they took the flaming branches in their left hands, and the horns in their right hands ready for blowing, crying out, For the Lord and for Gideon.
21 Then, as every man stood still in place around the camp, the whole camp was thrown into panic, with everyone screaming and trying to escape.
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Then they made a line round the tents, every man in his place; and all the army, awaking from sleep, came running out, and with loud cries went in flight.
22 Gid'on's men blew their 300 shofars, and ADONAI caused everyone in the camp to attack his comrades; and the enemy fled beyond Beit-Sheetah near Tz'rerah, as far as the border of Avel-M'cholah, by Tabat.
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And the three hundred gave a loud note on their horns, and every man's sword was turned by the Lord against his brother all through the army; and the army went in flight as far as Beth-shittah in the direction of Zeredah, to the edge of Abel-meholah by Tabbath.
23 Then men of Isra'el were summoned from Naftali, Asher, and both regions of M'nasheh; and they pursued Midyan.
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And the men of Israel came together from Naphtali and from Asher and all Manasseh, and went after Midian.
24 Gid'on sent messengers through all the hills of Efrayim, with the message, "Come down and attack Midyan; and capture the rivers before they get there, as far as Beit-Barah, and also the Yarden." So all the men of Efrayim came together and seized the rivers as far as Beit-Barah and the Yarden.
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Then Gideon sent through all the hill-country of Ephraim saying, Come down against Midian, and keep the ways across Jordan before they come. So all the men of Ephraim, massing themselves together, kept the ways across Jordan.
25 They also captured two chiefs of Midyan, 'Orev and Ze'ev. They put 'Orev to death at the Rock of 'Orev and Ze'ev at Ze'ev's Winepress; then, as they kept pursuing Midyan, they brought the heads of Orev and Ze'ev to Gid'on, who had crossed to the far side of the Yarden.
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And they took the two chiefs of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they put Oreb to death at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they put to death at the place of the grape-crushing in Zeeb, and they went after Midian; but the heads of Oreb and Zeeb they took across Jordan to Gideon.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.