Judges 7:7-8

7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ¹  and I will hand Midian over to you. ²  The rest of the men should go home.” ³  7:8 The men ⁴  who were chosen ⁵  took supplies ⁶  and their trumpets. Gideon ⁷  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ⁸  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ⁹  were camped down below ¹⁰  in the valley.

Judges 7:15-22

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ¹¹  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. ¹²  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ¹³  7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! ¹⁴  I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ¹⁵  at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. ¹⁶  7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. ¹⁷  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order ¹⁸  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ¹⁹  7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ²⁰  throughout ²¹  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ²²  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

[7:7]  ¹ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ² tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ³ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “look.”

[7:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[7:20]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ¹⁹ tn Or “fled.”

[7:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ²¹ tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

[7:22]  ²² tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.