⁷ When the Israelites cried out^(A) to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸ he sent them a prophet,^(B) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,^(C) out of the land of slavery.^{(D) 9} I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;^(E) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.^{(F) 10} I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship^(G) the gods of the Amorites,^(H) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(I) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(J) that belonged to Joash^(K) the Abiezrite,^(L) where his son Gideon^(M) was threshing^(N) wheat in a winepress^(O) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(P) mighty warrior.^(Q)”

¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders^(R) that our ancestors told^(S) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(T) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have^(U) and save^(V) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan^(W) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.^(X)”

¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you^(Y), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

²⁵ That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.^[a] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole^[b](A) beside it. ²⁶ Then build a proper kind of^[c] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second^[d] bull as a burnt offering.^(B)”

²⁷ So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

7 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal^(A) (that is, Gideon^(B)) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod.^(C) The camp of Midian^(D) was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.^{(E) 2} The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength^(F) has saved me.’ ³ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.^(G)’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

⁴ But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many^(H) men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred of them^(I) drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.^(J) Let all the others go home.”^{(K) 8} So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

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,^(A) the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped.^(B) He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”^{(C) 16} Dividing the three hundred men^(D) into three companies,^(E) he placed trumpets^(F) and empty jars^(G) in the hands of all of them, with torches^(H) inside.

²² When the three hundred trumpets sounded,^(A) the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other^(B) with their swords.^(C) The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah^(D) near Tabbath.