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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Judges 7 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/7.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/judges/7-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Judges 7</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/6.htm" title="Judges 6">◄</a> Judges 7 <a href="../judges/8.htm" title="Judges 8">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/judges/7.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Gideon Defeats the Midianites</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>The <span class="name">Lord</span> said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>But the <span class="name">Lord</span> said to Gideon, “There are still too many 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.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the <span class="name">Lord</span> told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>The <span class="name">Lord</span> said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.</p><p class="reg">Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>During that night the <span class="name">Lord</span> said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>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.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The <span class="name">Lord</span> has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the <span class="name">Lord</span> and for Gideon.’ ”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the <span class="name">Lord</span> and for Gideon!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the <span class="name">Lord</span> caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”</p><p class="reg">So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/7-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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