16And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with ntorches inside the jars. 17And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, o‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
Gideon Defeats Midian
19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. oAnd they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21Every man stood in his place around the camp, pand all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22qWhen they blew the 300 trumpets, rthe Lord set severy man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,1 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24tGideon sent messengers throughout uall the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as vBeth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25And they captured wthe two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb xat the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon yacross the Jordan.
Footnotes
- 1 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah
The Partial Kingdom: God’s King
Judges 1:1 – 2 Chronicles 36:23 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 44:21 • ID: 2389Gideon: An Unlikely Choice, but God’s Choice
Judges 7:1–25 Sermon • 42:56 • ID: 1912Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.