Judges 7:1–8

Gideon’s 300 Chosen Men

¹Then ^aJerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside ¹the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of ²them by the hill of ^bMoreh in the valley.

²The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, ^afor Israel ¹would become boastful, saying, ‘My own ²power has delivered me.’

³“Now therefore ¹come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘^aWhoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.

^4aThen the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.”

⁶Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water.

⁷The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you ^awith the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his ¹home.”

⁸So ¹the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And ²Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.