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Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Judges 7:21

The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon's troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Courage;   Miracles;   Strategy;   Trumpet;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Israel;   Israel-The Jews;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Victories;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amalekites, the;   Fear, Unholy;   Jews, the;   Midianites;   Miracles Wrought through Servants of God;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Miracle;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gideon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Esdraelon;   Oreb;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Levi;   Midian, Mtdianites;   Ophrah;   War;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Jerubbaal;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armageddon;   Gideon;   Harod;   Midian;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cry, Crying;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army began to run, and they cried out as they fled.
Hebrew Names Version
They stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put [them] to flight.
King James Version
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
Lexham English Bible
And each stood in his place all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they cried out as they fled.
English Standard Version
Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled.
New Century Version
Each of Gideon's men stayed in his place around the camp, but the Midianites began shouting and running to escape.
New English Translation
They stood in order all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away.
Amplified Bible
Then each stood in his place around the camp; and the entire [Midianite] army ran, crying out as they fled.
New American Standard Bible
And each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they stoode, euery man in his place round about the hoste: and all the hoste ranne, and cryed, and fled.
Legacy Standard Bible
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then, as every man stood still in place around the camp, the whole camp was thrown into panic, with everyone screaming and trying to escape.
Darby Translation
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled.
Easy-to-Read Version
Gideon's men stayed where they were. But inside the camp, the men of Midian began shouting and running away.
George Lamsa Translation
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and they blew a trumpet, and fled.
Good News Translation
Every man stood in his place around the camp, and the whole enemy army ran away yelling.
Literal Translation
And they each one stood in his place, all around the army. And all the army ran, and they shouted, and they fled.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And euery one stode in his place aboute the hoost. Then ranne all the hoost, and cried and fled.
American Standard Version
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
Bible in Basic English
Then they made a line round the tents, every man in his place; and all the army, awaking from sleep, came running out, and with loud cries went in flight.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they stoode styll, euery man in his place rounde about the hoast: And all the hoast ranne, and cryed, and fled.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and fled.
King James Version (1611)
And they stood euery man in his place, round about the campe: and all the host ranne, and cried, and fled.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And every man stood in his place round about the host; and all the host ran, and sounded an alarm, and fled.
English Revised Version
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
Berean Standard Bible
Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`bi the cumpas of the tentis of enemyes. And so alle `the tentis weren troblid; and thei crieden, and yelliden, and fledden;
Young's Literal Translation
And they stand each in his place, round about the camp, and all the camp runneth, and they shout, and flee;
Update Bible Version
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put [them] to flight.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they stood every man in his place around the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
World English Bible
They stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put [them] to flight.
New King James Version
And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.
New Living Translation
Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape.
New Life Bible
Each man stood in his place around the tents. And all the Midianite army ran. They cried out and ran away.
New Revised Standard
Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they stood still, every man in his place, round about the camp, - and all the host ran and shouted, and fled.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Standing every man in his place round about the enemies’ camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and howling, they fled away:
Revised Standard Version
They stood every man in his place round about the camp, and all the army ran; they cried out and fled.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled.

Contextual Overview

16 Gideon divided his little army into three groups of one hundred men, and he gave each soldier a trumpet and a large clay jar with a burning torch inside. 17Gideon said, "When we get to the enemy camp, spread out and surround it. Then wait for me to blow a signal on my trumpet. As soon as you hear it, blow your trumpets and shout, ‘Fight for the Lord ! Fight for Gideon!'" 19 Gideon and his group reached the edge of the enemy camp a few hours after dark, just after the new guards had come on duty. Gideon and his soldiers blew their trumpets and smashed the clay jars that were hiding the torches. 20 The rest of Gideon's soldiers blew the trumpets they were holding in their right hands. Then they smashed the jars and held the burning torches in their left hands. Everyone shouted, "Fight with your swords for the Lord and for Gideon!" 21 The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon's troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp 22 and blew their trumpets again. As they did, the Lord made the enemy soldiers pull out their swords and start fighting each other. The enemy army tried to escape from the camp. They ran to Acacia Tree Town, toward Zeredah, and as far as the edge of the land that belonged to the town of Abel-Meholah near Tabbath.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

stood: Exodus 14:13, Exodus 14:14, 2 Chronicles 20:17, Isaiah 30:7, Isaiah 30:15

all the host: Exodus 14:25, 2 Kings 7:6, 2 Kings 7:7, Job 15:21, Job 15:22, Proverbs 28:1

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 14:15 - there was trembling

Cross-References

Genesis 6:13
So he told Noah: Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people.
Genesis 6:17
I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive.
Genesis 7:3
Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird with you. Do this so there will always be animals and birds on the earth.
Genesis 7:4
Seven days from now I will send rain that will last for forty days and nights, and I will destroy all other living creatures I have made.
Genesis 7:15
Noah took a male and a female of every living creature with him,
Genesis 7:17
For forty days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground.
Genesis 7:22
The Lord destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat.
Isaiah 24:6
The earth is under a curse; its people are dying out because of their sins.
Isaiah 24:19
the earth is shattered, ripped to pieces.
Hosea 4:3
And so your land is a desert. Every living creature is dying— people and wild animals, birds and fish.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they stood every man in his place around the camp,.... To see the salvation of God, and that it might most clearly appear to be his own doing; and indeed, had they gone into it, they could have done nothing; they had no weapons in their hands, a trumpet in one hand, and a lamp in the other; though this their position served to increase the terror of the enemy, who might suppose that they stood either to light and introduce a large army at the back of them; or to light the forces already in the midst of them, while they destroyed them; which latter seems rather to be the thing their imaginations were possessed with, since they fell to slaying their fellows, supposing them to be enemies, as in the following verse:

and all the host ran, and cried, and fled; or "were broken" l; as some render the first word, their lines were broken; they could not put themselves in rank and file, but were thrown into the utmost confusion; and cried as being in the utmost danger of their lives, and fled for their safety as fast, as they could; see Isaiah 27:13.

l רוץ "confracta", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The effect to the Midianites would be, that they were surrounded by a mighty host. Their own camp being in darkness, as soon as the confusion of flight began they would mistake friends for foes, and fleers for pursuers. When once fighting had begun by the first casual mistake, the clashing of swords and the shouts of the combatants in the camp, accompanied by the continuous blowing of Gideon’s trumpets outside, would make it appear that the whole of the enemy was in the camp. Suspicion of treachery on the part of their allies would also be likely to arise in the minds of Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabs. Compare a similar scene in marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 7:21. They stood every man in his place — Each of the three companies kept its station, and continued to sound their trumpets. The Midianites seeing this, and believing that they were the trumpets of a numerous army which had then penetrated their camp, were thrown instantly into confusion; and supposing that their enemies were in the midst of them, they turned their swords against every man they met, while at the same time they endeavoured to escape for their lives. No stratagem was ever better imagined, better executed, or more completely successful.


 
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