Judges 7:7

Easy-to-Read Version

The Lord said to Gideon, "I will use the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the three hundred men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home.”

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD said to Gid`on, By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midyanim into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.

King James Version
And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the three hundred men lapping up the water; I will give Midian into your hand, so let the other troops go, each to his own place.

English Standard Version
And the Lord said to Gideon, "With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home."

New Century Version
Then the Lord said to Gideon, "Using the three hundred men who lapped the water, I will save you and hand Midian over to you. Let all the others go home."

New English Translation
The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home."

Amplified Bible
And the LORD told Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped I will rescue you, and will hand over the Midianites to you. Let all the other people go, each man to his home."

New American Standard Bible
And the LORD said to Gideon, "I will save you with the three hundred men who lapped, and will hand the Midianites over to you; so have all the other people go, each man to his home."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the Lorde sayde vnto Gideon, By these three hundreth men that lapped, will I saue you, and deliuer the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go euery man vnto his place.

Legacy Standard Bible
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having indulged in the same way as these in gross sexual immorality and having gone after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord said, "Gideon, your army will be made up of everyone who lapped the water from their hands. Send the others home. I'm going to rescue Israel by helping you and your army of three hundred defeat the Midianites."

Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai said to Gid‘on, "I will use the three hundred men who lapped the water to save you; I will hand Midyan over to you. Let all these others go back home."

Darby Translation
And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.

George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hands; and let all the other people go, every man to his place.

Good News Translation
The Lord said to Gideon, "I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites with the three hundred men who lapped the water. Tell everyone else to go home."

Literal Translation
And Jehovah said to Gideon, I will deliver you by the three hundred men who lapped, and shall give Midian into your hand. And all the people shall go, each to his place.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the LORDE sayde vnto Gedeon: Thorow the thre hudreth which haue licked, wyl I delyuer you, and geue ouer the Madianites in to thy hade: As for the other people, let them go euery one vnto his place.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the people go every man unto his place.

Bible in Basic English
And the Lord said to Gideon, By those three hundred who were drinking with their tongues I will give you salvation and give the Midianites into your hands; let the rest of the people go away, every man to his place.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lorde sayd vnto Gedeon: By these three hundred men that lapped will I saue you, and deliuer the Madianites into thyne hande: And let all the other people go euery man vnto his place.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD said unto Gideon: 'By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the people go every man unto his place.'

King James Version (1611)
And the Lord said vnto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped, will I saue you, and deliuer the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people goe euery man vnto his place.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord said to Gedeon, I will save you by the three hundred men that lapped, and I will give Madiam into thy hand; and all the rest of the people shall go every one to his place.

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the people go every man unto his place.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hands. But all the others are to go home."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord seide to Gedeon, In thre hundrid men, that lapiden watris, Y schal delyuere you, and Y schal bitake Madian in thin hond; but al the tothir multitude turne ayen in to her place.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `By the three hundred men who are lapping I save you, and have given Midian into thy hand, and all the people go, each to his place.'

Update Bible Version
And Yahweh said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand: and let all the [other] people go every man to his place.

World English Bible
Yahweh said to Gideon, By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.

New King James Version
Then the LORD said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place."

New Living Translation
The Lord told Gideon, "With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home."

New Life Bible
The Lord said to Gideon, "I will save you with the 300 men who drank from their hands. I will give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others return, every man to his home."

New Revised Standard
Then the Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Yahweh unto Gideon - By the three hundred men that lapped, will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let, all the rest of the people, go every man to his own place.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place.

Revised Standard Version
And the LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Mid'ianites into your hand; and let all the others go every man to his home."

THE MESSAGE
God said to Gideon: "I'll use the three hundred men who lapped at the stream to save you and give Midian into your hands. All the rest may go home."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home."

Contextual Overview

¹ Early in the morning Jerub-Baal (Gideon) and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh, north of Gideon and his men. ² Then the Lord said to Gideon, "I am going to help your men defeat the Midianites, but you have too many men. I don't want the Israelites to forget me and brag that they saved themselves. ³ So make an announcement to your men. Tell them, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead and go back home.'" At that time 22,000 men left Gideon and went back home, but 10,000 still remained. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take the men down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, ‘This man will go with you,' he will go. But if I say, ‘That one will not go with you,' then he will not go." ⁵ So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, "Separate the men like this: Those who drink the water by using their tongue to lap it up like a dog will be in one group. And those who bend down to drink will be in the other group." ⁶ There were 300 men who used their hands to bring water to their mouth and lapped it like a dog does. All the other people bent down and drank the water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, "I will use the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home." ⁸ So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home. He kept the 300 men with him. Those 300 men kept the supplies and the trumpets of the other men who went home. The Midianites were camped in the valley below Gideon's camp.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Judges 7:18-22, 1 Samuel 14:6, Isaiah 41:14-16

Reciprocal: Joshua 6:4 - trumpets of rams' 1 Samuel 23:4 - for I will 1 Kings 20:15 - two hundred 1 Kings 22:36 - Every man 2 Chronicles 14:11 - nothing 2 Chronicles 25:8 - God hath power

Cross-References

Genesis 6:18
I will make a special agreement with you. You, your wife, your sons, and their wives will all go into the boat.

Genesis 7:1
Then the Lord said to Noah, "I have seen that you are a good man, even among the evil people of this time. So gather your family, and all of you go into the boat.

Genesis 7:15
All these animals went into the boat with Noah. They came in groups of two from every kind of animal that had the breath of life.

Proverbs 22:3
Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to it and suffer for it.

Matthew 24:38
In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat.

Luke 17:27
People were eating, drinking, and getting married even on the day when Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and killed them all.

Hebrews 6:18
These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he says something, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. So these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety. They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours.

Hebrews 11:7
Noah was warned by God about things that he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.

1 Peter 3:20
Those were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for people while Noah was building the big boat. And only a few—eight in all—were saved in the boat through the floodwater.

2 Peter 2:5
And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against God. But he saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who told people about living right.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said unto Gideon, by the three hundred men that lapped I will save and deliver the Midianites into thine hand,.... It is hard to say what character this action of the three hundred is expressive of, whether of weakness or of courage. Some think that those who drank upon their knees were faint and weary, and men of intemperance, and indulged themselves, and were unfit for war, while those that only lapped a little water to refresh themselves appeared to be eager, and in haste and readiness to engage in it; and so Ben Gersom takes those that bowed to be slothful persons, and those that lapped courageous and mighty men, and so were ordered to be taken and go along with Gideon; and this agrees with the method before taken, to dismiss the fearful, and only take those that were men of courage; but Josephus f is of opinion that they that drank upon their knees were the men of spirit and courage, and those that lapped, such who drank hastily, with trembling, and through fear of the enemy, and these were ordered to go with Gideon, and not the other: and indeed this most displays the glory of God to save Israel, and deliver them from the Midianites by a handful of such poor dispirited creatures. Though it seems that all the 10,000 men were men of courage; and this method was taken not to distinguish those that were the most courageous from those that were the least so, but only to reduce the number that should be engaged in this battle; for it being the summer season, it may reasonably be supposed that the greater part of the army was very thirsty, and would kneel down to take a large draught of water, when those that were not so thirsty would be the fewer number, and so taken:

and let all the other people go every man to his place; all the rest, who bowed on their knees to drink, which were 9,700, these were ordered to march homewards; though perhaps before they got home, hearing of the victory, they returned and joined in the pursuit, Judges 7:23.

f Antiqu. l. 5. c. 6. sect. 3.