1 Deretter sto Jerubbaal, det vil si Gideon, og alle folket med ham opp tidlig og slo opp teltene sine ved kilden Harod; midianittenes leir var nord for ham, under More-åsen i dalen.

Then Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, and all the people with him, got up early and put up their tents by the side of the water-spring of Harod; the tents of Midian were on the north side of him, under the hill of Moreh in the valley.

2 Herren sa til Gideon: «Det er for mange folk med deg. Dersom jeg gir midianittene i deres hender, vil de bli hovmodige og si: 'Vi har reddet oss selv.'»

And the Lord said to Gideon, So great is the number of your people, that if I give the Midianites into their hands they will be uplifted in pride over me and will say, I myself have been my saviour.

3 Kunngjør nå for folket at alle som er redde og skjelver kan vende tilbake fra Gilboafjellet. Så vendte 22 000 av folket tilbake, men det ble igjen 10 000.

So now, let it be given out to the people that anyone who is shaking with fear is to go back from Mount Galud. So twenty-two thousand of the people went back, but there were still ten thousand.

4 Da sa Herren til Gideon: «Det er fortsatt for mange. Før dem ned til vannet, så vil jeg sile dem ut for deg der. Den som jeg sier skal gå med deg, skal gå, og den som jeg sier ikke skal gå med deg, skal ikke gå.»

Then the Lord said to Gideon, There are still more people than is necessary; take them down to the water so that I may put them to the test for you there; then whoever I say is to go with you will go, and whoever I say is not to go will not go.

5 Så førte han folket ned til vannet, og Herren sa til Gideon: «Sett til side de som drikker vannet med tungen som en hund, og de som kneler ned for å drikke.»

So he took the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, Put on one side by themselves all those drinking up the water with their tongues like a dog; and in the same way, all those who go down on their knees to the water while drinking.

6 Antallet av dem som tok vann opp med tungen var 300; alle de andre knelte ned for å drikke.

Now the number of those who took up the water with their tongues was three hundred; all the rest of the people went down on their knees to the water.

7 Herren sa til Gideon: «Ved disse 300 som drakk med tungen, vil jeg frelse dere og gi midianittene i dine hender. La alle de andre folket dra hjem.»

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.

8 Så tok de folkets forsyninger og deres horn fra hendene deres og sendte dem bort til teltene, og beholdt bare de 300; midianittenes leir var nedenfor i dalen.

So they took the vessels of the people, and their horns from their hands, and he sent them away, every man to his tent, keeping only the three hundred; and the tents of Midian were lower down in the valley.

9 Samme natt sa Herren til ham: «Reis deg, gå ned mot leiren, for jeg har gitt den i dine hender.»

The same night the Lord said to him, Up! go down now against their army, for I have given them into your hands.

10 Men hvis du er redd for å gå ned, ta med deg din tjener Pura og gå ned til leiren.

But if you have fear of going down, take your servant Purah with you and go down to the tents;

11 Når du hører hva de sier, vil du få mot til å gå ned mot leiren. Så gikk han ned med tjeneren Pura til utkanten av leiren til de væpnede mennene.

And after hearing what they are saying, you will get strength to go down against the army. So he went down with his servant Purah to the outer line of the tents of the armed men.

12 Nå dekket midianittene, amalekittene og hele folket fra øst dalen som gresshopper, og kamelene deres var som sanden ved havets bredd, uten tall.

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east were covering the valley like locusts; and their camels were like the sand by the seaside, without number.

13 Da Gideon kom, fortalte en mann sin venn om drømmen sin: «Se, jeg drømte at et byggbrød rullet inn i midianittenes leir, traff teltet og veltet det, så det lå flatt.»

When Gideon came there, a man was giving his friend an account of his dream, saying, See, I had a dream about a cake of barley bread which, falling into the tents of Midian, came on to the tent, overturning it so that it was stretched out flat on the earth.

14 Vennen svarte: «Dette må være sverdet til Gideon, Joasj' sønn, fra Israel. Gud har gitt hele midianittenes leir i deres hender.»

And his friend in answer said, This is certainly the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the men of Israel: into their hands God has given up all the army of Midian.

15 Da Gideon hørte drømmen og tolkningen av den, tilba han. Så vendte han tilbake til Israels leir og sa: «Reis dere! For Herren har gitt midianittenes leir i deres hender.»

Then Gideon, hearing the story of the dream and the sense in which they took it, gave worship; then he went back to the tents of Israel, and said, Up! for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hands.

16 Deretter delte han de 300 mennene i tre grupper og ga hver mann et horn og et fat med et flammende bål inne i.

Then separating the three hundred men into three bands, he gave every man a horn, and a vessel in which was a flaming branch.

17 Han sa til dem: «Se på meg og gjør som jeg gjør. Når jeg kommer til utkanten av leiren, skal dere gjøre det samme som jeg gjør.»

And he said to them, Keep your eyes on me, and do what I do; when I come to the outer line of tents, whatever I do, you are to do the same.

18 Når jeg og de med meg blåser i hornene, skal dere også blåse i hornene rundt hele leiren og rope: 'For Herren og for Gideon!'»

At the sound of my horn, and the horns of those who are with me, let your horns be sounded all round the tents, and say, For the Lord and for Gideon.

19 Gideon og de 300 mennene som var med ham kom til utkanten av leiren ved begynnelsen av mellomvakten, nettopp da vaktmennene hadde tatt sine poster, og da blåste de i hornene og knuste karene.

So Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came to the outer line of tents, at the start of the middle watch, when the watchmen had only then taken their stations; and the horns were sounded and the vessels broken.

20 De tre gruppene blåste i hornene og knuste karene. De holdt de brennende faklene i venstre hånd, hornene i høyre hånd klare til å blåse, og ropte: «For Herren og for Gideon!»

So the three bands all gave a loud note on their horns, and when the vessels had been broken, they took the flaming branches in their left hands, and the horns in their right hands ready for blowing, crying out, For the Lord and for Gideon.

21 De sto rundt leiren, hver mann på sin plass, og hele hæren spratt opp, ropte høyt og flyktet.

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.

22 Da de 300 blåste i hornene, vendte Herren hvert manns sverd mot hans bror i hele hæren, som flyktet til Bet-Shitta nær Zereda, til kanten av Abel-Mehola nær Tabbat.

And the three hundred gave a loud note on their horns, and every man's sword was turned by the Lord against his brother all through the army; and the army went in flight as far as Beth-shittah in the direction of Zeredah, to the edge of Abel-meholah by Tabbath.

23 Israels menn samlet seg fra Naftali, Asjer og hele Manasse og forfulgte midianittene.

And the men of Israel came together from Naphtali and from Asher and all Manasseh, and went after Midian.

24 Gideon sendte bud gjennom hele Efraims fjell-land og sa: «Kom ned mot midianittene og steng veiene over Jordan før de kommer.» Så samlet Efraims menn seg og stengte veiene over Jordan.

Then Gideon sent through all the hill-country of Ephraim saying, Come down against Midian, and keep the ways across Jordan before they come. So all the men of Ephraim, massing themselves together, kept the ways across Jordan.

25 De tok de to høvdingene av midianittene, Oreb og Zeeb; de drepte Oreb på Orebs klippe, og Zeeb i vinpressen til Zeeb, og forfulgte midianittene; men hodene til Oreb og Zeeb brakte de til Gideon over Jordan.

And they took the two chiefs of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they put Oreb to death at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they put to death at the place of the grape-crushing in Zeeb, and they went after Midian; but the heads of Oreb and Zeeb they took across Jordan to Gideon.