Judges 7:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go."

NIV: But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go."

NASB: Then 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. So 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.'

CSB: Then the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many troops. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one can go with you,’ he can go. But if I say about anyone, ‘This one cannot go with you,’ he cannot go."

NLT: But the Lord told Gideon, 'There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.'

KJV: And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

NKJV: But 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. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”

Scripture records no response from Gideon after God gives a seemingly unhelpful command (Judges 7:3). It's hard not to imagine that it made him deeply uncomfortable. Gideon's depiction thus far has not been of a man overflowing with confidence (Judges 6:15, 17, 27, 36–40). The fact that no answer is recorded might suggest that there was none: that Gideon simply obeyed, growing in his ability to trust God's plan without excessive doubt.

God seems to be saying that if the current Israelite army, outnumbered as much as fourteen-to-one (Judges 7:3; 8:10) defeats the Midianites, those men might claim credit for the victory. Rather, this victory is to be a clear sign of God's direct intervention. God doesn't need Israeli soldiers to overcome an enemy, and He is about to prove it.

The Lord tells Gideon to take his remaining fighters down to the nearby water. He will test the men there and tell Gideon which to keep with him and which to send away.

Judges 7:1–18 begins with Gideon and his large company of Israelite volunteers setting up camp in the hills just a few miles from the Midianite camp in the valley below. God gives Gideon two tests to reduce the number of his troops until only 300 are left. God tells Gideon to spy on the Midianite camp, where he overhears a conversation which bolsters his faith. Gideon returns to his camp and prepares for the attack that night. He gives his men torches concealed in clay jars, as well as trumpets.

Gideon and his 32,000–man army of volunteer Israelites camp in the hills above the Midianite invaders in the valley. The Lord tells Gideon to reduce his troops until only 300 remain. God allows Gideon to overhear the interpretation of a Midianite dream, an event that strengthens his faith. Gideon and his 300 men take positions around the Midianite camp and blow trumpets, hold up torches, and shout battle cries. Those in the camp panic and begin attacking each other. The survivors flee toward the Jordan but are eventually cut off.

Despite a miraculous calling from God, and success in his first actions, Gideon still expressed doubt (Judges 6). After seeing two custom-requested miracles, Gideon prepares to attack the Midianite invaders. He winnows his army down to only 300 men and overhears an encouraging conversation. Gideon and his men surprise the enemy after nightfall with trumpets and torches, sparking a panic. This begins a rout of the enemy. In the next chapter, Gideon succeeds further despite stubbornness from his own people (Judges 8).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).