7 Then Jer·ub·baʹal, that is, Gidʹe·on,+ and all the people with him rose early and encamped at the Spring of Haʹrod, while the camp of Midʹi·an was north of him at the hill of Moʹreh in the valley plain. 2 Jehovah now said to Gidʹe·on: “There are too many people with you for me to give Midʹi·an into their hand.+ Otherwise, Israel might brag about itself against me and say, ‘My own hand saved me.’+ 3 Now, please, announce in the presence of the people: ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return home.’”+ So Gidʹe·on put them to the test. With that, 22,000 of the people returned home, and 10,000 remained.
4 Still Jehovah said to Gidʹe·on: “There are yet too many people. Have them go down to the water so that I may test them for you there. When I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go with you, but when I say to you, ‘This one will not go along with you,’ he will not go along.” 5 So he took the people down to the water.
Then Jehovah said to Gidʹe·on: “Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue just as a dog laps, from those who bend down on their knees to drink.” 6 The number of those lapping up the water, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men. The rest of the people bent down on their knees to drink.
7 Jehovah now said to Gidʹe·on: “I will save you with the 300 men who lapped the water, and I will give Midʹi·an into your hand.+ But let all the other people go back home.”