Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.
Parallel translations
- WEB He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
- KJV And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
- BSB And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
- NASB And he divided the three hundred men into three units, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.
- NLT He divided the 300 men into three groups and gave each man a ram’s horn and a clay jar with a torch in it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gideon divides his three hundred into three companies, each armed with a trumpet and a torch hidden in a jar.
Overview
Gideon arranges his small force with trumpets, empty pitchers, and concealed torches rather than conventional weapons. The unusual equipment ensures that the victory will come through God's power, not military might. The strategy of light and sound, not swords, displays God's wisdom in saving by means that defy human expectation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
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Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 7:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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