1 Early in the morning Jerub-Baal and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. (Jerub-Baal is also called Gideon.) The Midianites were camped north of them. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh.
2 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don’t want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves.
3 So now, announce to the people, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead. He may go back home.’” And 22,000 men went back home. But 10,000 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,’ he will not go.”
5 So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, “Separate them. Those who drink water by lapping it up like a dog will be in one group. 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 mouths. They lapped it as a dog does. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.