Judges 7:2

Translations

Modern

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Traditional

And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

Literal

And YHWH said to Gideon, “The people are too many who are with you for My giving the Midianite into their hands, lest Israel glorify itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Latin

Dixitque Dominus ad Gedeon: Multus tecum est populus, nec tradetur Madian in manus ejus: ne glorietur contra me Israël, et dicat: Meis viribus liberatus sum.

Original

Hebrew

English

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Notes

Judges 7:2

The Lord does not need a large army to save his people (compare 1 Samuel 14:6). A large army might have hindered success because surprise was crucial to the Lord’s plan. Gideon reduced the army to keep humility, not for military strategy.

Judges 6:1–8:35

Gideon's time as a judge ends the first era of judges.

Theme notes and profiles

Gideon

Events

Deliverance by Gideonc. 1251 BC

Related verses

Deuteronomy 8:17
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
1 Corinthians 1:27–29
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
2 Corinthians 4:7
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
Romans 11:18
…do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
Zechariah 12:7
The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.
1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
Ezekiel 28:17
Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.
Deuteronomy 32:27
…if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”
1 Samuel 14:6
Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Habakkuk 1:16
Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.
2 Chronicles 14:11
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

People

Gideon: Judge of Israel; defeated Midianites; tested and reassured by God Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Places

Midian: A nation descended from Abraham; oppressed Israel in the time of the judges

Glossary

Armageddon Gideon Gilead (Place) Inheritance Judges, Book of Midian, Midianite Zebah and Zalmunna

Judges 7:2

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