Judges 8

1 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.

And the men of Ephraim said to him: What is this that thou meanest to do, that thou wouldst not call us when thou wentest to fight against Madian? and they chid him sharply and almost offered violence.

2 But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

And he answered them: What could I have done like to that which you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer?

3 God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided.

The Lord hath delivered into your bands the princes of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: what could I have done like to what you have done? And when he had said this, their spirit was appeased, with which they swelled against him.

4 Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.

And when Gedeon was come to the Jordan, he passed over it with the three hundred men, that were with him: who were so weary that they could not pursue after them that fled.

5 So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

And he said to the men of Soccoth: Give, I beseech you, bread to the people that is with me, for they are faint: that we may pursue Zebee, and Salmana the kings of Madian.

6 But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”

The princes of Soccoth answered: Peradventure the palms of the hands of Zebee and Salmana are in thy hand, and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to thy army.

7 “Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”

And he said to them: When the Lord therefore shall have delivered Zebee and Salmana into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.

8 From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.

And going up from thence, he came to Phanuel: and he spoke the like things to the men of that place. And they also answered him, as the men of Soccoth had answered.

9 So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”

He said therefore to them also: When I shall return a conqueror in peace, I will destroy this tower.

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

But Zebee and Salmana were resting with all their army. For fifteen thousand men were left of all the troops of the eastern people, and one hundred and twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword, were slain.

11 And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.

And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents, on the east of Nobe and Jegbaa, and smote the camp of the enemies, who were secure, and suspected no hurt.

12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.

And Zebee and Salmana fled, and Gedeon pursued and took them, all their host being put in confusion.

13 After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.

And returning from the battle before the sun rising,

14 There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

He took a boy of the men of Soccoth: and he asked him the names of the princes and ancients of Soccoth, and he described unto him seventy-seven men.

15 And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”

And he came to Soccoth and said to them: Behold Zebee and Salmana, concerning whom you upbraided me, saying: Peradventure the hands of Zebee and Salmana, are in thy hands, and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to the men that are weary and faint.

16 Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.

So he took the ancients of the city and thorns and briers of the desert, and tore them with the same, and cut in pieces the men of Soccoth.

17 He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

And he demolished the tower of Phanuel, and slew the men of the city.

18 Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

And he said to Zebee and Salmana: What manner of men were they whom you slew in Thabor? They answered: They were like thee, and one of them as the son of a king.

19 “They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

He answered them: They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As the Lord liveth, if you had saved them, I would not kill you.

20 So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.

And he said to Jether his eldest son: Arise, and slay them. But he drew not his sword: for he was afraid, being but yet a boy.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.

And Zebee and Salmana said: Do thou rise, and run upon us: because the strength of a man is according to his age: Gedeon rose up and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the ornaments and bosses, with which the necks of the camels of kings are wont to be adorned.

22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

And all the men of Israel said to Gedeon: Rule thou over us and thy son, and thy son’s son: because thou hast delivered us from the hand of Madian.

23 But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”

And he said to them: I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, but the Lord shall rule over you.

24 Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

And he said to them: I desire one request of you: Give me the earlets of your spoils. For the Ismaelites were accustomed to wear golden earlets.

25 “We will give them gladly,” they replied. So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.

They answered: We will give them most willingly. And spreading a mantle on the ground, they cast upon it the earlets of the spoils.

26 The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.

And the weight of the earlets that he requested, was a thousand seven hundred sicles of gold, besides the ornaments, and jewels, and purple raiment which the kings of Madian were went to use, and besides the golden chains that were about the camels’ necks.

27 From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

And Gedeon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city Ephra. And all Israel committed fornication with it, and it became a ruin to Gedeon and to all his house.

28 In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,

But Madian was humbled before the children of Israel, neither could they any more lift up their beads: but the land rested for forty years, while Gedeon presided.

29 and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.

So Jerobaal the son of Joas went, and dwelt in his own house.

30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.

And he had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh, for he had many wives.

31 His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

And his concubine, that he had in Sichem, bore him a son, whose name was Abimelech.

32 Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

And Gedeon the son of Joas died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father in Ephra of the family of Ezri.

33 And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.

But after Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and committed fornication with Baalim. And they made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god:

34 The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

And they remembered not the Lord their God, who delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies round about:

35 They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel.

Neither did they shew mercy to the house of Jerobaal Gedeon, according to all the good things he had done to Israel.