Judges 8
1 And the men of Ephraim said to Gedeon, What [is] this [that] you have done to us, in that you did not call us when you went to fight with Madiam? and they chode with him sharply.
Then the men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to attack the Midianite?” They argued furiously with him.
2 And he said to them, What have I now done in comparison of you? [is] not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
“Now what have I achieved in comparison to you?” Gideon replied. “Even Ephraim's left-over grapes are better than Abiezer's whole grape harvest!
3 The Lord has delivered into your hand the princes of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb; and what could I do in comparison of you? Then was their spirit calmed towards him, when he spoke this word.
God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders. What have I managed to achieve in comparison to you?” When he told them this their animosity towards him died down.
4 And Gedeon came to Jordan, and went over, himself and the three hundred with him, hungry, yet pursuing.
Then Gideon crossed the Jordan with his three hundred men. Even though they were exhausted they continued the chase.
5 And he said to the men of Socchoth, Give, I pray you, bread to feed this people that follow me; because they are faint, and behold, I am following after Zebee and Salmana, kings of Madiam.
When they got to Succoth, Gideon asked the people there, “Please provide some bread to the men with me because they're worn out—I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings.”
6 And the princes of Socchoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebee and Salmana now in your hand, that we should give bread to your host?
But the Succoth town leaders replied, “Why should we give your army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?”
7 And Gedeon said, Therefore when the Lord gives Zebee and Salmana into my hand, then will I tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and the Barkenim.
“In that case, once the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I'll return and thrash you with thorns and briers from the desert!” Gideon replied.
8 And he went up thence to Phanuel, and spoke to them likewise: and the men of Phanuel answered him as the men of Socchoth [had] answered him.
He left and went to Penuel and asked them the same thing, but the people of Penuel answered the same way as the people of Succoth.
9 And Gedeon said to the men of Phanuel, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower.
So he told them, “When I return victorious, I'll demolish this tower!”
10 And Zebee and Salmana [were] in Carcar, and their host [was] with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of all the host of the aliens; and they that fell [were] a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew the sword.
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies of around fifteen thousand men. These were all who remained of the armies of the people of the East—one hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already been killed.
11 And Gedeon went up by the way of them that lived in tents, eastward of Nabai and Jegebal; and he struck the host, and the host was secure.
Gideon took the caravan route to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, catching them offguard.
12 And Zebee and Salmana fled; and he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Salmana, and discomfited all the army.
Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but he chased after the two Midianite kings and captured them, defeating the whole of their terrified army.
13 And Gedeon the son of Joas returned from the battle, down from the battle of Ares.
Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass.
14 And he took prisoner a young lad of the men of Socchoth, and questioned him; and he wrote to him the names of the princes of Socchoth and of their elders, seventy-seven men.
There he captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him. The man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
15 And Gedeon came to the princes of Socchoth, and said, Behold Zebee and Salmana, about whom you reproached me, saying, [Are] the hands of Zebee and Salmana now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men that are faint?
Gideon went and said to the Sukkoth town leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, the ones you taunted me about when you said, ‘Why should we give your exhausted army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?’”
16 And he took the elders of the city with the thorns of the wilderness and the Barkenim, and with them he tore the men of the city.
So he took the town elders of Succoth and taught them a lesson using thorns and briers from the desert.
17 And he overthrew the tower of Phanuel, and killed the men of the city.
He also demolished the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
18 And he said to Zebee and Salmana, Where [are] the men whom you killed in Thabor? and they said, As you, so [were] they, according to the likeness of the son of a king.
Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What were they like, the men you killed at Tabor?” “They looked like you,” they answered. “Each of them had the stature of a prince.”
19 And Gedeon said, They were my brethren and the sons of my mother: [as] the Lord lives, if you had preserved them alive, I would not have slain you.
“Those were my brothers, my mother's sons,” Gideon burst out. “As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I wouldn't kill you!”
20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise and kill them; but the lad drew not his sword, for he was afraid, for he was yet very young.
He told Jether, his oldest son, “Go on, kill them!” But the boy refused to draw his sword, because he was young and afraid.
21 And Zebee and Salmana said, Rise you and fall upon us, for your power [is] as that of a man; and Gedeon arose, and killed Zebee and Salmana: and he took the round ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, you do it! Show yourself a man and kill us!” So Gideon went over and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments from the necks of their camels.
22 And the men of Israel said to Gedeon, Rule, [my] lord, over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son; for you have saved us out of the hand of Madiam.
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “You must become our ruler, you, your son, and your grandson; because you've saved us from the Midianites.”
23 And Gedeon said to them, I will not rule, and my son shall not rule amongst you; the Lord shall rule over you.
“I won't be your ruler, and my son won't either,” Gideon replied. “The Lord will be your ruler.”
24 And Gedeon said to them, I will make a request of you, and do you give me every man an earring out of his spoils: for they had golden earrings, for they were Ismaelites.
Then Gideon said, “I have a request to ask of you: that each of you give me an earring from your plunder.” (Their enemies were Ishmaelites and wore gold earrings.)
25 And they said, We will certainly give them: and he opened his garment, and each man cast therein an earring of his spoils.
“We'll happily give them to you,” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each of them threw on it earrings from their plunder.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked, was a thousand and seven hundred pieces of gold, besides the crescents, and the chains, and the garments, and the purple cloths that were on the kings of Madiam, and besides the chains that were on the necks of their camels.
The weight of the earrings he'd asked for was 1,700 shekels, not including the ornaments, the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the Midianite kings or the chains that were round their camels' necks.
27 And Gedeon made an ephod of it, an set it in his city in Ephratha; and all Israel went there a whoring after it, and it became a stumbling block to Gedeon and his house.
From the gold Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in his hometown of Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there by worshiping it as an idol, and it became a trap to Gideon and his family.
28 And Madiam, was straitened before the children of Israel, and they did not lift up their head any more; and the land had rest forty years in the days of Gedeon.
This is how the Midianites was subjugated before the Israelites and did not gain power again. So the land was at peace for forty years during the lifetime of Gideon.
29 And Jerobaal the son of Joas went and sat in his house.
Jerub-baal, son of Joash, went home, living his own house.
30 And Gedeon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives.
Gideon had seventy sons, all his own, because he had many wives.
31 And his concubine was in Sychem, and she also bore him a son, and gave him the name Abimelech.
His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also had a son. He named him Abimelech.
32 And Gedeon son of Joas died in his city, and he was buried in the sepulchre of Joas his father in Ephratha of Abi-Esdri.
Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass when Gedeon was dead, that the children of Israel turned, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made for themselves a covenant with Baal that he should be their god.
But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites went back to prostituting themselves, worshiping before the Baals. They made Baal-berith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hand of all that afflicted them round about.
They forgot about the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
35 And they did not deal mercifully with the house of Jerobaal, (the same is Gedeon) according to all the good which he did to Israel.
They did not show any respect to the family of Jerub-baal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
