Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this, that you wanted to do, so that you would not call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they rebuked him strongly, and came close to using violence.

And the men of Ephraim came and said to him, Why did you not send for us when you went to war against Midian? And they said sharp and angry words to him.

2 And he responded to them: “But what could I have done that would be so great as what you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer?

And he said to them, What have I done in comparison with you? Is not that which Ephraim took up after the grape-cutting better than all the grapes which Abiezer got in from the grape-cutting?

3 The Lord has delivered into your hands the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What could I have done that would be so great as what you have done?” And when he had said this, their spirit, which was swelling up against him, was quieted.

God has given into your hands the chiefs of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you? And when he said this, their feeling about him became kinder.

4 And when Gideon had arrived at the Jordan, he crossed over it with the three hundred men who were with him. And they were so weary that they were unable to pursue those who were fleeing.

Then Gideon came to Jordan and went over it with his three hundred, overcome with weariness and in need of food.

5 And he said to the men of Succoth, “I beg you, give bread to the people who are with me, for they are greatly weakened, so that we may be able to pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

And he said to the men of Succoth, Give bread cakes to my people, for they are overcome with weariness, and I am going on after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.

6 The leaders of Succoth answered, “Perhaps the palms of the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hand, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to your army.”

But the chiefs of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna even now in your hand that we are to give bread to your army?

7 And he said to them, “So then, when the Lord will have delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.”

Then Gideon said, Because of this, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will have you stretched on a bed of thorns of the waste land and on sharp stems, and have you crushed as grain is crushed on a grain-floor.

8 And going up from there, he arrived at Penuel. And he spoke to the men of that place similarly. And they also answered him, just as the men of Succoth had answered.

So he went up from there to Penuel and made the same request to the men of Penuel; but they gave him the same answer as the men of Succoth had given.

9 And so he said to them also, “When I will have returned as a victor in peace, I will destroy this tower.”

So he said to the men of Penuel, When I come back in peace, I will have this tower broken down.

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were resting with their entire army. For fifteen thousand men were left out of all the troops of the eastern people. And one hundred twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword had been cut down.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, those of all the army of the children of the east who were still living; for a hundred and twenty thousand of their swordsmen had been put to death.

11 And Gideon ascended by the way of those who were dwelling in tents, to the eastern part of Nobah and Jogbehah. And he struck the camp of the enemies, who were confident and were suspecting nothing adverse.

And Gideon went up by the way used by the people living in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and made an attack on the army when they had no thought of danger.

12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And Gideon pursued and overtook them, sending their entire army into confusion.

And Zebah and Zalmunna went in flight; and he went after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and put all the army to the curse.

13 And returning from the war before sunrise,

Then Gideon, the son of Joash, went back from the fight:

14 he took a boy from among the men of Succoth. And he asked him the names of the leaders and elders of Succoth. And he described seventy-seven men.

And taking prisoner a young man of the people of Succoth, he got from him, in answer to his questions, a list of the chiefs of Succoth and the responsible men, seventy-seven men.

15 And he went to Succoth, and he said to them: “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, over whom you rebuked me, saying: ‘Perhaps the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hands, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to men who are languishing and weakened.’”

So he came to the men of Succoth and said, Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, on account of whom you made sport of me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna even now in your hand, that we are to give bread to your army who are overcome with weariness?

16 Therefore, he took the elders of the city, and, using the thorns and briers of the desert, he threshed them with these, and he cut the men of Succoth to pieces.

Then he took the responsible men of the town and had them crushed on a bed of thorns and sharp stems.

17 He also overturned the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.

And he had the tower of Penuel broken down and the men of the town put to death.

18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were those whom you killed at Tabor?” They responded, “They were like you, and one of them was like the son of a king.”

Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, Where are the men whom you put to death at Tabor? And they gave answer, As you are, so were they; every one of them was like a king's son.

19 He answered them: “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had preserved them, I would not kill you.”

And he said, They were my brothers, my mother's sons: by the life of the Lord, if you had kept them safe, I would not put you to death.

20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn son, “Rise up, and put them to death.” But he did not draw his sword. For he was afraid, being still a boy.

Then he said to Jether, his oldest son, Up! Put them to death. But the boy did not take out his sword, fearing because he was still a boy.

21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said: “You should rise up and rush against us. For the strength of a man is in accord with his age.” Gideon rose up, and he killed Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took the ornaments and studs, with which the necks of the royal camels are usually adorned.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Up! Put an end to us yourself: for you have a man's strength. Then Gideon got up and put Zebah and Zalmunna to death and took the ornaments which were on their camels' necks.

22 And all the men of Israel said to Gideon: “You should rule over us, and your son, and your son’s son. For you freed us from the hand of Midian.”

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Be our ruler, you and your son and your son's son after him; for you have been our saviour from the hands of Midian.

23 And he said to them: “I will not rule over you. Neither shall my son rule over you. Instead, the Lord shall rule over you.”

But Gideon said to them, I will not be a ruler over you, and my son will not be a ruler over you: it is the Lord who will be ruler over you.

24 And he said to them: “I petition one request from you. Give me the earrings from your spoils.” For the Ishmaelites were accustomed to wear gold earrings.

Then Gideon said to them, I have a request to make to you; let every man give me the ear-rings he has taken. (For they had gold ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25 They responded, “We are very willing to give them.” And spreading a cloak on the ground, they cast upon it the earrings from the spoils.

And they gave answer, We will gladly give them. So they put down a robe, every man dropping into it the ear-rings he had taken.

26 And the weight of the earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, aside from the ornaments, and necklaces, and purple garments, which the kings of Midian were accustomed to use, and aside from the gold chains on the camels.

The weight of the gold ear-rings which he got from them was one thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold; in addition to the moon-ornaments and jewels and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and the chains on their camels' necks.

27 And Gideon made an ephod from these, and he kept it in his city, Ophrah. And all of Israel committed fornication with it, and it became a ruin to Gideon and to all his house.

And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.

28 But Midian was humbled before the sons of Israel. Neither were they able any longer to lift up their necks. But the land rested for forty years, while Gideon presided.

So Midian was broken before the children of Israel and the Midianites never got back their strength. And the land had peace for forty years, in the days of Gideon.

29 And so Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house.

And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went back to his house and was living there.

30 And he had seventy sons, who went forth from his own thigh. For he had many wives.

Gideon had seventy sons, the offspring of his body; for he had a number of wives.

31 But his concubine, whom he had in Shechem, bore him a son named Abimelech.

And the servant-wife he had in Shechem had a son by him, to whom he gave the name Abimelech.

32 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, and he was buried in the sepulcher of his father, at Ophrah, of the family of Ezri.

And Gideon, the son of Joash, came to his end when he was very old, and his body was put in the resting-place of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 But after Gideon died, the sons of Israel turned away, and they committed fornication with the Baals. And they struck a covenant with Baal, so that he would be their god.

And after the death of Gideon, the children of Israel again went after the gods of Canaan and were false to the Lord, and made Baal-berith their god.

34 And they did not remember the Lord their God, who rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on all sides.

And the children of Israel did not keep in their minds the Lord their God, who had been their saviour from all their haters on every side;

35 Neither did they show mercy to the house of Jerubbaal Gideon, in accord with all the good that he had done for Israel.

And they were not kind to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, in reward for all the good he had done to Israel.