Judges 8

1 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.

And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.

2 “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!

And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?

3 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.

Into your hands hath God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word.

4 Then Gideon crossed the Jordan with his three hundred men. Even though they were exhausted they continued the chase.

And Gideon came to the Jordan, [and] passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.

5 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.”

And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

6 But the Succoth town leaders replied, “Why should we give your army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?”

And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army?

7 “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.

And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars.

8 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.

And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

9 So he told them, “When I return victorious, I'll demolish this tower!”

And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

10 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.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

11 Gideon took the caravan route to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, catching them offguard.

And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease.

12 Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but he chased after the two Midianite kings and captured them, defeating the whole of their terrified army.

And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the camp.

13 Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass.

And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres.

14 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.

And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.

15 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?’”

And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?

16 So he took the town elders of Succoth and taught them a lesson using thorns and briers from the desert.

And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

17 He also demolished the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

18 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.”

Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.

19 “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!”

And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. [As] Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

20 He told Jether, his oldest son, “Go on, kill them!” But the boy refused to draw his sword, because he was young and afraid.

And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

21 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.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels' necks.

22 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.”

And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.

23 “I won't be your ruler, and my son won't either,” Gideon replied. “The Lord will be your ruler.”

And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you.

24 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.)

And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

25 “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.

And they said, We will willingly give [them]. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty.

26 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.

And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred [shekels] of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.

27 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.

And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

28 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.

And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

29 Jerub-baal, son of Joash, went home, living his own house.

And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.

30 Gideon had seventy sons, all his own, because he had many wives.

Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives.

31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also had a son. He named him Abimelech.

And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech.

32 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.

And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

33 But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites went back to prostituting themselves, worshiping before the Baals. They made Baal-berith their god.

And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their god.

34 They forgot about the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies that surrounded them.

And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side.

35 They did not show any respect to the family of Jerub-baal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.

And they shewed no kindness to the house of Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.