Judges 8

1 Then the men of Ephraim sayde vnto him, Why hast thou serued vs thus that thou calledst vs not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? and they chode with him sharply.

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 To whom he said, What haue I now done in comparison of you? is not the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim better, then the vintage 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 God hath deliuered into your handes the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? and when he had thus spoken, then their spirits abated toward him.

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 Gideon came to Iorden to passe ouer, hee, and the three hundreth men that were with him, weary, yet pursuing them.

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 vnto the men of Succoth, Giue, I pray you, morsels of bread vnto the people that follow me (for they be wearie) that I may follow after Zebah, and Zalmunna 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 And the princes of Succoth sayde, Are the handes of Zebah and Zalmunna nowe in thine hads, that we should giue bread vnto thine 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 Gideon then sayde, Therefore when the Lord hath deliuered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, I will teare your flesh with thornes of the wildernes and with breers.

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 he went vp thence to Penuel, and spake vnto them likewise, and the men of Penuel answered him, as the men of Succoth 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 he sayd also vnto the men of Penuel, When I come againe in peace, I will breake downe this towre.

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 in Karkor, and their hostes with them, about fifteene thousande, all that were left of all the hostes of them of the East: for there was slaine an hundreth and twentie thousand men, that drew swordes.

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 went through them that dwelt in Tabernacles on the East side of Nobah and Iogbehah, and smote the hoste: for the hoste was carelesse.

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 when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, hee followed after them, and tooke the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the hoste.

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 So Gideon the sonne of Ioash returned from battel, the sunne being yet hie,

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

14 And tooke a seruant of the me of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he wrote to him the princes of Succoth and the Elders thereof, euen seuentie and seuen 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 came vnto the men of Succoth, and sayd, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, by whome ye vpbrayded me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thine hands, that we should giue bread vnto thy weary men?

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 Then he tooke the Elders of the citie, and thornes of the wildernes and breers, and did teare the men of Succoth with them.

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

17 Also he brake downe the towre of Penuel, and slew the men of the citie.

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

18 Then saide he vnto Zebah and Zalmunna, What maner of men were they, whom ye slew at Tabor? and they answered, As thou art, so were they: euery one was like the children 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 And he said, They were my brethren, euen my mothers children: as the Lord liueth, if ye had saued their liues, I would not slay 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 Then he sayde vnto Iether his first borne sonne, Vp, and slay them: but the boy drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet yong.

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 Then Zebah and Zalmunna sayd, Rise thou, and fall vpon vs: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and tooke away the ornamentes, that were on their camels neckes.

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 Then the men of Israel sayd vnto Gideon, Reigne thou ouer vs, both thou, and thy sonne, and thy sonnes sonne: for thou hast deliuered vs out of 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 Gideon sayde vnto them, I will not reigne ouer you, neither shall my childe reigne ouer you, but the Lord shall reigne ouer 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 Againe Gideon sayd vnto them, I would desire a request of you, that you would giue mee euery man the earings of his pray (for they had golden earings because they were Ismaelites)

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 And they answered, Wee will giue them. And they spred a garment, and did cast therein euery man the earings of his pray.

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 golden earings that he required, was a thousande and seuen hundreth shekels of golde, beside collers and iewels, and purple rayment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the cheynes that were about their camels neckes.

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 thereof, and put it in Ophrah his citie: and all Israel went a whoring there after it, which was the destruction of Gideon and 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 Thus was Midian brought lowe before the children of Israel, so that they lift vp their heads no more: and the countrey was in quietnes fourtie yeeres in the dayes of Gideon.

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 Then Ierubbaal the sonne of Ioash went, and dwelt in his owne house.

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

30 And Gideon had seuentie sonnes begotten of his body: for he had many wiues.

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

31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, bare him a sonne also, whose name he called Abimelech.

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

32 So Gideon the sonne of Ioash dyed in a good age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Ioash his father in Ophrah, of the father of ye Ezrites.

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 when Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned away and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith 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 the children of Israel remembred not the Lord their God, which had deliuered the out of the hands of all their enemies on euery side.

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 shewed they mercy on the house of Ierubbaal, or Gideon, according to al the goodnesse which he had shewed vnto 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.