Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim say to him, “What [is] this thing you have done to us—not to call for us when you went to fight with Midian?” And they strive with him severely;

And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why hast thou done this to us, that thou didst call us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did contend with him sharply.

2 and he says to them, “What have I now done like you? Are the gleanings of Ephraim not better than the harvest of Abi-Ezer?

And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

3 God has given the heads of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hand; and what have I been able to do like you?” Then their temper desisted from off him in his speaking this thing.

God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then, when he had said that, their anger toward him abated.

4 And Gideon comes to the Jordan, passing over, he and the three hundred men who [are] with him—wearied, yet pursuing—

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

5 and he says to the men of Succoth, “Please give cakes of bread to the people who [are] at my feet, for they [are] wearied, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

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 Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

6 And the heads of Succoth say, “Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we give bread to your host?”

And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy army?

7 And Gideon says, “Therefore—in YHWH’s giving Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand—I have threshed your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and with the threshing instruments.”

And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

8 And he goes up there [to] Penuel, and speaks to them thus; and the men of Penuel answer him as the men of Succoth answered.

And he went up from there to Penuel, and spoke to them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

9 And he also speaks to the men of Penuel, saying, “In my turning back in peace, I break down 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 And Zebah and Zalmunna [are] in Karkor, and their camps with them, about fifteen thousand, all who are left of all the camp of the sons of the east; and those falling [are] one hundred and twenty thousand men, drawing sword.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

11 And Gideon goes up the way of those who dwell in tents, on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and strikes the camp, and the camp was confident;

And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.

12 and Zebab and Zalmunna flee, and he pursues after them, and captures the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he has caused all the camp to tremble.

And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and overcame all the host.

13 And Gideon son of Joash turns back from the battle, at the going up of the sun,

And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun had risen,

14 and captures a young man of the men of Succoth, and asks him, and he describes to him the heads of Succoth, and its elderly—seventy-seven men.

And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, even seventy and seven men.

15 And he comes to the men of Succoth and says, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you reproached me, saying, Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand that we give bread to your men who [are] wearied?”

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

16 And he takes the elderly of the city, and [the] thorns of the wilderness, and the threshing instruments, and teaches the men of Succoth by them,

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

17 and he has broken down the Tower of Penuel, and slays the men of the city.

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

18 And he says to Zebah and to Zalmunna, “What manner of men [were they] whom you slew in Tabor?” And they say, “As you—so they, [each] one as the form of the king’s sons.”

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

19 And he says, “They [were] my brothers—sons of my mother; YHWH lives, if you had kept them alive—I would not kill you.”

And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

20 And he says to his firstborn Jether, “Rise, slay them”; and the young man has not drawn his sword, for he has been afraid, for he [is] yet a youth.

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

21 And Zebah and Zalmunna say, “Rise and fall on us; for as the man—his might”; and Gideon rises, and slays Zebah and Zalmunna, and takes the crescents which [are] on the necks of their camels.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

22 And the men of Israel say to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

23 And Gideon says to them, “I do not rule over you, nor does my son rule over you; YHWH rules over you.”

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

24 And Gideon says to them, “Let me ask a petition of you, and each give to me the ring of his prey, for they have rings of gold, for they [are] Ishmaelites.”

And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25 And they say, “We certainly give”; and they spread out the garment, and each casts the ring of his prey there;

And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and cast into it every man the earrings of his spoil.

26 and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked for is one thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold, apart from the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple garments, which [are] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which [are] on the necks of their camels,

And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

27 and Gideon makes it into an ephod, and sets it up in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel go whoring after it there, and it is for a snare to Gideon and to his house.

And Gideon made of it an ephod, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went there playing the harlot with it: which thing became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

28 And Midian is humbled before the sons of Israel, and have not added to lift up their head; and the land rests [for] forty years in the days of Gideon.

Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they raised their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

29 And Jerubba‘al son of Joash goes and dwells in his own house,

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

30 and there have been seventy sons of Gideon, coming out of his loin, for he had many wives;

And Gideon had seventy sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

31 and his concubine, who [is] in Shechem, has borne to him—even she—a son, and he appoints his name Abimelech.

And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

32 And Gideon son of Joash dies, in a good old age, and is buried in the burying-place of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrite.

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 Abiezrites.

33 And it comes to pass, when Gideon [is] dead, that the sons of Israel turn back and go whoring after the Ba‘alim, and set Ba‘al-Berith over them for a god;

And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went playing the harlot with Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

34 and the sons of Israel have not remembered their God YHWH, who is delivering them out of the hand of all their surrounding enemies,

And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side:

35 neither have they done kindness with the house of Jerubba‘al—Gideon—according to all the good which he did with Israel.

Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.