Judges 8

1 Then the descendants of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you acted toward us like this? When you went out to fight against the people of Midian, why did you not summon us [to help you]?” They rebuked Gideon severely.

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.

2 But Gideon replied, “I have done [RHQ] very little compared with what you have done! My small clan of descendants of Abiezer only started the battle, but [your very large group of] descendants of Ephraim [helped me to finish the task very well. It is like] the final grapes of the harvest being much better than the first grapes that are picked.

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?

3 God enabled you to defeat Oreb and Zeeb, the generals of the army from Midian. That is [RHQ] much more important than what I did!” After Gideon told them that, they no longer resented what he had done.

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 toward him, when he spoke this word.

4 Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.

And Gedeon came to Jordan, and went over, himself and the three hundred with him, hungry, yet pursuing.

5 When they arrived at Succoth [town], Gideon said to the town leaders, “Please give my men some food! They are very tired. We are pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

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.

6 But the leaders of Succoth replied, “You have not caught [RHQ] Zebah and Zalmunna yet. So why should we give food to your troops [now? Catch them first, and then we will give you food].”

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?

7 Gideon replied, “[Because you said that], after Yahweh enables us to defeat Zebah and Zalmunna, we will return. And then we will make whips from thorns from the desert, and with them we will rip the flesh off your bones!”

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.

8 From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.

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.

9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”

And Gedeon said to the men of Phanuel, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower.

10 By that time, Zebah and Zalmunna had gone to Karkor [town] with 15,000 troops. They were all that were left of the armies that had come from the east. 120,000 of their men had already been killed.

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.

11 Gideon [and his men] went east along the road on which caravans travel. They went past Nobah and Jogbehah [villages] and arrived at the enemy camp by surprise.

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.

12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.

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.

13 After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.

And Gedeon the son of Joas returned from the battle, down from the battle of Ares.

14 There he captured a young man from Succoth, and demanded that he write down the names of all of the leaders in the town. The young man wrote down seventy-seven names.

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.

15 Then Gideon and his men returned to Succoth and said to those leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you made fun of me and said ‘You have not [RHQ] caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet! After you catch them, we will give your exhausted men some food.’”

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?

16 Then Gideon’s men took the town leaders and whipped them with whips made from briers from the desert, to teach them [that they deserved to be punished for not giving them any food].

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.

17 Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.

And he overthrew the tower of Phanuel, and killed the men of the city.

18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed near Tabor [Mountain], what did they look like?” They replied, “They were like you; they all looked like they were sons of a king.”

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.

19 Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”

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.

20 Then he turned to his oldest son, Jether. He said to him, “Kill them!” But Jether was only a boy, and he was afraid, so he did not pull out his dagger [to kill them].

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.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Do not ask a young boy to do the work that a man should do!” So Gideon killed both of them. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.

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.

22 Then a group of Israeli men [came to] Gideon and said to him, “You be our ruler! [We want] you and your son and your grandsons [to] be our rulers, because you rescued us from the Midian army.”

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.

23 But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”

And Gedeon said to them, I will not rule, and my son shall not rule among you; the Lord shall rule over you.

24 Then he said, “I request only one thing. I request that each of you give me one earring from the things you captured after the battle.” [All the men descended from Ishmael wore gold earrings.]

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.

25 They replied, “We will be glad to give earrings to you!” So they spread a cloth [on the ground], and each man threw on it one gold earring that he had taken [from a man he had killed in the battle].

And they said, We will certainly give them: and he opened his garment, and each man cast therein an earring of his spoils.

26 The weight of all the earrings was (43 pounds/19.4 kg.). That did not include other things [that they gave to Gideon]—the other ornaments or the pendants or the clothes that the kings of Midian wore or the gold chains that were on the necks of their camels.

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.

27 Gideon made/decorated a sacred vest from the gold, and later he put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But soon the Israeli people started to worship the vest. So it became like a trap [MET] for the people, [causing them to worship it instead of worshiping only God].

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.

28 That is how the Israelis defeated the people from Midian. The people of Midian did not become strong enough to attack Israel again. So while Gideon was alive, there was peace in the land for 40 years.

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.

29 Gideon went back home to live there.

And Jerobaal the son of Joas went and sat in his house.

30 He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.

And Gedeon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives.

31 He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

And his concubine was in Sychem, and she also bore him a son, and gave him the name Abimelech.

32 Gideon died when he was very old. They buried his body in the grave where his father Joash was buried, at Ophrah, in the land belonging to the descendants of Abiether.

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.

33 But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelis [stopped worshiping God and started worshiping the images of the god Baal, like] [MET] adultresses [leave their husbands and go to sleep with other men]. They made a [statue of a] new god called Baal-Berith.

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.

34 They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.

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.

35 And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.

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.