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 unto him, What is this thing that thou hast done unto us, not to call for us, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they quarrelled with him vehemently.

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 unto them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi'ezer?

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.

Into your hand God delivered the princes of Midian, 'Oreb and Zeeb: and what have I been able to do in comparison with you? Then was their anger abated from him, when he had spoken this speech.

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 Gid'on came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, and in pursuit.

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 unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, a few loaves of bread unto the people that are in my train; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebach and Zalmunna,' the kings of Midian.

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 Succoth said, Is the sole of the foot of Zebach and Zalmunna' now already in thy hand, that we should give unto thy army bread?

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 Gid'on said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebach and Zalmunna' into my hand, then will I thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

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 Penuel, and spoke unto them in the same manner: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

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

And he said also unto the men of Penuel thus, When I return again 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.

Now Zebach and Zalmunna' were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that had been left of all the camp of the children of the east; but those who had fallen were one 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 Gid'on went up by the way of those that dwelt in tents, to the east of Nobach and Yogbehah, and smote the camp; but the camp thought itself secure.

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

And Zebach and Zalmunna' fled; but he pursued after them, and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebach and Zalmunna', and all the camp he discomfited.

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

And Gid'on the son of Joash returned from the battle before the rising of the sun,

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 caught a young man of the people of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and 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 he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold here are Zebach and Zalmunna', with whom ye derided me, saying, Is the sole of the foot of Zebach and Zalmunna' now already in thy hand, that we should give unto thy weary men bread?

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, and the thorns of the wilderness and briers, and chastised with them the men of Succoth.

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

And the tower of Penuel he beat down, and slew 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 unto Zebach and Zalmunna', What kind of men were those whom ye slew at Tabor! And they answered, As thou art, so were they; one was in form like that of the children 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 he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord liveth, if ye had spared them alive, I would not slay 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 unto Yether his first-born, Rise up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he was afraid, because he was yet a youth.

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.

Then said Zebach and Zalmunna', Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gid'on arose, and slew Zebach and Zalmunna'; and he took away the crescent 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 unto Gid'on, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast delivered us out of the hand of Midian.

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 Gid'on said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over 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 Gid'on said unto them, I would ask one request of you, that ye should give me every man the earring of his booty; for they had had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

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 answered, We will willingly give. And they spread out a garment, and they cast therein every man the earring of his booty.

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 that he had requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescent ornaments, and ear-drops, and purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.

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 Gid'on made thereof an ephod, and set it up in his city, in 'Ophrah: and all Israel went astray after it thither; and it became a snare unto Gid'on, and to 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 Midian was humbled before the children of Israel, so that they lifted not up their head any more. And the country was quiet forty years in the days of Gid'on.

29 Gideon went back home to live there.

And Yerubba'al the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

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

And Gid'on 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 that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he 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 Gid'on 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 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 Gid'on was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went astray after the Be'alim, and made themselves Ba'al-berith for a 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 delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side.

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

Neither showed they kindness to the house of Yerubba'al, namely, Gid'on, in accordance with all the good which he had done unto Israel.