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.

Y LOS de Ephraim le dijeron: ¿Qué es esto que has hecho con nosotros, no llamándonos cuando ibas á la guerra contra Madián? Y reconviniéronlo fuertemente.

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.

A los cuales él respondió: ¿Qué he hecho yo ahora como vosotros? ¿No es el rebusco de Ephraim mejor que la vendimia de 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.

Dios ha entregado en vuestras manos á Oreb y á Zeeb, príncipes de Madián: ¿y qué pude yo hacer como vosotros? Entonces el enojo de ellos contra él se aplacó, luego que él habló esta palabra.

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.

Y vino Gedeón al Jordán para pasar, él y los trescientos hombres que traía consigo, cansados del alcance.

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.”

Y dijo á los de Succoth: Yo os ruego que deis á la gente que me sigue [algunos] bocados de pan; porque están cansados, y yo persigo á Zeba y á Zalmunna, reyes de Madián.

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].”

Y los principales de Succoth respondieron: ¿Está ya la mano de Zeba y Zalmunna en tu mano, para que hayamos nosotros de dar pan á tu ejército?

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!”

Y Gedeón dijo: Pues cuando Jehová hubiere entregado en mi mano á Zeba y á Zalmunna, yo trillaré vuestra carne con espinas y abrojos del desierto.

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

Y de allí subió á Penuel, y hablóles las mismas palabras. Y los de Penuel le respondieron como habían respondido los de Succoth.

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

Y él habló también á los de Penuel, diciendo: Cuando yo tornare en paz, derribaré esta torre.

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.

Y Zeba y Zalmunna estaban en Carcor, y con ellos su ejército de como quince mil hombres, todos los que habían quedado de todo el campo de los orientales: y los muertos [habían sido] ciento veinte mil hombres que sacaban espada.

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.

Y subiendo Gedeón hacia los que habitaban en tiendas, á la parte oriental de Noba y de Jogbea, hirió el campo, porque estaba el ejército sin recelo.

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

Y huyendo Zeba y Zalmunna, él los siguió; y tomados los dos reyes de Madián, Zeba y Zalmunna, espantó á todo el ejército.

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

Y Gedeón hijo de Joas volvió de la batalla antes que el sol subiese;

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.

Y tomó un mozo de los de Succoth, y preguntándole, él le dió por escrito los principales de Succoth y sus ancianos, setenta y siete varones.

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.’”

Y entrando á los de Succoth, dijo: He aquí á Zeba y á Zalmunna, sobre los cuales me zaheristeis, diciendo: ¿Está ya la mano de Zeba y de Zalmunna en tu mano, para que demos nosotros pan á tus hombres cansados?

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].

Y tomó á los ancianos de la ciudad, y espinas y abrojos del desierto, y castigó con ellos á los de Succoth.

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

Asimismo derribó la torre de Penuel, y mató á los de la ciudad.

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.”

Luego dijo á Zeba y á Zalmunna: ¿Qué manera de hombres tenían aquellos que matasteis en Tabor? Y ellos respondieron: Como tú, tales eran aquellos ni más ni menos, que parecían hijos de rey.

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

Y él dijo: Mis hermanos eran, hijos de mi madre: ¡Vive Jehová, que si los hubierais guardado en vida, yo no os mataría!

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].

Y dijo á Jether su primogénito: Levántate, y mátalos. Mas el joven no desenvainó su espada, porque tenía temor; que aun era muchacho.

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.

Entonces dijo Zeba y Zalmunna: Levántate tú, y mátanos; porque como es el varón, tal es su valentía. Y Gedeón se levantó, y mató á Zeba y á Zalmunna; y tomó los adornos de lunetas que sus camellos traían al cuello.

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.”

Y los Israelitas dijeron á Gedeón: Sé nuestro señor, tú, y tu hijo, y tu nieto; pues que nos has librado de mano de Madián.

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

Mas Gedeón respondió: No seré señor sobre vosotros, ni mi hijo os señoreará: Jehová será vuestro Señor.

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.]

Y díjoles Gedeón: Deseo haceros una petición, que cada uno me dé los zarcillos de su despojo. (Porque traían zarcillos de oro, que eran Ismaelitas.)

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].

Y ellos respondieron: De buena gana los daremos. Y tendiendo una ropa de vestir, echó allí cada uno los zarcillos de su despojo.

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.

Y fué el peso de los zarcillos de oro que él pidió, mil y setecientos [siclos] de oro; sin las planchas, y joyeles, y vestidos de púrpura, que traían los reyes de Madián, y sin los collares que traían sus camellos al cuello.

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].

Y Gedeón hizo de ellos un ephod, el cual hizo guardar en su ciudad de Ophra: y todo Israel fornicó tras de ese [ephod] en aquel lugar; y fué por tropiezo á Gedeón y á su casa.

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.

Así fué humillado Madián delante de los hijos de Israel, y nunca más levantaron su cabeza. Y reposó la tierra cuarenta años en los días de Gedeón.

29 Gideon went back home to live there.

Y Jerobaal hijo de Joas fué, y habitó en su casa.

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

Y tuvo Gedeón setenta hijos que salieron de su muslo, porque tuvo muchas mujeres.

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

Y su concubina que estaba en Sichêm, también le parió un hijo; y púsole por nombre 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.

Y murió Gedeón hijo de Joas en buena vejez, y fué sepultado en el sepulcro de su padre Joas, en Ophra de los Abiezeritas.

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.

Y aconteció que como murió Gedeón, los hijos de Israel tornaron, y fornicaron en pos de los Baales, y se pusieron por Dios á Baal-berith.

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

Y no se acordaron los hijos de Israel de Jehová su Dios, que los había librado de todos sus enemigos alrededor:

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

Ni hicieron misericordia con la casa de Jerobaal Gedeón, conforme á todo el bien que él había hecho á Israel.