Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim say unto him, 'What [is] this thing thou hast done to us — not to call for us when thou didst go to fight with Midian?' and they strive with him severely;

Then the men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to attack the Midianite?” They argued furiously with him.

2 and he saith unto them, 'What have I done now like you? are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the harvest of Abi-Ezer?

“Now what have I achieved in comparison to you?” Gideon replied. “Even Ephraim's left-over grapes are better than Abiezer's whole grape harvest!

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

God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders. What have I managed to achieve in comparison to you?” When he told them this their animosity towards him died down.

4 And Gideon cometh in unto the Jordan, passing over, he and the three hundred men who [are] with him — wearied, and pursuing,

Then Gideon crossed the Jordan with his three hundred men. Even though they were exhausted they continued the chase.

5 and he saith to the men of Succoth, 'Give, I pray you, 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.'

When they got to Succoth, Gideon asked the people there, “Please provide some bread to the men with me because they're worn out—I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings.”

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

But the Succoth town leaders replied, “Why should we give your army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?”

7 And Gideon saith, 'Therefore — in Jehovah's giving Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand — I have threshed your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and with the threshing instruments.'

“In that case, once the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I'll return and thrash you with thorns and briers from the desert!” Gideon replied.

8 And he goeth up thence [to] Penuel, and speaketh unto them thus; and the men of Penuel answer him as the men of Succoth answered.

He left and went to Penuel and asked them the same thing, but the people of Penuel answered the same way as the people of Succoth.

9 And he speaketh also to the men of Penuel, saying, 'In my turning back in peace, I break down this tower.'

So he told them, “When I return victorious, I'll demolish 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] a hundred and twenty thousand men, drawing sword.

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies of around fifteen thousand men. These were all who remained of the armies of the people of the East—one hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already been killed.

11 And Gideon goeth up the way of those who tabernacle in tents, on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smiteth the camp, and the camp was confident;

Gideon took the caravan route to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, catching them offguard.

12 and Zebab and Zalmunna flee, and he pursueth after them, and captureth the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and all the camp he hath caused to tremble.

Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but he chased after the two Midianite kings and captured them, defeating the whole of their terrified army.

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

Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass.

14 and captureth a young man of the men of Succoth, and asketh him, and he describeth unto him the heads of Succoth, and its elders — seventy and seven men.

There he captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him. The man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

15 And he cometh in unto the men of Succoth, and saith, 'Lo Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye reproached me, saying, Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we give to thy men who [are] wearied bread?'

Gideon went and said to the Sukkoth town leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, the ones you taunted me about when you said, ‘Why should we give your exhausted army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?’”

16 And he taketh the elders of the city, and the thorns of the wilderness, and the threshing instruments, and teacheth by them the men of Succoth,

So he took the town elders of Succoth and taught them a lesson using thorns and briers from the desert.

17 and the tower of Penuel he hath broken down, and slayeth the men of the city.

He also demolished the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

18 And he saith unto Zebah and unto Zalmunna, 'How — the men whom ye slew in Tabor?' and they say, 'As thou — so they, one — as the form of the king's sons.'

Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What were they like, the men you killed at Tabor?” “They looked like you,” they answered. “Each of them had the stature of a prince.”

19 And he saith, 'My brethren — sons of my mother — they; Jehovah liveth, if ye had kept them alive — I had not slain you.'

“Those were my brothers, my mother's sons,” Gideon burst out. “As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I wouldn't kill you!”

20 And he saith to Jether his first-born, 'Rise, slay them;' and the young man hath not drawn his sword, for he hath been afraid, for he [is] yet a youth.

He told Jether, his oldest son, “Go on, kill them!” But the boy refused to draw his sword, because he was young and afraid.

21 And Zebah saith — also Zalmunna — 'Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man — his might;' and Gideon riseth, and slayeth Zebah and Zalmunna, and taketh their round ornaments which [are] on the necks of their camels.

Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, you do it! Show yourself a man and kill us!” So Gideon went over and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments from the necks of their camels.

22 And the men of Israel say unto Gideon, 'Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.'

Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “You must become our ruler, you, your son, and your grandson; because you've saved us from the Midianites.”

23 And Gideon saith unto them, 'I do not rule over you, nor doth my son rule over you; Jehovah doth rule over you.'

“I won't be your ruler, and my son won't either,” Gideon replied. “The Lord will be your ruler.”

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

Then Gideon said, “I have a request to ask of you: that each of you give me an earring from your plunder.” (Their enemies were Ishmaelites and wore gold earrings.)

25 And they say, 'We certainly give;' and they spread out the garment, and cast thither each the ring of his prey;

“We'll happily give them to you,” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each of them threw on it earrings from their plunder.

26 and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold, apart from the round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which [are] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which [are] on the necks of their camels,

The weight of the earrings he'd asked for was 1,700 shekels, not including the ornaments, the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the Midianite kings or the chains that were round their camels' necks.

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

From the gold Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in his hometown of Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there by worshiping it as an idol, and it became a trap to Gideon and his family.

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

This is how the Midianites was subjugated before the Israelites and did not gain power again. So the land was at peace for forty years during the lifetime of Gideon.

29 And Jerubbaal son of Joash goeth and dwelleth in his own house,

Jerub-baal, son of Joash, went home, living his own house.

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

Gideon had seventy sons, all his own, because he had many wives.

31 and his concubine, who [is] in Shechem, hath born to him — even she — a son, and he appointeth his name Abimelech.

His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also had a son. He named him Abimelech.

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

Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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

But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites went back to prostituting themselves, worshiping before the Baals. They made Baal-berith their god.

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

They forgot about the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies that surrounded them.

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

They did not show any respect to the family of Jerub-baal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.