Κριταί 8
1 καὶ εἶπαν πρὸς Γεδεων ἀνὴρ Εφραιμ τί τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο ἐποίησας ἡμῖν τοῦ μὴ καλέσαι ἡμᾶς ὅτε ἐπορεύθης παρατάξασθαι ἐν Μαδιαμ καὶ διελέξαντο πρὸς αὐτὸν ἰσχυρῶς
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.
2 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς τί ἐποίησα νῦν καθὼς ὑμεῖς ἢ οὐχὶ κρεῖσσον ἐπιφυλλὶς Εφραιμ ἢ τρυγητὸς Αβιεζερ
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.
3 ἐν χειρὶ ὑμῶν παρέδωκεν κύριος τοὺς ἄρχοντας Μαδιαμ τὸν Ωρηβ καὶ τὸν Ζηβ καὶ τί ἠδυνήθην ποιῆσαι ὡς ὑμεῖς τότε ἀνέθη τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτῶν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ λαλῆσαι αὐτὸν τὸν λόγον τοῦτον
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.
4 καὶ ἦλθεν Γεδεων ἐπὶ τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ διέβη αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ τριακόσιοι ἄνδρες οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ πεινῶντες καὶ διώκοντες
Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.
5 καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς ἀνδράσιν Σοκχωθ δότε δὴ ἄρτους εἰς τροφὴν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ τῷ ἐν ποσίν μου ὅτι ἐκλείπουσιν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι διώκων ὀπίσω τοῦ Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα βασιλέων Μαδιαμ
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.”
6 καὶ εἶπον οἱ ἄρχοντες Σοκχωθ μὴ χεὶρ Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα νῦν ἐν χειρί σου οὐ δώσομεν τῇ δυνάμει σου ἄρτους
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].”
7 καὶ εἶπεν Γεδεων διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ δοῦναι κύριον τὸν Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα ἐν χειρί μου καὶ ἐγὼ ἀλοήσω τὰς σάρκας ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀκάνθαις τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ ἐν ταῖς αβαρκηνιν
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!”
8 καὶ ἀνέβη ἐκεῖθεν εἰς Φανουηλ καὶ ἐλάλησεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡσαύτως καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄνδρες Φανουηλ ὃν τρόπον ἀπεκρίθησαν ἄνδρες Σοκχωθ
From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.
9 καὶ εἶπεν Γεδεων πρὸς ἄνδρας Φανουηλ ἐν ἐπιστροφῇ μου μετ’ εἰρήνης τὸν πύργον τοῦτον κατασκάψω
So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”
10 καὶ Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα ἐν Καρκαρ καὶ ἡ παρεμβολὴ αὐτῶν μετ’ αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ δέκα πέντε χιλιάδες πάντες οἱ καταλελειμμένοι ἀπὸ πάσης παρεμβολῆς ἀλλοφύλων καὶ οἱ πεπτωκότες ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι χιλιάδες ἀνδρῶν σπωμένων ῥομφαίαν
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.
11 καὶ ἀνέβη Γεδεων ὁδὸν τῶν σκηνούντων ἐν σκηναῖς ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν τῆς Ναβαι καὶ Ιεγεβαλ καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὴν παρεμβολήν καὶ ἡ παρεμβολὴ ἦν πεποιθυῖα
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.
12 καὶ ἔφυγον Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα καὶ ἐδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκράτησεν τοὺς δύο βασιλεῖς Μαδιαμ τὸν Ζεβεε καὶ τὸν Σελμανα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἐξέστησεν
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.
13 καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν Γεδεων υἱὸς Ιωας ἀπὸ τῆς παρατάξεως ἀπὸ ἐπάνωθεν τῆς παρατάξεως Αρες
After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.
14 καὶ συνέλαβεν παιδάριον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνδρῶν Σοκχωθ καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν καὶ ἔγραψεν πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν ἀρχόντων Σοκχωθ καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων αὐτῶν ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ ἑπτὰ ἄνδρας
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.
15 καὶ παρεγένετο Γεδεων πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας Σοκχωθ καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα ἐν οἷς ὠνειδίσατέ με λέγοντες μὴ χεὶρ Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα νῦν ἐν χειρί σου ὅτι δώσομεν τοῖς ἀνδράσιν τοῖς ἐκλείπουσιν ἄρτους
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.’”
16 καὶ ἔλαβεν τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῆς πόλεως ἐν ταῖς ἀκάνθαις τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ ταῖς βαρακηνιμ καὶ ἠλόησεν ἐν αὐτοῖς τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς πόλεως
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].
17 καὶ τὸν πύργον Φανουηλ κατέστρεψεν καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς πόλεως
Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.
18 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα ποῦ οἱ ἄνδρες οὓς ἀπεκτείνατε ἐν Θαβωρ καὶ εἶπαν ὡς σύ ὣς αὐτοὶ εἰς ὁμοίωμα υἱοῦ βασιλέως
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.”
19 καὶ εἶπεν Γεδεων ἀδελφοί μου καὶ υἱοὶ τῆς μητρός μου ἦσαν ζῇ κύριος εἰ ἐζωογονήκειτε αὐτούς οὐκ ἂν ἀπέκτεινα ὑμᾶς
Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”
20 καὶ εἶπεν Ιεθερ τῷ πρωτοτόκῳ αὐτοῦ ἀναστὰς ἀπόκτεινον αὐτούς καὶ οὐκ ἔσπασεν τὸ παιδάριον τὴν ῥομφαίαν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐφοβήθη ὅτι ἔτι νεώτερος ἦν
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].
21 καὶ εἶπεν Ζεβεε καὶ Σελμανα ἀνάστα σὺ καὶ συνάντησον ἡμῖν ὅτι ὡς ἀνδρὸς ἡ δύναμίς σου καὶ ἀνέστη Γεδεων καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν τὸν Ζεβεε καὶ τὸν Σελμανα καὶ ἔλαβεν τοὺς μηνίσκους τοὺς ἐν τοῖς τραχήλοις τῶν καμήλων αὐτῶν
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.
22 καὶ εἶπον ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ πρὸς Γεδεων κύριε ἄρξον ἡμῶν καὶ σὺ καὶ ὁ υἱός σου ὅτι σὺ ἔσωσας ἡμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς Μαδιαμ
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.”
23 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Γεδεων οὐκ ἄρξω ἐγώ καὶ οὐκ ἄρξει ὁ υἱός μου ἐν ὑμῖν κύριος ἄρξει ὑμῶν
But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
24 καὶ εἶπεν Γεδεων πρὸς αὐτούς αἰτήσομαι παρ’ ὑμῶν αἴτημα καὶ δότε μοι ἀνὴρ ἐνώτιον ἐκ σκύλων αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐνώτια χρυσᾶ αὐτοῖς ὅτι Ισμαηλῖται ἦσαν
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.]
25 καὶ εἶπαν διδόντες δώσομεν καὶ ἀνέπτυξεν τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔβαλεν ἐκεῖ ἀνὴρ ἐνώτιον σκύλων αὐτοῦ
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].
26 καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ σταθμὸς τῶν ἐνωτίων τῶν χρυσῶν ὧν ᾔτησεν χίλιοι καὶ πεντακόσιοι χρυσοῖ πάρεξ τῶν μηνίσκων καὶ τῶν στραγγαλίδων καὶ τῶν ἱματίων καὶ πορφυρίδων τῶν ἐπὶ βασιλεῦσι Μαδιαμ καὶ ἐκτὸς τῶν περιθεμάτων ἃ ἦν ἐν τοῖς τραχήλοις τῶν καμήλων αὐτῶν
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.
27 καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸ Γεδεων εἰς εφωθ καὶ ἔστησεν αὐτὸ ἐν πόλει αὐτοῦ Εφραθα καὶ ἐξεπόρνευσεν πᾶς Ισραηλ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐγένετο τῷ Γεδεων καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ εἰς σκῶλον
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].
28 καὶ συνεστάλη Μαδιαμ ἐνώπιον υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ οὐ προσέθηκαν ἆραι κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν καὶ ἡσύχασεν ἡ γῆ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη ἐν ἡμέραις Γεδεων
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.
29 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Ιεροβααλ υἱὸς Ιωας καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐν οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ
Gideon went back home to live there.
30 καὶ τῷ Γεδεων ἦσαν ἑβδομήκοντα υἱοὶ ἐκπεπορευμένοι ἐκ μηρῶν αὐτοῦ ὅτι γυναῖκες πολλαὶ ἦσαν αὐτῷ
He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.
31 καὶ παλλακὴ αὐτοῦ ἦν ἐν Συχεμ καὶ ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ καί γε αὐτὴ υἱόν καὶ ἔθηκεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Αβιμελεχ
He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
32 καὶ ἀπέθανεν Γεδεων υἱὸς Ιωας ἐν πόλει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῷ τάφῳ Ιωας τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν Εφραθα Αβιεσδρι
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.
33 καὶ ἐγένετο καθὼς ἀπέθανεν Γεδεων καὶ ἐπέστρεψαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐξεπόρνευσαν ὀπίσω τῶν Βααλιμ καὶ ἔθηκαν ἑαυτοῖς τῷ Βααλ διαθήκην τοῦ εἶναι αὐτοῖς αὐτὸν εἰς θεόν
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.
34 καὶ οὐκ ἐμνήσθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ῥυσαμένου αὐτοὺς ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θλιβόντων αὐτοὺς κυκλόθεν
They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
35 καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἔλεος μετὰ τοῦ οἴκου Ιεροβααλ αὐτός ἐστιν Γεδεων κατὰ πάντα τὰ ἀγαθά ἃ ἐποίησεν μετὰ Ισραηλ
And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.
