Judges 8

Gideon Subdues the Midianites

1 Now the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they reprimanded him sharply. Now the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they reprimanded him sharply.2 So he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?3 God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.4 When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit.5 Then he said to the men of Succoth, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.6 And the leaders of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?7 So Gideon said, For this cause, when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!8 Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.9 So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen.11 Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the camp felt secure.12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres.14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.15 Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ridiculed me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.17 Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor? So they answered, As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.19 Then he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise, kill them! But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength. So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels necks.

Gideons Ephod

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.23 But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.24 Then Gideon said to them, I would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder. For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.25 So they answered, We will gladly give them. And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder.26 Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels necks.27 Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.28 Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Death of Gideon

29 Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.30 Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives.31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.32 Now Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.33 So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god.34 Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;35 nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

JUDGES 8

1 But the men were really upset with Gideon and complained, “When you went to war with Midian, you didn't ask us to help! Why did you treat us like that?”

2 Gideon answered:
Don't be upset! Even though you came later, you were able to do much more than I did. It's just like the grape harvest: The grapes your tribe doesn't even bother to pick are better than the best grapes my family can grow.

3 t Besides, God chose you to capture Raven and Wolf. I didn't do a thing compared to you.
By the time Gideon had finished talking, the men of Ephraim had calmed down and were no longer angry with him.

Gideon Finishes Destroying //the Midianite Army

5 The town of Succoth was nearby, so he went there and asked, “Please give my troops some food. They are worn out, but we have to keep chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings.”

6 The town leaders of Succoth answered, “Why should we feed your army? We don't know if you really will defeat Zebah and Zalmunna.”

7 “Just wait!” Gideon said. “After the [Lord] helps me defeat them, I'm coming back here. I'll make a whip out of thorns and rip the flesh from your bones.”
8 After leaving Succoth, Gideon went to Penuel and asked the leaders there for some food. But he got the same answer as he did at Succoth.

9 “I'll come back safe and sound,” Gideon said, “but when I do, I'm going to tear down your tower!”t

10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkort with an army of 15,000 troops. They were all that was left of the army of the eastern nations, because 120,000 of their warriors had been killed in the battle.
11 Gideon reached the enemy camp by going east along Nomadt Road past Nobah and Jogbehah. He made a surprise attack,

12 and the enemy panicked. Zebah and Zalmunna tried to escape, but Gideon chased and captured them.
13 After the battle, Gideon set out for home. As he was going through Heres Pass,

14 he caught a young man who lived in Succoth. Gideon asked him who the town officials of Succoth were, and the young man wrote down 77 names.

15 Gideon went to the town officials and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. Remember how you made fun of me? You said, ‘We don't know if you really will defeat those two Midianite kings. So why should we feed your worn-out army?’ ”
16 Gideon made a whip from thorn plants and used it to beat the town officials.

17 Afterwards he went to Penuel, where he tore down the tower and killed all the town officials.t

18 Then Gideon said, “Zebah and Zalmunna, tell me about the men you killed at Tabor.”
“They were a lot like you,” the two kings answered. “They were dignified, almost like royalty.”

19 “They were my very own brothers!” Gideon said. “I swear by the living [Lord] that if you had let them live, I would let you live.”

20 Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son. “Kill them!” Gideon said.
But Jether was young, t and he was too afraid to even pull out his sword.

21 “What's the matter, Gideon?” Zebah and Zalmunna asked. “Do it yourself, if you're not too much of a coward!”
Gideon jumped up and killed them both. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.

The Israelites Ask Gideon //To Be Their King

22 After the battle with the Midianites, the Israelites said, “Gideon, you rescued us! Now we want you to be our king. Then after your death, your son and then your grandson will rule.”
23 “No,” Gideon replied, “I won't be your king, and my son won't be king either. Only the [Lord] is your ruler.

24 But I will ask you to do one thing: Give me all the earrings you took from the enemy.”
The enemy soldiers had been Ishmaelites, t and they wore gold earrings.
25 The Israelite soldiers replied, “Of course we will give you the earrings.” Then they spread out a robe on the ground and tossed the earrings on it.

26 The total weight of this gold was nearly 20 kilograms . In addition, there was the gold from the camels' ornaments and from the beautiful jewelry worn by the Midianite kings. Gideon also took their purple robes.

27-29 Gideon returned to his home in Ophrah and had the gold made into a statue, which the Israelites soon started worshiping. They were unfaithful to God, and even Gideon and his family were trapped into worshiping the statue.t
The Midianites had been defeated so badly that they were no longer strong enough to attack Israel. And so Israel was at peace for the remaining 40 years of Gideon's life.

Gideon Dies

31 He even had a wifet who lived at Shechem.t They had a son, and Gideon named him Abimelech.

32 Gideon lived to be an old man. And when he died, he was buried in the family tomb in his hometown of Ophrah, which belonged to the Abiezer clan.
33 Soon after Gideon's death, the Israelites turned their backs on God again. They set up idols of Baal and worshiped Baal Beritht as their god. 34 The Israelites forgot that the [Lord] was their God, and that he had rescued them from the enemies who lived around them. 35 Besides all that, the Israelites were unkind to Gideon's family, even though Gideon had done so much for Israel.