Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.2 And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?3 God hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?7 And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men.15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?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 And he brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.20 And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.

22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast saved us out of the hand of Midian.23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah shall rule over you.24 And Gideon said unto them, I would make a request of you, that ye would give me every man the ear-rings of his spoil. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.)25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the ear-rings of his spoil.26 And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks.27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the harlot after it there; and it became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten; for he had many wives.31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and played the harlot after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.34 And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;35 neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.

Judges 8

1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon ust when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him.2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapest are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest!s

3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?”t When he said this, they calmed down.t

Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings

4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.t5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Givet some loaves of bread to the ment who are following me,t because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”6 The officials of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we givet bread to your army?”ts7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help,t after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will threshs your skint witht desert thorns and briers.”8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request.t The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had.t

9 He also threatenedt the men of Penuel, warning,t “When I return victoriously,t I will tear down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed.t11 Gideon went up the road of the nomadst east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army.t

12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideont chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprisedt their entire army.
13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the passt of Heres.14 He captured a young man from Succotht and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all.t15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have!t Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’”ts16 He seized the leaderst of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them.s

17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.
18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for met the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”t19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear,t as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on!t Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword,t because he was still young.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon,t “Come on,t you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.”t So Gideon killedt Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod

22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.”t23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”24 Gideon continued,t “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.”t (The Midianitest had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.”t So theys spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it.26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels.s This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry,t purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels.t

27 Gideon used all this to maket an ephod,s which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelitest prostituted themselves to it by worshiping itt there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Story Ends

28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken.t The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time.t29 Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down.t30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives.t31 His concubine,s who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech.s

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

Israel Returns to Baal-Worship

33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Beriths their god.34 The Israelites did not remain truet to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them.

35 They did not treatt the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.