Shofetim 8
8
1And the Ish Ephrayim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midyan? And they did criticize him sharply.
2And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephrayim tov (better) than the vintage of Avi'ezer?
3Elohim hath delivered into your hands the sarim of Midyan, Orev and Ze'ev; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
4And Gid'on came to the Yarden, and passed over, he, and the three hundred haIsh that were with him, exhausted yet pursuing them.
5And he said unto the Anshei Sukkot, Give, now, loaves of lechem unto the people that follow me; for they be exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zevach and Tzalmunna, melachim of Midyan.
6And the sarei Sukkot said, Are the hands of Zevach and Tzalmunna now in thine yad, that we should give lechem unto thine tz'va (army)?
7And Gid'on said, Therefore when Hashem hath delivered Zevach and Tzalmunna into mine yad, then I will tear your basar with the kotz (thorns) of the midbar and with briers.
8And he went up from there to Penuel,#8:8 Peniel and spoke unto them likewise; and the Anshei Penuel#8:8 Peniel answered him as the men of Sukkot had answered him.
9And he spoke also unto the Anshei Penuel, saying, When I come again in shalom, I will break down this migdal.
10Now Zevach and Tzalmunna were in Karkor, and their machaneh with them, about 15,000, all that were left of all the machaneh of the Bnei Kedem; for there fell a 120,000 Ish that drew the cherev.
11And Gid'on went up by the derech of them that dwelt in ohalim on the east of Novach and Yogbehah, and struck down the machaneh; for the machaneh was unsuspecting, thinking themselves secure.
12And when Zevach and Tzalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two melachim of Midyan, Zevach and Tzalmunna, and did rout all the machaneh.
13And Gid'on ben Yoash returned from milchamah by the Cheres Pass,
14And caught a na'ar of the Anshei Sukkot, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the sarim of Sukkot, and the zekenim thereof, even threescore and seventeen ish.
15And he came unto the Anshei Sukkot, and said, Hinei, Zevach and Tzalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zevach and Tzalmunna now in thine yad, that we should give lechem unto thy anashim that are exhausted?
16And he took the zekenim of the Ir, kotz of the midbar and briers, and with them he taught the Anashim of Sukkot.
17And he pulled down the migdal of Penuel,#8:17 Peniel and put to death the Anshei HaIr.
18Then said he unto Zevach and Tzalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slaughtered at Tavor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one with the bearing of Bnei HaMelech.
19And he said, They were my brethren, even the Bnei Immi; as Hashem liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I should not have put you to death.
20And he said unto Yeter his bechor, Up, and slay them. But the na'ar (youth) drew not his cherev; for he feared, because he was yet a na'ar.
21Then Zevach and Tzalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the ish is, so is his gevurah. And Gid'on arose, and put to death Zevach and Tzalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camelsʼ necks.
22Then the Ish Yisroel said unto Gid'on, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy ben, and the ben of thy ben also; for thou hast delivered us from the yad Midyan.
23And Gid'on said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall beni rule over you; Hashem shall rule over you.
24And Gid'on said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every ish the nezem (earring) of his booty — for they had nizmei zahav (gold earrings), because they were Yishm'elim.#8:24 descendants of Ishmael
25And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread out a simlah (upper garment), and did cast therein every ish the nezem of his booty.
26And the weight of the nizmei hazahav that he requested was 1,700 shekels of zahav; beside ornaments, and pendants, and purple raiment that was on the melachim of Midyan, and apart from the chains that were about their camelsʼ necks.
27And Gid'on made an ephod thereof, and put it in his Ir, even in Ophrah; and kol Yisroel went there a-whoring after it; which thing became a mokesh (snare) unto Gid'on, and to his Bais.
28Thus was Midyan subdued before the Bnei Yisroel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And HaAretz was in quietness arba'im shanah in the days of Gid'on.
29And Yeruba'al ben Yoash went and dwelt in his own bais.
30And Gid'on had threescore and ten banim of his own; for he had many nashim.
31And his pilegesh (concubine) that was in Shechem, she also bore him a ben, whose shem he called Avimelech.
32And Gid'on ben Yoash died in a good old age, and was buried in the kever of Yoash his av, in Ophrah of the Aviezri.
33And it came to pass, as soon as Gid'on was dead, that the Bnei Yisroel turned again, and went a-whoring after Ba'alim, and made Ba'al-Brit their elohim.
34And the Bnei Yisroel remembered not Hashem Eloheihem, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side;
35Neither showed they chesed to the Bais Yeruba'al, namely, Gid'on, according to all the tovah which he had showed unto Yisroel.
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Shofetim 8: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
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