Judges 8
8
1The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they argued with him violently.
2So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning#Lv 19:9–10; 23:22; Dt 24:19–20; Ru 2 of Ephraim better than the grape harvest#Lv 26:5; Is 24:13; 32:10; Mc 7:1 of Abiezer? 3God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
Gideon Pursues the Kings of Midian
4Gideon and the three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted but still in pursuit. 5He said to the men of Succoth,#Gn 33:17; Jos 13:27; 1Kg 7:46; 2Ch 4:17; Ps 60:6 “Please give some loaves of bread to the troops under my command,#8:5 Lit troops at my feet because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6But the princes of Succoth asked, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?”
7Gideon replied, “Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will tear#8:7 Lit thresh your flesh with thorns and briers from the wilderness!” 8He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel#Gn 32:31–32; 1Kg 12:25 answered just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9He also told the men of Penuel, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower!”
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about fifteen thousand men, who were all those left of the entire army of the people of the east. Those who had been killed were one hundred twenty thousand armed men. 11Gideon traveled on the caravan route#8:11 Lit on the route of those who live in tents east of Nobah#Nm 32:42 and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army felt secure. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.
13Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres. 14He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth. 15Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men? ’” 16So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. 17He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”
“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”
19So 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.” 20Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” The youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.
21Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and strike us down yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s Legacy
22Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us,#Gn 3:16; 4:7; 37:8 you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.”
23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.
25They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a cloak, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it. 26The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds#8:26 Lit 1,700 shekels of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels. 27Gideon made an ephod#Ex 25:7; 28:12; 39:12; Jdg 18:14,17–20; 2Sm 6:14; Hs 3:4 from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for forty years#Jdg 3:11; 5:31 during the days of Gideon. 29Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) son of Joash went back to live at his house.
30Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives. 31His concubine who was in Shechem#Gn 12:6; 37:12–14; Jos 21:22; Ps 60:6; 108:7 also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32Then 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.
33When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted#Ex 34:15–16; Dt 31:16; 2Ch 21:13; Is 23:17; Jr 3:6,8; Ezk 16:15–17,26–28; Hs 4:12 themselves by worshiping the Baals and made Baal-berith#8:33 Lit Baal of the Covenant, or Lord of the Covenant their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God#Gn 40:23; Ex 23:13; Jos 23:7; Is 17:10; 57:11; Zch 13:2 who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them. 35They did not show kindness#Gn 24:12,49; Ex 20:6; 2Sm 22:51; Ps 18:50 to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
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Judges 8: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Judges 8
8
The Final Defeat of the Midianites
1Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why didn't you call us when you went to fight the Midianites? Why did you treat us like this?” They complained bitterly about it.
2But he said, “What I was able to do is nothing compared with what you have done. Even the little that you men of Ephraim did is worth more than what my whole clan has done. 3#Ps 83.11After all, through the power of God you killed the two Midianite chiefs, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I done to compare with that?” When he said this, they were no longer so angry.
4By this time Gideon and his 300 men had come to the River Jordan and had crossed it. They were exhausted, but were still pursuing the enemy. 5When they arrived at Sukkoth, he said to the men of the town, “Please give my men some loaves of bread. They are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings.”
6But the leaders of Sukkoth said, “Why should we give your army any food? You haven't captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”
7So Gideon said, “All right! When the LORD has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will beat you with thorns and briars from the desert!” 8Gideon went on to Penuel and made the same request of the people there, but the men of Penuel gave the same answer as the men of Sukkoth. 9So he said to them, “I am going to come back safe and sound, and when I do, I will tear your tower down!”
10Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor with their army. Of the whole army of desert tribesmen, only about 15,000 were left; 120,000 soldiers had been killed. 11Gideon went along the road by the edge of the desert, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army by surprise. 12The two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, ran away, but he pursued them and captured them, and caused their whole army to panic.
13When Gideon was returning from the battle by way of Heres Pass, 14he captured a young man from Sukkoth and questioned him. The young man wrote down for Gideon the names of the 77 leading men of Sukkoth. 15Then Gideon went to the men of Sukkoth and said, “Remember when you refused to help me? You said that you couldn't give any food to my exhausted army because I hadn't captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet. Well, here they are!” 16He then took thorns and briars from the desert and used them to punish the leaders of Sukkoth. 17He also tore down the tower at Penuel and killed the men of that city.
18Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men you killed at Tabor?”
They answered, “They looked like you — every one of them like the son of a king.”
19Gideon said, “They were my brothers, my own mother's sons. I solemnly swear that if you had not killed them, I would not kill you.” 20Then he said to Jether, his eldest son, “Go ahead, kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword. He hesitated, because he was still only a boy.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, kill us yourself. It takes a man to do a man's job.” So Gideon killed them and took the ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
22After that, the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler — you and your descendants after you. You have saved us from the Midianites.”
23Gideon answered, “I will not be your ruler, nor will my son. The LORD will be your ruler.” 24But he went on to say, “Let me ask one thing of you. Every one of you give me the earrings you took.” (The Midianites, like other desert people, wore gold earrings.)
25The people answered, “We'll be glad to give them to you.” They spread out a cloth, and everyone put on it the earrings that he had taken. 26The gold earrings that Gideon received weighed nearly twenty kilogrammes, and this did not include the ornaments, necklaces, and purple clothes that the kings of Midian wore, nor the collars that were round the necks of their camels. 27Gideon made an idol from the gold and put it in his home town, Ophrah. All the Israelites abandoned God and went there to worship the idol. It was a trap for Gideon and his family.
28So Midian was defeated by the Israelites and was no longer a threat. The land was at peace for forty years, until Gideon died.
The Death of Gideon
29Gideon went back to his own home and lived there. 30He had seventy sons, because he had many wives. 31He also had a concubine in Shechem; she bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, at Ophrah, the town of the clan of Abiezer.
33After Gideon's death the people of Israel were again unfaithful to God and worshipped the Baals. They made Baal-of-the-Covenant their god, 34and no longer served the LORD their God, who had saved them from all their enemies round them. 35They were not grateful to the family of Gideon for all the good that he had done for Israel.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.