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.
Currently Selected:
Judges 8: GNBDK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
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.
Judges 8
8
1The men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight against Midian?” They argued angrily with Gideon.
2But he answered them, “I have not done as well as you! The small part you did was better than all that my people of Abiezer did. 3God let you capture Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of Midian. How can I compare what I did with what you did?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, they were not as angry anymore.
Gideon Captures Two Kings
4When Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan River, they were tired, but they chased the enemy across to the other side. 5Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my soldiers some bread because they are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6But the leaders of Succoth said, “Why should we give your soldiers bread? You haven’t caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”
7Then Gideon said, “The Lord will surrender Zebah and Zalmunna to me. After that, I will whip your skin with thorns and briers from the desert.”
8Gideon left Succoth and went to the city of Peniel and asked them for food. But the people of Peniel gave him the same answer as the people of Succoth. 9So Gideon said to the men of Peniel, “After I win the victory, I will return and pull down this tower.”
10Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. About fifteen thousand men were left of the armies of the peoples of the east. Already one hundred twenty thousand soldiers had been killed. 11Gideon went up the road of those who live in tents east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the enemy army when they did not expect it. 12Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, ran away, but Gideon chased and captured them and frightened away their army.
13Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. 14Gideon captured a young man from Succoth and asked him some questions. So the young man wrote down for Gideon the names of seventy-seven officers and elders of Succoth.
Gideon Punishes Succoth
15When Gideon came to Succoth, he said to the people of that city, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, ‘Why should we give bread to your tired men? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’ ” 16So Gideon took the elders of the city and punished them with thorns and briers from the desert. 17He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the people in that city.
18Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What were the men like that you killed on Mount Tabor?”
They answered, “They were like you. Each one of them looked like a prince.”
19Gideon said, “Those were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As surely as the Lord lives, I would not kill you if you had spared them.” 20Then Gideon said to Jether, his oldest son, “Kill them.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he did not take out his sword.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on. Kill us yourself. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a man to do a man’s job.’ ” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the decorations off their camels’ necks.
Gideon Makes an Idol
22The people of Israel said to Gideon, “You saved us from the Midianites. Now, we want you and your son and your grandson to rule over us.”
23But Gideon told them, “The Lord will be your ruler. I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you.” 24He said, “I want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold earring from the things you took in the fighting.” (The Ishmaelites wore gold earrings.)
25They said, “We will gladly give you what you want.” So they spread out a coat, and everyone threw down an earring from what he had taken. 26The gold earrings weighed about forty-three pounds. This did not count the decorations, necklaces, and purple robes worn by the kings of Midian, nor the chains from the camels’ necks. 27Gideon used the gold to make a holy vest, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. But all the Israelites were unfaithful to God and worshiped it, so it became a trap for Gideon and his family.
The Death of Gideon
28So Midian was under the rule of Israel; they did not cause trouble anymore. And the land had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon was alive.
29Gideon son of Joash went to his home to live. 30He had seventy sons of his own, because he had many wives. 31He had a slave woman who lived in Shechem, and he had a son by her, whom he named Abimelech. 32So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of Joash, his father, in Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.
33As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel were again unfaithful to God and followed the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies living all around them. 35And they were not kind to the family of Jerub-Baal, also called Gideon, for all the good he had done for Israel.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.