Judges 8
8
1And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply. 2And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? 3Into your hands hath God#GodHebrew: Elohim delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word.
4And Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing. 5And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. 6And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army? 7And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars. 8And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 11And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease. 12And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the camp. 13And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres. 14And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men. 15And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary? 16And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. 17And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king. 19And 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. 20And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels' necks.
22And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian. 23And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you. 24And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites. 25And they said, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty. 26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks. 27And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house. 28And 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.
29And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house. 30Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives. 31And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech. 32And 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 Abi-ezrites. 33And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their god. 34And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God#GodHebrew: Elohim who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side. 35And they shewed no kindness to the house of Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.
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Judges 8: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Judges 8
8
1#Jgs 12:1. But the Ephraimites said to him, “What have you done to us, not summoning us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they quarreled bitterly with him. 2But he answered them, “What have I done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?#Jgs 6:34. 3It was into your power God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb.#Jgs 7:25. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
4When Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it, he and his three hundred men were exhausted and famished. 5So he said to the people of Succoth, “Will you give my followers some loaves of bread? They are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.” 6But the princes of Succoth replied, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your army?”#Are the hands…already in your possession…?: i.e., can you already boast of victory? The hands of slain enemies were sometimes cut off and counted as trophies. 7Gideon said, “Very well; when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will thrash your bodies with desert thorns and briers.” 8He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request of them, but the people of Penuel answered him as had the people of Succoth. 9So to the people of Penuel, too, he said, “When I return in peace, I will demolish this tower.”
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their force of about fifteen thousand men; these were all who were left of the whole Kedemite army, a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen having fallen. 11Gideon went up by the route of the tent-dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the force when it felt secure. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled and Gideon pursued them. He captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, terrifying the entire force.
13Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from battle by the pass of Heres. 14He captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and he wrote down for him the seventy-seven princes and elders of Succoth. 15So he went to the princes of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you taunted me, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your weary men?’” 16He seized the elders of the city, and with desert thorns and briers he thrashed the people of Succoth. 17He also demolished the tower of Penuel and killed the people of the city.
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men you killed at Tabor?” “They were all like you,” they replied. “They appeared to be princes.” 19“They were my brothers, my mother’s sons,” he said. “As the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20Then he said to his firstborn, Jether, “Go, kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, for he was still a boy. 21#Ps 83:12. Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, kill us yourself, for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon stepped forward and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
22#1 Sm 8:5; Hos 13:10. The Israelites then said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your son’s son—for you saved us from the power of Midian.” 23But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord must rule over you.”#1 Sm 8:7; 10:19; 12:12.
24Gideon went on to say, “Let me make a request of you. Give me, each of you, a ring from his spoils.” (Since they were Ishmaelites,#Ishmaelites: evidently used here as a general term for nomads, whose wealth was in the form of gold and flocks. The genealogies in Genesis place the Midianites as descendants of Abraham and his wife Keturah (Gn 25:1–2), and the Ishmaelites as the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave (Gn 25:12–16). the enemy had gold rings.) 25“We will certainly give them,” they replied, and they spread out a cloak into which everyone threw a ring from his spoils. 26The gold rings he had requested weighed seventeen hundred gold shekels, apart from the crescents and pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and apart from the trappings that were on the necks of their camels. 27#Jgs 17:5; 18:14. Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in his city, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28Midian was brought into subjection by the Israelites; they no longer held their heads high, and the land had rest for forty years,#Jgs 3:11, 30; 5:31. during the lifetime of Gideon.
Gideon’s Son Abimelech. 29Then Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went to live in his house. 30#Jgs 9:2, 5; 10:4; 12:9, 14. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31His concubine#Concubine: a wife of secondary rank. who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33#Jgs 2:19; 3:12; 4:1. But after Gideon was dead, the Israelites again prostituted themselves by following the Baals, making Baal-berith#Baal-berith: a divine epithet meaning “lord of the covenant.” The same deity is called El-berith, “god of the covenant,” in 9:46. their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the Lord, their God, who had delivered them from the power of their enemies all around them. 35Nor were they loyal to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc