Chapter 8
1 The men of Ephraim said to him , " Why have you treated us this way , that you didn’t call us when you went to fight with Midian ?" They rebuked him sharply .
2 He said to them , " What have I now done in comparison with you ? Isn’t the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian , Oreb and Zeeb ! What was I able to do in comparison with you ?" Then their anger was abated towards him when he had said that .
4 Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over , he and the three hundred men who were with him , faint , yet pursuing .
5 He said to the men of Succoth , " Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me ; for they are faint , and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna , the kings of Midian ."
6 The princes of Succoth said, " Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand , that we should give bread to your army ?"
7 Gideon said , " Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand , then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers ."
8 He went up there to Penuel , and spoke to them in the same way ; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered .
9 He spoke also to 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 armies with them , about fifteen thousand men , all who were left of all the army of the children of the east ; for there fell one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew sword .
11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah , and struck the army ; for the army felt secure.
12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled and he pursued them . He took the two kings of Midian , Zebah and Zalmunna , and confused all the army .
13 Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
14 He caught a young man of the men of Succoth , and enquired of him ; and he described for him the princes of Succoth , and its elders , seventy-seven men .
15 He came to the men of Succoth , and said, " See Zebah and Zalmunna , concerning whom you taunted me , saying, ‘ Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand , that we should give bread to your men who are weary ?’"
16 He took the elders of the city , and thorns of the wilderness and briers , and with them he taught the men of Succoth .
17 He broke down the tower of Penuel , and killed the men of the city .
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna , "What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor ?" They answered, " They were like you . They all resembled the children of a king ."
19 He said, " They were my brothers , the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives , if you had saved them alive , I would not kill you ."
20 He said to Jether his firstborn , " Get up and kill them !" But the youth didn’t draw his sword ; for he was afraid , because he was yet a youth .
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, " You rise and fall on us ; for as the man is , so is his strength ." Gideon arose , and killed Zebah and Zalmunna , and took the crescents that were on their camels ’ necks .
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon , " Rule over us , both you , your son , and your son ’s son also ; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian ."
23 Gideon said to them , " I will not rule over you , neither shall my son rule over you . The LORD shall rule over you ."
24 Gideon said to them , " I do have a request : that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder ." ( For they had golden earrings , because they were Ishmaelites .)
25 They answered, " We will willingly give them ." They spread a garment , and every man threw the earrings of his plunder into it .
26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold , in addition to the crescents, and the pendants , and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian , and in addition to the chains that were about their camels ’ necks .
27 Gideon made an ephod out of it , and put it in Ophrah , his city . Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there ; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house .
28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel , and they lifted up their heads no more . The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon .
29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house .
30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body , for he had many wives.
31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son , and he named him Abimelech.
32 Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age , and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father , in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 As soon as Gideon was dead , the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute following the Baals , and made Baal Berith their god.
34 The children of Israel didn’t remember the LORD their God , who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side ;
35 neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal , that is , Gideon , according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel .