Jg 8:1Then the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you done this thing to us, that you did not call us when you went to battle against Midian? And they contended with him sharply.
Jg 8:2And he said to them, What have I done now to compare with you? Are not the gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
Jg 8:3It was into your hand that God gave the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their hostile spirit toward him subsided when he said this word.
Jg 8:4Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men with him, weary yet pursuing.
Jg 8:5And he said to the men of Succoth, Please give us loaves of bread for the people behind me, for they are weary and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
Jg 8:6But the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?
Jg 8:7And Gideon said, Because of this, when Jehovah does deliver Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh on the thorns of the wilderness and the briers.
Jg 8:8Then he went up from 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.
Jg 8:9And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower.
Jg 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps were with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the entire camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.
Jg 8:11And Gideon went up by way of the tent dwellers, east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he struck the camp when the camp was off guard.
Jg 8:12And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them. And he captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw all the camp into confusion.
Jg 8:13And when Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle from the ascent of Heres,
Jg 8:14He captured a young man from among the men of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.
Jg 8:15Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?
Jg 8:16And he took the elders of the city and the thorns of the wilderness and the briers, and with them he trampled the men of Succoth.
Jg 8:17And he broke down the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city.
Jg 8:18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What were the men whom you slew in Tabor like? And they said, As you are, so were they. Each one was like the children of a king in form.
Jg 8:19And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Jehovah lives, if you had kept them alive, I would not slay you.
Jg 8:20And he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise up; slay them. But the youth would not draw his sword, because he was fearful; for he was still a youth.
Jg 8:21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, You rise up, and fall on us; for there is as much strength as there is man. And Gideon rose up and slew Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.
Jg 8:22And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson as well; for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.
Jg 8:23But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. Jehovah will rule over you.
Jg 8:24And Gideon said to them, Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil. (The Midianites had golden earrings, for they were Ishmaelites.)
Jg 8:25And they said, We will willingly give it. And they spread out a garment, and each of them threw an earring from his spoil there.
Jg 8:26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold. This was besides the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments that were upon the kings of Midian and besides the chains that were on their camels’ necks.
Jg 8:27And Gideon made an ephod with it and placed it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went as harlots to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his house.
Jg 8:28So 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.
Jg 8:29Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.
Jg 8:30And Gideon had seventy sons, the issue of his loins, for he had many wives.
Jg 8:31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Jg 8:32And Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Jg 8:33And as soon as Gideon died, the children of Israel turned again and went as harlots after the Baals. And they made Baal-berith their god.
Jg 8:34And the children of Israel did not remember Jehovah their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies all around;
Jg 8:35Nor did they show mercy to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, for all the good he had done to Israel.
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