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Judges 8
1599 Geneva Bible
Judges 8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 1 Ephraim murmureth against Gideon, who appeaseth them. 4 He passeth the Jordan. 16 He revengeth himself on them of Succoth and Penuel. 27 He maketh an Ephod which was the cause of idolatry. 30 Of Gideon’s sons and of his death.
1 Then the men of Ephraim said unto him, [a]Why hast thou served us thus that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? and they chide with him sharply.
2 To whom he said, What have I now done, in comparison of [b]you? is not the [c]gleaning of grapes of Ephraim better, than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? and when he had thus spoken, then their spirits abated toward him.
4 ¶ And Gideon came to Jordan to pass over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, weary, yet pursuing them.
5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, [d]morsels of bread unto the people [e]that follow me (for they be weary) that I may follow after Zebah and Zalmunna Kings of Midian.
6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the [f]hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hands, that we should give bread unto thine army?
7 Gideon then said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, I will [g]tear your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
8 ¶ And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise, and the men of Penuel answered him, as the men of Succoth answered.
9 And he said also unto the men of Penuel, When I come again [h]in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 ¶ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were [i]in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of all the hosts of them of the East: for there was slain an hundred and twenty thousand men, that drew swords.
11 ¶ And Gideon went through them that dwelt in [j]Tabernacles on the East side of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was careless.
12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he followed after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
13 ¶ So Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, [k]the sun being yet high,
14 And took a servant of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he [l]wrote to him the princes of Succoth and the Elders thereof, even seventy and seven men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah, and Zalmunna, by whom ye upbraided me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah, and Zalmunna already in thine hands, that we should give bread unto thy weary men?
16 Then he took the Elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and [m]did tear the men of Succoth with them.
17 Also he brake down the tower of (A)Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 ¶ Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they, whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, [n]As thou art, so were they, every one was like the children of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brethren, even my [o]mother’s children: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved their lives, I would not slay you.
20 Then he said unto Jether his firstborn son, Up, and slay them: but the boy drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet young.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou and fall upon us: for [p]as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the [q]ornaments, that were on their camels’ necks.
22 ¶ Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Reign thou over us, both thou, and thy son and thy [r]son’s son: for thou hast delivered us out of the hand of Midian.
23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not reign over you, neither shall my child reign over you, but the Lord shall reign over you.
24 Again Gideon said unto them, [s]I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey (for they [had] golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he required, was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, beside collars [t]and jewels, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about the camels’ necks.
27 And Gideon made an [u]Ephod thereof, and put it in Ophrah his city: and all Israel went a whoring there after it, which was the destruction of Gideon and his house.
28 Thus was Midian brought low before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more: and the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 ¶ Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went, and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had seventy sons [v]begotten of his body: for he had many wives.
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, bare him a son also, whose name he called Abimelech.
32 So Gideon the son of Joash died in a good age, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father in Ophrah, of the [w]father of the Abiezrites.
33 But when Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned away, and went a whoring after Baal, and made [x]Baal-Berith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, which had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
35 Neither [y]showed they mercy on the house of Jerubbaal, or Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 8:1 They began to cavil, because he had the glory of the victory.
- Judges 8:2 Which have slain two princes, Oreb and Zeeb.
- Judges 8:2 This last act of the whole tribe is more famous, than the whole enterprise of one man of one family.
- Judges 8:5 Or, some small portion.
- Judges 8:5 Hebrew, that are at my feet.
- Judges 8:6 Because thou hast overcome an handful, thinkest thou to have overcome the whole?
- Judges 8:7 Hebrew, beat in pieces.
- Judges 8:9 Having gotten the victory.
- Judges 8:10 A city Eastward beyond Jordan.
- Judges 8:11 He went by the wilderness where the Arabians dwelt in tents.
- Judges 8:13 Some read, before the Sun rose up.
- Judges 8:14 Or, described.
- Judges 8:16 Hebrew, break in pieces, as one thresheth corn.
- Judges 8:18 Or, they were like unto thee.
- Judges 8:19 We came all out of one belly: therefore I will be revenged.
- Judges 8:21 Meaning, that they would be rid out of their pain at once, or else to have a valiant man to put them to death.
- Judges 8:21 Or, collars.
- Judges 8:22 That is, thy posterity.
- Judges 8:24 His intent was to show himself thankful for this victory by restoring of religion, which because it was not according as God had commanded, turned to their destruction.
- Judges 8:26 Or, sweet balls.
- Judges 8:27 That is, such things as pertained to the use of the Tabernacle. See more of Ephod, Exod. 28:4,6; 1 Sam. 2:18 and 2 Sam. 6:14 and Judg. 17:5.
- Judges 8:30 Hebrew, which came out of his thigh.
- Judges 8:32 Which city belonged to the family of the Abiezrites.
- Judges 8:33 That is, Baal, to whom they had bound themselves by covenant.
- Judges 8:35 They were unmindful of God and unkind toward him, by whom they had received so great a benefit.
Judges 8
New International Version
Judges 8
New International Version
Zebah and Zalmunna
8 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon,(A) “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?(B)”(C) And they challenged him vigorously.(D)
2 But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?(E) 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb,(F) the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.
4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan(G) and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth,(H) “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out,(I) and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,(J) the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth(K) said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread(L) to your troops?”(M)
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna(N) into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel[a](O) and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”(P)
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.(Q) 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah(R) and Jogbehah(S) and attacked the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
13 Gideon son of Joash(T) then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.(U) 14 He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth,(V) the elders(W) of the town. 15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?(X)’” 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson(Y) by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel(Z) and killed the men of the town.(AA)
18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?(AB)”
“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives,(AC) if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments(AD) off their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule(AE) over you.” 24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring(AF) from your share of the plunder.(AG)” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites(AH) to wear gold earrings.)
25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,[b] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains(AI) that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod,(AJ) which he placed in Ophrah,(AK) his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare(AL) to Gideon and his family.(AM)
Gideon’s Death
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head(AN) again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace(AO) forty years.
29 Jerub-Baal(AP) son of Joash(AQ) went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons(AR) of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine,(AS) who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.(AT) 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age(AU) and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.(AV) They set up Baal-Berith(AW) as their god(AX) 34 and did not remember(AY) the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal(AZ) (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.(BA)
Footnotes
- Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
- Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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