Judges 8
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Gideon’s Triumph and Vengeance
8 And the men of E′phraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight with Mid′ian?” And they upbraided him violently. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of E′phraim better than the vintage of Abi-e′zer? 3 God has given into your hands the princes of Mid′ian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him was abated, when he had said this.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of Succoth, “Pray, give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmun′na, the kings of Mid′ian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, “Are Zebah and Zalmun′na already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 And Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmun′na into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to Penu′el, and spoke to them in the same way; and the men of Penu′el answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penu′el, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmun′na were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jog′behah, and attacked the army; for the army was off its guard. 12 And Zebah and Zalmun′na fled; and he pursued them and took the two kings of Mid′ian, Zebah and Zalmun′na, and he threw all the army into a panic.
13 Then Gideon the son of Jo′ash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he caught a young man of Succoth, and questioned him; and he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmun′na, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmun′na already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are faint?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penu′el, and slew the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmun′na, “Where are the men whom you slew at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.” 20 And he said to Jether his first-born, “Rise, and slay them.” But the youth did not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmun′na said, “Rise yourself, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmun′na; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s Idolatry
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Mid′ian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”[a] 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you; give me every man of you the earrings of his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ish′maelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a garment, and every man cast in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Mid′ian, and besides the collars that were about the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah; and all Israel played the harlot after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Mid′ian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Death of Gideon
29 Jerubba′al the son of Jo′ash went and dwelt in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abim′elech. 32 And Gideon the son of Jo′ash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Jo′ash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiez′rites.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and played the harlot after the Ba′als, and made Ba′al-be′rith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35 and they did not show kindness to the family of Jerubba′al (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
Footnotes
- 8.23 It appears from the sequel that Gideon did in fact become a king even if he refused the title; but the idea of an hereditary monarchy was still unacceptable, as the following history of Abimelech shows.
Judges 8
New King James Version
Gideon Subdues the Midianites
8 Now (A)the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.
2 So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the [a]gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than [b]the vintage of (B)Abiezer? 3 (C)God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their (D)anger toward him subsided when he said that.
4 When Gideon came (E)to the Jordan, he and (F)the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit. 5 Then he said to the men of (G)Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”
6 And the leaders of Succoth said, (H)“Are[c] the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that (I)we should give bread to your army?”
7 So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, (J)then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” 8 Then he went up from there (K)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 So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I (L)come back in peace, (M)I will tear down this tower!”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of (N)all the army of the people of the East; for (O)one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen. 11 Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of (P)Nobah and Jogbehah; and he [d]attacked the army while the camp felt (Q)secure. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he (R)took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres. 14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you (S)ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ” 16 (T)And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he [e]taught the men of Succoth. 17 (U)Then he tore down the tower of (V)Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at (W)Tabor?”
So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.”
19 Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.
21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and (X)killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, (Y)“Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have (Z)delivered us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; (AA)the Lord shall rule over you.” 24 Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to [f]make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, (AB)because they were Ishmaelites.
25 So they answered, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. 26 Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. 27 Then Gideon (AC)made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, (AD)Ophrah. And all Israel (AE)played the harlot with it there. It became (AF)a snare to Gideon and to his house.
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. (AG)And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.
Death of Gideon
29 Then (AH)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. 30 Gideon had (AI)seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 (AJ)And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. 32 Now Gideon the son of Joash died (AK)at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, (AL)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 So it was, (AM)as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again (AN)played the harlot with the Baals, (AO)and made Baal-Berith their god. 34 Thus the children of Israel (AP)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35 (AQ)nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 8:2 Few grapes left after the harvest
- Judges 8:2 The whole harvest
- Judges 8:6 Lit. Is the palm
- Judges 8:11 Lit. struck
- Judges 8:16 disciplined
- Judges 8:24 Lit. request a request
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
