Judges 8:6-9:13

New King James Version

⁶ And the leaders of Succoth said, ^(A)“Are^[a] the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that ^(B)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, ^(C)then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” ⁸ Then he went up from there ^(D)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 ^(E)come back in peace, ^(F)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 ^(G)all the army of the people of the East; for ^(H)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 ^(I)Nobah and Jogbehah; and he ^[b]attacked the army while the camp felt ^(J)secure. ¹² When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he ^(K)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 ^(L)ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ” ^16 (M)And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he ^[c]taught the men of Succoth. ^17 (N)Then he tore down the tower of ^(O)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 ^(P)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 ^(Q)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, ^(R)“Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have ^(S)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; ^(T)the Lord shall rule over you.” ²⁴ Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to ^[d]make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, ^(U)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 ^(V)made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, ^(W)Ophrah. And all Israel ^(X)played the harlot with it there. It became ^(Y)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. ^(Z)And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Death of Gideon

²⁹ Then ^(AA)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. ³⁰ Gideon had ^(AB)seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. ^31 (AC)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 ^(AD)at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, ^(AE)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ So it was, ^(AF)as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again ^(AG)played the harlot with the Baals, ^(AH)and made Baal-Berith their god. ³⁴ Thus the children of Israel ^(AI)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; ^35 (AJ)nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

9 Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to ^(AK)his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, ² “Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all ^(AL)seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and ^(AM)bone.”

³ And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our ^(AN)brother.” ⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of ^(AO)Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired ^(AP)worthless and reckless men; and they followed him. ⁵ Then he went to his father’s house ^(AQ)at Ophrah and ^(AR)killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself. ⁶ And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem.

The Parable of the Trees

⁷ Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of ^(AS)Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: