Judges 8:5-17

New King James Version

⁵ Then he said to the men of ^(A)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, ^(B)“Are^[a] the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that ^(C)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, ^(D)then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” ⁸ Then he went up from there ^(E)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 ^(F)come back in peace, ^(G)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 ^(H)all the army of the people of the East; for ^(I)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 ^(J)Nobah and Jogbehah; and he ^[b]attacked the army while the camp felt ^(K)secure. ¹² When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he ^(L)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 ^(M)ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ” ^16 (N)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 (O)Then he tore down the tower of ^(P)Penuel and killed the men of the city.