Judges 8
Jubilee Bible 2000
8 ¶ And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus that thou didst not call us when thou didst go to fight against Midian? And they chided with him sharply.
2 And he replied unto them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 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 anger was abated toward him when he spoke that word.
4 ¶ And Gideon came to pass the Jordan, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint from the pursuit.
5 And he said unto those of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they are faint that I may pursue after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the principals of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we should give bread unto thy army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns and the briers of the wilderness.
8 And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke unto them likewise; and those of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 And he spoke also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the sons of the east, for one hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword had been slain.
11 And Gideon went up by the way of those that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and smote the camp, for the camp was secure.
12 And as Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna and terrified all the host.
13 And Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle before the sun was up
14 and caught a young man of the men of Succoth and enquired of him; and he described unto him the principals of Succoth and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city and thorns and briars of the wilderness, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17 Likewise he beat down the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city.
18 ¶ Then he said unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were those whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother; as the LORD lives, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Rise up and slay them. But the youth did not draw his sword, for he feared because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
22 ¶ Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son and thy son’s son also, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
23 But Gideon replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I desire to make a request of you that ye each one would give me the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and each one cast therein the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, without the ornaments and collars and purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian and without the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
27 And Gideon made an ephod of them and kept it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel fornicated after it in that place, and it became a snare unto Gideon and to his house.
28 Thus Midian was broken before the sons of Israel so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land rested forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 ¶ And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had seventy sons that came out of his loins, for he had many wives.
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
32 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash, his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass as soon as Gideon was dead that the sons of Israel turned again and fornicated after the Baalim and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side,
35 neither were they merciful with the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the good which he had done unto Israel.
Judges 8
English Standard Version
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
8 (A)Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not (B)the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 (C)God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” (D)Then their anger[a] against him subsided when he said this.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and (E)the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of (F)Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, (G)“Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, (H)that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, (I)I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to (J)Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, (K)“When I come again in peace, (L)I will break down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of (M)the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men (N)who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of (O)Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt (P)secure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them (Q)and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured 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 Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, (R)‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” 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 a lesson. 17 (S)And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at (T)Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. (U)As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and (V)killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took (W)the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon's Ephod
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; (X)the Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, (Y)because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels[b] of gold, besides (Z)the crescent ornaments and (AA)the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon (AB)made an ephod of it and put it in his city, (AC)in Ophrah. And all Israel (AD)whored after it there, and it became a (AE)snare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. (AF)And the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon.
The Death of Gideon
29 (AG)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had (AH)seventy sons, his own offspring,[c] for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine (AI)who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died (AJ)in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, (AK)at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 (AL)As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and (AM)whored after the Baals and made (AN)Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel (AO)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35 (AP)and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 8:3 Hebrew their spirit
- Judges 8:26 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Judges 8:30 Hebrew who came from his own loins
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
