Judges 8:13-17
New Living Translation
13 After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass. 14 There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town. 15 Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’” 16 Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness. 17 He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.
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Judges 8:13-17
New English Translation
13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass[a] of Heres. 14 He captured a young man from Sukkoth[b] and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Sukkoth’s officials and city leaders—seventy-seven men in all.[c] 15 He approached the men of Sukkoth and said, “Look what I have![d] Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’”[e] 16 He seized the leaders[f] of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Sukkoth with them.[g] 17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.
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- Judges 8:13 tn Or “ascent.”
- Judges 8:14 tn Heb “from the men of Sukkoth.”
- Judges 8:14 tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Sukkoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
- Judges 8:15 tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Judges 8:15 tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?” sn Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying exhausted men rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensitivity of the men of Sukkoth.
- Judges 8:16 tn Heb “elders.”
- Judges 8:16 tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוּשׁ (dush, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyodaʿ, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadaʿ). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Sukkoth a lesson.”
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