Judges 8:4-9
New American Standard Bible
4 Then Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came (A)to the Jordan and crossed over, exhausted yet still pursuing. 5 And he said to the men of (B)Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are [a]following me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 But the leaders of Succoth said, “[b](C)Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “For this answer, (D)when the Lord has handed over to me Zebah and Zalmunna, I will [c]thrash your [d]bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 Then he went up from there to [e](E)Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 So he said also to the men of [f]Penuel, “When I return safely, (F)I will tear down this tower.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 8:5 Lit at my feet
- Judges 8:6 Lit Is the palm of...; i.e., are you so sure of victory that
- Judges 8:7 Or trample
- Judges 8:7 Lit flesh
- Judges 8:8 In Gen 32:30, Peniel
- Judges 8:9 Lit Penuel, saying,
Judges 8:4-9
New English Translation
Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings
4 Now Gideon and his 300 men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.[a] 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give[b] some loaves of bread to the men[c] who are following me,[d] because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 The officials of Sukkoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give[e] bread to your army?”[f] 7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help,[g] after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh[h] your skin[i] with[j] desert thorns and briers.” 8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request.[k] The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Sukkoth had.[l] 9 He also threatened[m] the men of Penuel, warning,[n] “When I return victoriously,[o] I will tear down this tower.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 8:4 tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
- Judges 8:5 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
- Judges 8:5 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
- Judges 8:5 tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
- Judges 8:6 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
- Judges 8:6 tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Sukkoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).sn The officials of Sukkoth are hesitant to give (or sell) food to Gideon’s forces because they are not sure of the outcome of the battle. Perhaps they had made an alliance with the Midianites which demanded their loyalty.
- Judges 8:7 tn Heb “Therefore.”
- Judges 8:7 sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.
- Judges 8:7 tn Or “flesh.”
- Judges 8:7 tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (ʾet, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.
- Judges 8:8 tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”
- Judges 8:8 tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Sukkoth answered.”
- Judges 8:9 tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.
- Judges 8:9 tn Heb “saying.”
- Judges 8:9 tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.