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Richteren 8
Het Boek
Richteren 8
Het Boek
Gideon weigert het leiderschap
8 De leiders van de stam Efraïm waren echter woedend op Gideon: ‘Wat is dat voor een manier van doen?’ zeiden ze boos. ‘Waarom hebt u ons niet geroepen toen u tegen de Midjanieten ging vechten?’ Zij maakten hem hevige verwijten. 2,3 Maar Gideon antwoordde: ‘God heeft u toch de koningen Oreb en Zeëb van Midjan gevangen laten nemen? Vergeleken daarmee heb ik praktisch niets gedaan. Wat u deed aan het einde van de strijd is veel belangrijker dan wat wij aan het begin hebben gedaan.’ Toen kalmeerden zij.
4 Gideon en zijn driehonderd mannen bereikten de Jordaan en staken die over. Hoewel zij erg moe waren, zetten zij de achtervolging voort. 5 Gideon vroeg de inwoners van Sukkot om voedsel voor zijn mannen. ‘Wij zijn erg moe van het achtervolgen van Zebah en Zalmuna, de koningen van Midjan,’ legde hij uit. 6 Maar de leiders van Sukkot antwoordden: ‘U doet alsof u Zebah en Zalmuna al hebt gevangen! Nee, we geven niets!’ 7 Toen waarschuwde Gideon hen: ‘Wanneer de Here hen aan mij heeft overgeleverd, kom ik terug om u te geselen met dorens en distels uit de woestijn.’ 8 Daarna trok hij verder naar Pnuël en vroeg ook daar om voedsel, maar hij kreeg hetzelfde antwoord als in Sukkot. 9 Daarom zei hij tegen de burgers van Pnuël: ‘Wanneer de strijd voorbij is, kom ik terug en zal ik deze toren met de grond gelijk maken.’
10 Rond die tijd kwamen de koningen Zebah en Zalmuna met hun leger van nog slechts vijftienduizend man in Karkor aan. Dat was het hele restant van de strijdmacht van de stammen uit het oosten, want er waren al honderdtwintigduizend soldaten gesneuveld. 11 Gideon volgde de karavaanroute ten oosten van Nobach en Jogbeha en versloeg het Midjanitische leger door een verrassingsaanval. 12 De twee koningen sloegen op de vlucht, maar Gideon achtervolgde hen en nam hen gevangen. Hun hele leger werd verstrooid. 13 Daarna ging hij terug via de Heres-pas. 14 Hij nam een jongen uit Sukkot gevangen en dwong deze de namen op te schrijven van alle zevenenzeventig politieke en religieuze leiders van Sukkot. 15 Toen ging hij naar Sukkot. ‘U lachte mij uit en zei dat ik koning Zebah en koning Zalmuna nooit te pakken zou krijgen,’ zei hij. ‘U weigerde mijn hongerige, vermoeide mannen eten te geven. Welnu, hier zijn we dan!’ 16 Hij greep de leiders van de stad en gaf hun met de dorens en distels uit de woestijn een gevoelige afstraffing. 17 Hij ging ook naar Pnuël, haalde daar de toren omver en doodde de hele mannelijke bevolking.
18 Toen vroeg Gideon aan koning Zebah en koning Zalmuna: ‘Hoe zagen de mannen eruit die u op de Thabor hebt gedood?’ Zij antwoordden: ‘Ze zagen er net zo uit als u, als koningszonen!’ 19 ‘Dat waren mijn bloedeigen broers!’ riep Gideon uit. ‘Ten overstaan van de Here zeg ik u: als u hen had laten leven, zou ik u nu niet doden.’ 20 Gideon zei tegen zijn oudste zoon Jether: ‘Vooruit, dood hen.’ Maar Jether durfde niet, want hij was nog maar een jongen. 21 En Zebah en Zalmuna zeiden tegen Gideon: ‘Doet u het zelf, we worden liever door een man gedood!’ Daarop doodde Gideon hen eigenhandig. De sieraden die hun kamelen om de nek droegen, nam hij mee.
22 De Israëlieten zeiden tegen Gideon: ‘U moet onze leider worden! U en uw nageslacht moeten over ons regeren, want u hebt ons verlost uit de overheersing van de Midjanieten.’ 23 Maar Gideon antwoordde: ‘Noch ik, noch mijn zoon zullen uw leider zijn. De Here is uw Leidsman! 24 Ik heb echter één vraag. Laat ieder van u mij één ring geven uit zijn persoonlijke buit.’ Want de Midjanitische troepen waren Ismaëlieten, die vaak gouden ringen droegen. 25 ‘Dat is goed,’ antwoordden zij. Zij legden een mantel op de grond en ieder gooide daar één ring op. 26 Het totale gewicht van de gouden ringen bedroeg ruim achttien kilo, nog afgezien van de oorhangers en de paars rode kleding van de verslagen koningen en de kettinkjes die hun kamelen om de nek droegen. 27 Gideon maakte hiervan een gouden priesterkleed en zette die in zijn woonplaats Ofra neer. Maar al gauw begon heel Israël dit priesterkleed te aanbidden, zodat het Gideon en zijn familie alleen maar ongeluk bracht. 28 Midjan werd definitief aan Israël onderworpen. Toen leefde het land veertig jaar lang in vrede, zolang Gideon leefde.
29,30 Gideon ging naar huis terug en kreeg in de loop van de tijd zeventig zonen. Hij had veel vrouwen 31 en ook een bijvrouw, die in Sichem woonde, zij schonk hem een zoon, die de naam Abimelech kreeg. 32 Gideon stierf op zeer hoge leeftijd en werd begraven bij zijn vader Joas in Ofra, in het gebied van de Abiëzrieten.
33 Na Gideons dood werden de Israëlieten God opnieuw ontrouw en zij begonnen afgodsbeelden van Baäl en Baäl-Berith te aanbidden. 34 Zij dachten niet meer aan de Here, hun God, die hen had verlost van de hen omringende vijanden. 35 Ook waren ze de familie van Gideon niet meer dankbaar voor alles wat Gideon voor Israël had gedaan.
Judges 8
English Standard Version
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
Judges 8
New International Version
Judges 8
New International Version
Zebah and Zalmunna
8 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon,(A) “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?(B)”(C) And they challenged him vigorously.(D)
2 But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?(E) 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb,(F) the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.
4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan(G) and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth,(H) “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out,(I) and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,(J) the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth(K) said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread(L) to your troops?”(M)
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna(N) into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel[a](O) and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”(P)
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.(Q) 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah(R) and Jogbehah(S) and attacked the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
13 Gideon son of Joash(T) then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.(U) 14 He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth,(V) the elders(W) of the town. 15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?(X)’” 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson(Y) by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel(Z) and killed the men of the town.(AA)
18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?(AB)”
“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives,(AC) if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments(AD) off their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule(AE) over you.” 24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring(AF) from your share of the plunder.(AG)” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites(AH) to wear gold earrings.)
25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,[b] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains(AI) that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod,(AJ) which he placed in Ophrah,(AK) his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare(AL) to Gideon and his family.(AM)
Gideon’s Death
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head(AN) again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace(AO) forty years.
29 Jerub-Baal(AP) son of Joash(AQ) went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons(AR) of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine,(AS) who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.(AT) 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age(AU) and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.(AV) They set up Baal-Berith(AW) as their god(AX) 34 and did not remember(AY) the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal(AZ) (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.(BA)
Footnotes
- Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
- Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms
Het Boek (HTB)
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New International Version (NIV) 
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