Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna 1And the men of Ephraim said vnto him: Why hast thou serued vs thus, that thou calledst vs not, when thou wentest to fyght with the Madianites? And they chode with him sharpely. 2And he sayde vnto them: What deede haue I done lyke vnto yours? Is not the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim, better then the vinetage of Abiezer? 3God hath delyuered into your handes the lordes of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: And what was I able to do lyke as you haue done? And then their spirites abated from of him, when he had sayde that. 4And Gedeon came to Iordane to passe ouer, he & the three hundred men that were with him weery, and yet folowed the chase. 5And he sayd vnto ye men of Sucoth: Geue I pray you, takes of bread vnto ye people that folow me, for they be fayntie, that I may folowe after Zebah, and Zalmana, kynges of Madian. 6And the lordes of Sucoth sayde: Are the handes of Zebah and Zalmana now in thyne handes, that we should geue bread vnto thyne armie? 7Gedeon sayde: Therfore when the Lord hath deliuered Zebah and Zalmana into mine hande, I will teare the fleshe of you with the thornes of the wildernes, and with bryers. 8And he went vp thence to Phanuel, & spake vnto them lykewyse: And ye men of Phanuel aunswered him, as did the men of Sucoth. 9And he sayd also vnto the men of Phanuel: When I come agayne in peace, I will breake downe this towre. 10Zebah & Zalmana were in Carcor, and their hoastes with them, vpon a fifteene thousande men, which were all that were left of all the hoastes of them of the east: For there was slaine an hundred and twentie thousande men that drewe swordes. 11And Gedeon went thorowe them that dwelt in tabernacles on the east syde of Nobah and Iegbahah, and smote the hoaste: for the hoaste dyd cast no perylles. 12And whan Zebah and Zalmana fled, he folowed after them, and toke ye two kynges of Madian, Zebah and Zalmana, and discomfited all the hoaste. 13And Gedeon the sonne of Ioas, returned from battel afore the sunne was vp, 14And caught a ladde of the men of Sucoth, & enquired of him: And he wrote him of the lordes and elders of Sucoth threescore and seuenteene men. 15And he came vnto the men of Sucoth, and sayd: Beholde Zebah and Zalmana, with which ye dyd cast me in the teeth, saying: Are the handes of Zebah and Zalmana alredy in thyne hande, that we should geue bread vnto thy fayntie men? 16And he toke the elders of the citie, and thornes of the wildernesse, and bryers, and dyd teare the men of Sucoth with them. 17And he brake downe the towre of Phanuel, & slue the men of the citie. 18And then sayde he vnto Zebah and Zalmana: What maner of men were they whom ye slue at Thabor? And they aunswered: The lykenesse of thee and them is al one, eue after the fashion of the children of a kyng. 19And he sayd, They were my brethren, euen my mothers children: As truly as the Lord liueth, if ye had saued their lyues, I would not slay you. 20And he sayde vnto Iether his eldest sonne, Up and slay them. But the ladde drue not his sworde: for he feared, because he was yet young. 21Then Zebah and Zalmana sayde: Ryse thou, and fall vpon vs: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gedeon arose, and slue Zebah and Zalmana, and toke away the ornamentes that were on their camels neckes. Gideon’s Ephod 22Then the men of Israel sayde vnto Gedeon: Raigne thou ouer vs, both thou, thy sonne, and thy sonnes sonne, for thou hast deliuered vs out of ye hand of Madian. 23And Gedeon sayd vnto them: I wyll not raigne ouer you, neither shall my childe raigne ouer you: but the Lorde shall raigne ouer you. 24And agayne Gedeon said vnto them: I would desire a request of you, euen that you would geue me euery man the earinges of his pray. For they had golden earinges, because they were Israelites. 25And they aunswered: We will gyue them. And they spread a mantell, and dyd cast therin euery man the earynges of his pray. 26And the wayght of ye golden earinges that he required, was a thousand and seuen hundred sicles of golde, besyde chaynes and iewelles, and purple rayment that was on the kynges of Madian, and besyde the chaynes that were about their camels neckes. 27And Gedeon made an Ephod therof, and put it in his citie Ephrah: And all Israel went a whoryng after it in the same place, which thing became a ruyne vnto Gedeon and to his house. Forty Years of Peace 28Thus was Madian brought lowe before the children of Israel, so that they lyft vp their heades no more: And the countrey was in quietnes fourtie yeres in the dayes of Gedeon. 29And Ierobaal ye sonne of Ioas, went and dwelt in his owne house. 30And Gedeon had threescore and ten sonnes of his body begotten: for he had many wyues. 31And his cocubine that was in Sichem bare him a sonne also, whose name he called Abimelech. Gideon’s Death 32And Gedeon the sonne of Ioas dyed in a good age, and was buryed in the sepulchre of Ioas his father, euen in Ephrah, that parteyned vnto the father of the Esrites.
33But assoone as Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned away, & went a whoryng after Baalim, and made a couenaunt with Baal to be their God.
34And the children of Israel thought not on the Lorde their God, which had deliuered them out of the handes of all their enemies on euery syde:
35Neither shewed they mercy on the house of Ierobaal |
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