New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.

1Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they contended with him vigorously.

2But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer?

2But he said to 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?

3God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.

3"God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.

4Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy.

4Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing.

5When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

5He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

6But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”

6The leaders of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?"

7So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”

7Gideon said, "All right, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."

8From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer.

8He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.

9So he said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”

9So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return safely, I will tear down this tower."

10By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors—all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed.

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen.

11Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise.

11Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting.

12Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.

12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

13After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass.

13Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

14There 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.

14And he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

15Gideon 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.’”

15He came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?'"

16Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness.

16He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

17He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.

17He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

18Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?” “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”

18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king."

19“They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the LORD lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.”

19He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you."

20Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.

20So he said to Jether his firstborn, "Rise, kill them." But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels. Gideon’s Sacred Ephod

21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise up yourself, and fall on us; for as the man, so is his strength." So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels' necks.

22Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”

22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son's son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian."

23But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you!

23But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you."

24However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

24Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder.

25They said, "We will surely give them." So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil.

26The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

26The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels' necks.

27Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

27Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

28That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land.

28So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.

29Then Gideon son of Joash returned home.

29Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

30He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives.

30Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.

31He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.

31His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

32Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer.

32And Gideon the son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god.

33Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god.

34They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them.

34Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;

35Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.

35nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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