Judges 8 Parallel Bible Translations

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1 The men from Ephraim strongly protested Gideon's actions. They said, |Why did you do this to us? You didn't invite us to go fight Midian with you.| 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. Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.
2 Gideon replied, |I haven't done anything compared with what you have done. Aren't the grapes that Ephraim picked after the harvest better than all the grapes in Abiezer's entire harvest? And 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 grape harvest of Abiezer? 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?
3 God handed Oreb and Zeeb, Midian's commanders, over to you. What have I done compared with that?| When they heard what Gideon said, they weren't angry with him anymore. God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this. God gave Oreb and Zeeb, 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 300 men headed toward the Jordan River. They were exhausted when they crossed it, but they kept pursuing the enemy. And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.
5 So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, |Please give me some food for the men under my command. They're exhausted, and I'm pursuing King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian.| So he said to the men of 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.” He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 The generals at Succoth replied, |We shouldn't give your army food. You haven't captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet.| And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
7 Gideon responded, |Alright, then. When the LORD hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I'll whip your bodies with thorns and thistles from the desert.| So Gideon said, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 Then Gideon went to Penuel and asked the people there for the same help. But they gave him the same reply that the men of Succoth gave. And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.
9 So he told them, |When I come back after my victory, I'll tear down this tower.| And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.” So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with an army of about 15,000 men. This was all that was left of Kedem's entire army. In the battle, 120,000 soldiers died. Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. 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.
11 So Gideon went up Tent Dwellers Road, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and defeated the unsuspecting Midianite army. And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army.
12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled as Gideon pursued them. He captured King Zebah and King Zalmunna of Midian, and the whole Midianite army panicked. And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic. 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, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.
14 and captured a young man from Succoth. He questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the 77 officials and leaders of Succoth. 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. 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, the elders of the town.
15 Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, |Here are Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me when you said, 'We shouldn't give your exhausted men food before you've captured Zebah and Zalmunna.'| And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about 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 exhausted?’” 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?’”
16 So Gideon took the leaders of the city and taught them a lesson using thorns and thistles from the desert. 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. He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.
17 Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of that city. And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
18 He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, |What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?| They answered, |They were like you. Each one looked like a king's son.| Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
19 Gideon replied, |They were my brothers, my mother's sons. I solemnly swear, as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not have to kill you now.| And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.”
20 Then he told Jether, his firstborn son, |Get up and kill them!| But Jether didn't draw his sword. He was afraid because he was only a young man. 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. 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, |Get up and do it yourself! It's a man's job!| So Gideon got up and killed them. Then he took the half-moon ornaments that were on their camels' necks. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 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 off their camels’ necks.
22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, |You, then your son, and then your grandson, must rule us. You rescued us from Midian.| 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.” 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 Gideon replied, |I will not rule you nor will my son. The LORD will rule you.| Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.”
24 Then Gideon said to them, |Do me a favor. Each of you give me the earrings from your loot.| (Their enemies, the Ishmaelites, wore gold earrings.) 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, because they were Ishmaelites.) And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)
25 The men of Israel answered, |Yes, we'll give them to you.| So they spread out a coat. Each man took the earrings from his loot and dropped them on it. And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 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 gold earrings Gideon had asked for weighed 40 pounds. This did not include the half-moon ornaments, the earrings, the purple clothes worn by the kings of Midian, and the chains from their camels' necks. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks.
27 Then Gideon used the gold to make an idol and placed it in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel chased after it there as though it were a prostitute. It became a trap for Gideon and his family. And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
28 The power of Midian was crushed by the people of Israel, and Midian never again became a threat. So the land had peace for 40 years during Gideon's life. So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.
29 Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went home to live. Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live.
30 Gideon had 70 sons because he had many wives. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.
31 His concubine at Shechem also gave birth to a son. That son was named Abimelech. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.
32 Gideon, son of Joash, died at a very old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah, the city belonging to Abiezer's family. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel chased after other gods-the Baals-as though they were prostitutes. They made Baal Berith their god. As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god
34 The Israelites did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies around them. And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
35 And they were not kind to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) despite all the good he had done for Israel. 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. They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.
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