Judges 8 Parallel Bible Translations

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1 THEN the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you done thus, that you never called us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they quarreled with him violently. 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 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison to you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Jezreel? 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 For in Jezreel God has delivered into your hands the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison to you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. 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 And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, pursuing, yet faint from hunger. 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 And he said to the men of Succoth, Give a few loaves of bread to the people who are with me; for they are faint from hunger, and, behold, I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings 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 And the princes of Succoth said to him, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands, that we should give bread to your army? 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 And Gideon said to them, Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. 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 And he went up from there to Penuel, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him. 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 And he said also to the men of Penuel, When I come again in peace, I will break 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 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were staying at Karkab, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the armies of the people of the east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 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 And Gideon went up by the way of them who dwell in tents on the east of Necah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army camp; for the army was not on guard. 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 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them, and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw the whole army into confusion. 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 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle at the slope of Hadas. 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 he captured a young man of the men of Succoth, and questioned him; and he wrote down for him a description of the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 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 And he came to the men of Succoth and said to them, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you upbraided me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands, that we should give bread to your servants who are faint from hunger? 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 And he dragged the elders of the city over the briers and thorns of the wilderness, and thus inflicted tortures on the men of Succoth. 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 And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the 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 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor? They said to him, They were like yourself, they resembled the sons of kings. 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 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 slay you. 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 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise and slay them. But the youth did not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 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 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise yourself, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his might. And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the 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 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both you and your son and your son's son also; for you have delivered us from the hand of 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 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over 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 And Gideon said to them, I would like to make a request of you: give me every man of you an earring of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, since the enemies were Arabians.) 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 And they said to him, We will gladly give it. And they spread a mantle, and every man threw onto it one earring from his spoil. 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 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides ornaments, neck chains, and purple raiment that were worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about 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 And Gideon took some of them and made a little idol, and set it up in his town, Ophrah; and all Israel went astray after it there; and it became a stumbling block to Gideon and to all his household, 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 Thus the Midianites were defeated before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land was tranquil forty years in the days of Gideon. 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 Then Nedo-baal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live.
30 And Gideon had seventy sons who were begotten by him; for 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 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimeleck. 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 And Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the town of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the father of Azri. 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 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and went astray after Baal, and made Baal-kiama 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 And the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 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 Neither did they show kindness to the house of Nedo-baal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness that he had done to 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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