Judges 8:1-21 ▼

1 Then the men of Ephraim (doubly fruitful) said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian (strife)?” And they contended with him violently.

2 But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you⁺? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim (doubly fruitful) better than the grape harvest of Abiezer (my father is help)?

3 God {Elohim} has delivered Oreb (raven) and Zeeb (wolf), the two princes of Midian (strife), into your⁺ hand. What was I able to do compared to you⁺?” When he had said this, their anger {ruachah} against him subsided.

4 Then Gideon (hewer) and his three hundred men came to the Jordan (flowing down) and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.

5 So Gideon said to the men of Succoth (booths), “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian (strife).”

6 But the leaders of Succoth (booths) asked, “Are the hands of Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”

7 “Very well,” Gideon (hewer) replied, “when the LORD {YHWH} has delivered Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your⁺ flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”

8 From there he went up to Penuel (Peniel) and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel (facing God) gave the same response as the men of Succoth (booths).

9 So Gideon told the men of Penuel (facing God), “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”

10 Now Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna were in Karkor (foundation) with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

11 And Gideon (hewer) went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah (barking) and Jogbehah (lofty), and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.

12 When Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian (strife), routing their entire army.

13 After this, Gideon (hewer) son of Joash (given by the Lord) returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres (the sun).

14 There he captured a young man of Succoth (booths) and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

15 And Gideon went to the men of Succoth (booths) and said, “Here are Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna, about whom you⁺ taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”

16 Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth (booths).

17 He also pulled down the tower of Penuel (facing God) and killed the men of the city.

18 Next, Gideon asked Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you⁺ kill at Tabor (mound)?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

19 “They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD {YHWH} lives, if you⁺ had let them live, I would not kill you⁺.”

20 So he said to Jether (abundance), his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.

21 Then Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon (hewer) got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.