Judges 8:1-8 ▼

1 Then 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 strongly contended with him.

2 But 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?

3 God has given the princes 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 spoke this word.

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

5 And he 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.”

6 But the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?”

7 And Gideon said, “Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

8 So he 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.