^8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed.²¹^8:11Gideon went up the road of the nomads²² east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army.²³^8:12When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon²⁴ chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised²⁵ their entire army.

^8:13Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass²⁶ of Heres. ^8:14He captured a young man from Succoth²⁷ and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders—seventy-seven men in all.²⁸^8:15He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have!²⁹ Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’ ”³⁰^8:16He seized the leaders³¹ of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them.³²^8:17He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.

^8:18He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me³³ the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”³⁴^8:19He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear,³⁵ as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ^8:20He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on!³⁶ Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword,³⁷ because he was still young. ^8:21Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon,³⁸ “Come on,³⁹ you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.”⁴⁰ So Gideon killed⁴¹ Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

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Footnotes

21 Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”
22 Heb “the ones living in tents.”
23 Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term בֶטַח (vetakh, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [], ), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.
24 Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”
26 Or “ascent.”
27 Heb “from the men of Succoth.”
28 Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
29 Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
30 Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?” Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying exhausted men rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensitivity of the men of Succoth.
31 Heb “elders.”
32 The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (, the , and ) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”
33 Heb “Where are?”
34 Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
35 The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
36 Or “Arise!”
37 Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”
38 The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
39 Or “Arise.”
40 Heb “for as the man is his strength.”
41 Heb “arose and killed.”