Judges 8–10

8And ^athe men of Ephraim said unto him, ^†Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him ^†sharply. ²And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not ^bthe gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? ^3cGod hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their ^†danger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

⁴And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and ^ethe three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. ⁵And he said unto the men of ^fSuccoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people ^gthat follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. ⁶And the princes of Succoth said, ^hAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army? ⁷And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, ⁱthen I will ^†tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. ⁸And he went up thence to ^jPenuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him. ⁹And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, ^kWhen I come again in peace, ^lI will break down this tower. ¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of ^mall the hosts of ⁿthe children of the east: for there fell ^||an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. ¹¹And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of ^oNobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was ^psecure. ¹²And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and ^qtook the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and ^†discomfited all the host.

¹³And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, ¹⁴And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he ^†described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. ¹⁵And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, ^rAre the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? ^16rAnd he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he ^†taught the men of Succoth. ^17sAnd he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. ¹⁸Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at ^tTabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one ^†resembled the children of a king. ¹⁹And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: ^uas the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. ²⁰And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. ²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and ^vslew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ^||ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

²²Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. ²³And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: ^wthe Lord shall rule over you. ²⁴And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the ^xearrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, ^ybecause they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. ²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ^zornaments, and ^||collars, and ^apurple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the ^bchains that were about their camels’ necks. ²⁷And Gideon made an ^cephod thereof, and put it in his city, even ^din Ophrah: and all Israel ^ewent thither a whoring after it: which thing became ^fa snare unto Gideon, and to his house. ²⁸Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. ^gAnd the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. ³⁰And Gideon had ^hthreescore and ten sons ^†of his body begotten: for he had many wives. ³¹And his concubine that was in ⁱShechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he ^†called Abimelech. ^32*And Gideon the son of Joash died ^jin a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, ^kin Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. ³³And it came to pass, ^las soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and ^mwent a whoring after Baalim, and made ⁿBaal-berith their god. ³⁴And the children of Israel ^oremembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: ^35pNeither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

9And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto ^ahis mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, ²Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all ^bthe men of Shechem, ^†Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are ^cthreescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am ^dyour bone and your flesh. ³And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all ^bthe men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined ^†to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our ^ebrother. ⁴And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of ^fBaal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired ^gvain and ^hlight persons, which followed him. ⁵And he went unto his father’s house ⁱat Ophrah, and ^jslew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. ⁶And all ^bthe men of Shechem gathered together, and all ^kthe house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, ^||by the plain of ^lthe pillar that was in Shechem.

⁷And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of ^mmount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye ^bmen of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. ⁸ⁿThe trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, ^oReign thou over us. ⁹But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, ^pwherewith by me they honour God and man, and ^||go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁰And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹¹But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹²Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹³And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, ^qwhich cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁴Then said all the trees unto the ^||bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹⁵And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my ^rshadow: and if not, ^slet fire come out of the bramble, and devour ^tthe cedars of Lebanon. ¹⁶Now therefore, if ye have done ^utruly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to ^wthe deserving of his hands; ¹⁷(For my father fought for you, and ^†adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: ¹⁸And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and ^xhave slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, ^ythe son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, ^zbecause he is your brother;) ¹⁹If ye then have dealt ^utruly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then ^arejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: ²⁰But if not, ^blet fire come out from Abimelech, and devour ^cthe men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. ²¹And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to ^dBeer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

^22*When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, ²³Then ^eGod sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem ^fdealt treacherously with Abimelech: ^24gThat the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which ^†aided him in the killing of his brethren. ²⁵And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. ²⁶And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. ²⁷And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made ^||merry, and went into ^hthe house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸And Gaal the son of Ebed said, ⁱWho is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of ^jHamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? ²⁹And ^kwould to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. ³⁰And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the…