Judges 8

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.