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Judges 8:18–21

18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What type were the men whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you;s each one of them had the appearance of the sons of the king.” 19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up, kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a boy. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up yourself, and strike us, for as is the man, so is his power.”t So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

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Judges 8:18–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”

19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’ ” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — English Standard Version (ESV)

18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:18–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. 19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 20 And 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. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

18 Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?”

“Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”

19 “They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the Lord lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.”

20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:18–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?”

So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.”

19 Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

18 Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What were the men like that you killed on Mount Tabor?”

They answered, “They were like you. Each one of them looked like a prince.”

19 Gideon said, “Those were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As surely as the Lord lives, I would not kill you if you had spared them.” 20 Then Gideon said to Jether, his oldest son, “Kill them.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he did not take out his sword.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on. Kill us yourself. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a man to do a man’s job.’ ” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the decorations off their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. 19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 20 And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king. 19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels’ necks.

Judges 8:18–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

18 He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” 

They answered, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” 

19 Gideon replied, “They were my brothers, my mother’s sons. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not have to kill you now.” 20 Then he told Jether, his firstborn son, “Get up and kill them!” But Jether didn’t draw his sword. He was afraid because he was only a young man. 

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and do it yourself! It’s a man’s job!” So Gideon got up and killed them. Then he took the half-moon ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. 

Judges 8:18–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

18 He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”

19 So he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother! As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” The youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:18–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king.” 19 And he replied, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Go kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a boy. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You come and kill us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon proceeded to kill Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:18–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

18 Then he spoke to Zebah and Zalmunna. He asked, “What were the men like that you killed at Tabor?”

“Men like you,” they answered. “Each one walked as if he were a prince.”

19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers. They were the sons of my own mother. You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that if you had spared their lives, I wouldn’t kill you.”

20 Then Gideon turned to his oldest son Jether. He said, “Kill them!” But Jether didn’t pull out his sword. He was only a boy. So he was afraid.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come on. Do it yourself. ‘The older the man, the stronger he is.’ ”

So Gideon stepped forward and killed them. Then he took the moon-shaped necklaces off the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:18–21 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.”

19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and fall on us; for as the man, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels necks.


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