Judges 8:5–21

⁵Then he said to the men of ^gSuccoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

⁶And the leaders of Succoth said, ^h“Are ³the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that ⁱwe should give bread to your army?”

⁷So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, ^jthen I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” ⁸Then he went up from there ^kto Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. ⁹So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I ^lcome back in peace, ^mI will tear down this tower!”

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of ⁿall the army of the people of the East; for ^oone hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen. ¹¹Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of ^pNobah and Jogbehah; and he ⁴attacked the army while the camp felt ^qsecure. ¹²When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he ^rtook the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

¹³Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres. ¹⁴And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ^sridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ” ^16tAnd he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he ⁵taught the men of Succoth. ^17uThen he tore down the tower of ^vPenuel and killed the men of the city.

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

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

¹⁹Then 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.” ²⁰And 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.

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