Judges 8

And the 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.

1The men of Ephraim, one of Israel's family groups, came to Gideon. They said, "Why did you treat us this way? You went to fight Midian and never called us." They argued with him angrily.

2And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

2Gideon said, "What I did is small next to what you did. Your family picked up the last few grapes. That was better than my whole family's grape harvest."

3God 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 anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

3"God handed you Oreb and Zeeb, the two leaders of Midian. What could I do next to that?" When he said this, their anger cooled down.

4And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.

4Gideon came to the Jordan River and crossed it. His three hundred men crossed with him. They were worn out, but they kept chasing the enemy.

5And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

5He said to the men of the town of Succoth, "Please give my men some bread. They are worn out. I am still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

6And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

6But the leaders of Succoth said, "Have you caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet? Why should we give bread to your army?"

7And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

7Gideon said, "Then when the LORD hands Zebah and Zalmunna to me, I will come back. I will tear your skin with sharp desert thorns and prickly branches."

8And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

8From there he went up to the town of Penuel and asked for the same help. The men of Penuel answered him just like the men of Succoth had.

9And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, "When I come back safe, I will knock down this tower."

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

10Zebah and Zalmunna were at a place called Karkor with their army. About fifteen thousand men were left. They were all that remained of the armies from the east. A hundred and twenty thousand fighting men had already died.

11And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.

11Gideon went up by the road where the tent people lived, east of Nobah and Jogbehah. He attacked the army by surprise, when they thought they were safe.

12And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

12Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but Gideon chased them. He caught both kings of Midian. He scattered their whole army in panic.

13And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,

13Then Gideon son of Joash came back from the battle, before the sun came up.

NoteThe KJV says "before the sun was up." The Hebrew words here may instead be a place name, a hill road called Heres.

14And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.

14He caught a young man from Succoth and asked him questions. The young man wrote down the names of the town's leaders and older men. There were seventy-seven of them.

15And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

15Gideon came to the men of Succoth and said, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me about them. You said, 'Have you caught them yet? Why should we feed your tired men?'"

16And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

16So he took the older leaders of the town. He used sharp desert thorns and prickly branches, and he punished the men of Succoth with them.

Note"Taught" in the old English here means punished. Gideon hurt them with thorn branches. He was not giving them a lesson in school.

17And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

17He also knocked down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of that town.

18Then 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.

18Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What were the men like that you killed at Mount Tabor?" They answered, "They looked like you. Each one looked like a king's son."

19And 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.

19Gideon said, "Those were my brothers, my own mother's sons. As surely as the LORD lives, I would not kill you if you had let them live."

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.

20He said to Jether, his oldest son, "Get up and kill them." But the boy did not pull out his sword. He was afraid, because he was still young.

21Then 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.

21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Do it yourself. A grown man has a grown man's strength." So Gideon got up and killed them both. He took the curved ornaments off 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.

22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Be our ruler. You, then your son, then your son's son. You saved us from Midian."

23And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

23Gideon said, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. The LORD will rule over you."

24And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

24Then Gideon said, "I do want to ask you for one thing. Each of you give me an earring you took from the enemy." The enemy soldiers wore gold earrings, because 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.

25They said, "We will gladly give them." So they spread out a coat on the ground. Every man threw in an earring he had taken.

26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

26The gold earrings he asked for weighed one thousand seven hundred shekels. He also got curved ornaments, hanging jewels, and the purple robes the Midianite kings wore. He got the chains from their camels' necks too.

NoteA shekel was a small unit of weight. Seventeen hundred shekels of gold weighed about forty-three pounds.

27And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

27Gideon used the gold to make an ephod, a special coat like the ones priests wore. He put it in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel went there and worshiped it, turning away from God. It became a trap for Gideon and his family.

NoteThe KJV says Israel "went a whoring" after the ephod. That old phrase means they were unfaithful to God, like a husband or wife who breaks a promise.

28Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

28So Midian was beaten down in front of Israel and never rose up again. The land was quiet and peaceful for forty years, while Gideon lived.

29And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

29Jerubbaal son of Joash, which was another name for Gideon, went home and lived there.

30And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

30Gideon had seventy sons of his own, because he had many wives.

31And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

31He also had a woman in Shechem who lived with him like a wife, but with less honor. She had a son, and Gideon named him Abimelech.

32And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

32Gideon son of Joash died when he was very old. He was buried in his father Joash's grave, in Ophrah, the town of the Abiezrites.

33And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

33As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned away from God again. They worshiped the Baals, which were false gods. They chose Baal-berith as their god.

34And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

34The people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God. He was the one who had saved them from all their enemies all around them.

35Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

35They also were not kind to Gideon's family, even though Gideon had done so much good for Israel.