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Gideon Kills Zebah and Zalmunna
Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.
Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.
And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.
But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer?
And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?
God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.
Into your hands hath God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word.
Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy.
And Gideon came to the Jordan, [and] passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”
And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army?
So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”
And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars.
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
So he said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”
And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors — all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease.
Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.
And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the camp.
After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres.
There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town.
And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’”
And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?
Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness.
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.
And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
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.”
“Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gideon’s Sacred Ephod
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”
Gideon's Ephod
And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.
And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.
But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you!
And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you.
However, I do have one request — that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)
And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder.
And they said, We will willingly give [them]. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty.
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred [shekels] of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.
And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime — about forty years — there was peace in the land.
Forty Years of Peace
And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.
He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives.
Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives.
He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.
And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech.
Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer.
Gideon's Death
And 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 Abi-ezrites.
And 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 Abi-ezrites.
As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god.
And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their god.
They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them.
And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side.