Judg 8 | AB | STEP | And the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, What is this that you have done to us, in that you did not call us when you went to fight with Midian? And they contended with him sharply.

Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, What is this that you have done to us, in that you did not call us when you went to fight with Midian? And they contended with him sharply. 2 And he said to them, What have I now done in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 The Lord has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what could I do in comparison of you? Then was their spirit calmed toward him, when he spoke this word. 4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, and went over, himself and the three hundred with him, hungry, yet still pursuing. 5 And he said to the men of Soccoth, Give some bread to feed this people that follow me; because they are faint, and behold, I am following after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. 6 And the princes of Soccoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army? 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then will I tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and the Barkenim. 8 Then he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them likewise. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Soccoth had answered him. 9 And Gideon said to the men of Penuel, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower. 10 And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies were with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of all the army of the aliens; and those that fell were a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents, eastward of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army, while the camp was secure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed all the army. 13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, down from the battle of Heres. 14 And he took prisoner a young lad of the men of Soccoth, and questioned him. And he wrote to him the names of the princes of Soccoth and of their elders, seventy-seven men. 15 And Gideon came to the princes of Soccoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you reproached me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men that are faint? 16 And he took the elders of the city with the thorns of the wilderness and the Barkenim, and with them he tore the men of the city. 17 And he overthrew the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city. 18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, Where are the men whom you killed in Tabor? And they said, As you are, so were they, according to the likeness of the son of a king. 19 And Gideon said, They were my brothers and the sons of my mother: as the Lord lives, if you had preserved them alive, I would not have slain you. 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise and kill them. But the lad drew not his sword, for he was afraid, for he was yet very young. 21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise, and fall upon us, for your power is as that of a man. And Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna: and he took the round ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 22 And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule, my lord, over us, both you and your son, and your son's son; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule, and my son shall not rule among you; but the Lord shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said to them, I will make a request of you: give me every man an earring out of his spoils (for they had golden earrings, for they were Ishmaelites). 25 And they said, We will certainly give them. And he opened his garment, and each man cast therein an earring of his spoils. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked was one thousand seven hundred pieces of gold, besides the crescents, and the chains, and the garments, and the purple cloths that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were on the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of it, an set it in his city in Ephratha; and all Israel went there whoring after it, and it became a stumbling block to Gideon and his house. 28 Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they did not lift up their head any more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house. 30 And Gideon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine was in Shechem, and she also bore him a son, and gave him the name Abimelech. 32 And Gideon son of Joash died in his city, and he was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ephratha of Abi-Esdri. 33 And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned, and went a whoring after Baalam, and made for themselves a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god. 34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hand of all that afflicted them round about. 35 And they did not deal mercifully with the house of Jerubbaal, (that is, Gideon) according to all the good which he did to Israel.