Juízes 8

¹ And the men of Ephraim said unto him,They began to object, because he had the glory of the victory.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.

² And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison ofWho have slain two princes, Oreb and Zeeb.you? [Is] not theThis last act of the whole tribe is more famous, than the whole enterprise of one man of one family.gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

³ God hath deliuered into your handes the princes of Midian, Oreb & Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? & when he had thus spoken, then their spirits abated toward him.

⁴ And Gideon came to Iorden to passe ouer, hee, and the three hundreth men that were with him, weary, yet pursuing them.

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

⁶ And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] theBecause you have overcome a handful, do you think to have overcome the whole?hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

⁷ Gideon then sayde, Therefore when the Lorde hath deliuered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, I will teare your flesh with thornes of the wildernes and with breers.

⁸ And he went vp thence to Penuel, and spake vnto them likewise, and the men of Penuel answered him, as the men of Succoth answered.

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

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were]A city east of Jordan.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.

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

¹² And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, hee followed after them, and tooke the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the hoste.

¹³ And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battleSome read, the sun being yet high.before the sun [was up],

¹⁴ And tooke a seruant of the me of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he wrote to him the princes of Succoth and the Elders thereof, euen seuentie and seuen men.

¹⁵ And he came vnto the men of Succoth, & sayd, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, by whome ye vpbrayded me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah & Zalmunna already in thine hands, that we should giue bread vnto thy weary men?

¹⁶ Then he tooke the Elders of the citie, and thornes of the wildernes & breers, & did teare the men of Succoth with them.

¹⁷ Also he brake downe the towre of Penuel, and slew the men of the citie.

¹⁸ Then saide he vnto Zebah & Zalmunna, What maner of men were they, whom ye slew at Tabor? and they answered, As thou art, so were they: euery one was like the children of a King.

¹⁹ And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] theWe all came from the same womb: therefore I will be revenged.sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

²⁰ Then he sayde vnto Iether his first borne sonne, Vp, & slay them: but the boy drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet yong.

²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: forMeaning, that they would be freed from their pain at once, or else have a valiant man put them to death.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.

²² Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thyThat is, thy posterity.son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

²³ And Gideon sayde vnto them, I will not reigne ouer you, neither shal my childe reigne ouer you, but the Lord shal reigne ouer you.

²⁴ And Gideon said unto them,His intent was to show himself thankful for this victory by restoring religion, which because it was not according to God's command, turned to their destruction.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.)

²⁵ And they answered, Wee will giue them; they spred a garment, and did cast therein euery man the earings of his pray.

²⁶ And the weight of the golden earings that he required, was a thousande and seuen hundreth shekels of golde, beside collers and iewels, and purple rayment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the cheynes that were about their camels neckes.

²⁷ And Gideon made anThat is, such things as pertained to the use of the tabernacle. See ephod, (Exo_28:4, Exo_28:6; Jdg_17:5; 1Sa_2:18; 2Sa_6:14).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.

²⁸ Thus was Midian brought lowe before the children of Israel, so that they lift vp their heads no more: and the countrey was in quietnes fourtie yeeres in the dayes of Gideon.

²⁹ Then Ierubbaal the sonne of Ioash went, and dwelt in his owne house.

³⁰ And Gideon had seuentie sonnes begotten of his body: for he had many wiues.

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

³² And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, inA city belonging to the family of the Ezrites.Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and madeThat is, Baal, to whom they had bound themselves by covenant.Baalberith their god.

³⁴ And the children of Israel remembred not the Lord their God, which had deliuered the out of the hands of all their enemies on euery side.

³⁵ NeitherThey were unmindful of God and unkind to him, by whom they had received so great a benefit.shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, [namely], Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.