Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna 1 CPDV And the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this, that you wanted to do, so that you would not call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they rebuked him strongly, and came close to using violence. BSB BSB: Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
2 CPDV And he responded to them: “But what could I have done that would be so great as what you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer? BSB BSB: But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
3 CPDV The Lord has delivered into your hands the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What could I have done that would be so great as what you have done?” And when he had said this, their spirit, which was swelling up against him, was quieted. BSB BSB: God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided.
4 CPDV And when Gideon had arrived at the Jordan, he crossed over it with the three hundred men who were with him. And they were so weary that they were unable to pursue those who were fleeing. BSB BSB: Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
5 CPDV And he said to the men of Succoth, “I beg you, give bread to the people who are with me, for they are greatly weakened, so that we may be able to pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” BSB BSB: So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 CPDV The leaders of Succoth answered, “Perhaps the palms of the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hand, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to your army.” BSB BSB: But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”
7 CPDV And he said to them, “So then, when the Lord will have delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.” BSB BSB: “Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”
8 CPDV And going up from there, he arrived at Penuel. And he spoke to the men of that place similarly. And they also answered him, just as the men of Succoth had answered. BSB BSB: From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
9 CPDV And so he said to them also, “When I will have returned as a victor in peace, I will destroy this tower.” BSB BSB: So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
10 CPDV Now Zebah and Zalmunna were resting with their entire army. For fifteen thousand men were left out of all the troops of the eastern people. And one hundred twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword had been cut down. BSB BSB: Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
11 CPDV And Gideon ascended by the way of those who were dwelling in tents, to the eastern part of Nobah and Jogbehah. And he struck the camp of the enemies, who were confident and were suspecting nothing adverse. BSB BSB: And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.
12 CPDV And Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And Gideon pursued and overtook them, sending their entire army into confusion. BSB BSB: When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
13 CPDV And returning from the war before sunrise, BSB BSB: After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
14 CPDV he took a boy from among the men of Succoth. And he asked him the names of the leaders and elders of Succoth. And he described seventy-seven men. BSB BSB: There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
15 CPDV And he went to Succoth, and he said to them: “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, over whom you rebuked me, saying: ‘Perhaps the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hands, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to men who are languishing and weakened.’ ” BSB BSB: And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”
16 CPDV Therefore, he took the elders of the city, and, using the thorns and briers of the desert, he threshed them with these, and he cut the men of Succoth to pieces. BSB BSB: Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
17 CPDV He also overturned the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city. BSB BSB: He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 CPDV And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were those whom you killed at Tabor?” They responded, “They were like you, and one of them was like the son of a king.” BSB BSB: Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
19 CPDV He answered them: “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had preserved them, I would not kill you.” BSB BSB: “They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
20 CPDV And he said to Jether, his firstborn son, “Rise up, and put them to death.” But he did not draw his sword. For he was afraid, being still a boy. BSB BSB: So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.
21 CPDV And Zebah and Zalmunna said: “You should rise up and rush against us. For the strength of a man is in accord with his age.” Gideon rose up, and he killed Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took the ornaments and studs, with which the necks of the royal camels are usually adorned. BSB BSB: Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s Ephod 22 CPDV And all the men of Israel said to Gideon: “You should rule over us, and your son, and your son’s son. For you freed us from the hand of Midian.” BSB BSB: Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 CPDV And he said to them: “I will not rule over you. Neither shall my son rule over you. Instead, the Lord shall rule over you.” BSB BSB: But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”
24 CPDV And he said to them: “I petition one request from you. Give me the earrings from your spoils.” For the Ishmaelites were accustomed to wear gold earrings. BSB BSB: Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 CPDV They responded, “We are very willing to give them.” And spreading a cloak on the ground, they cast upon it the earrings from the spoils. BSB BSB: “We will give them gladly,” they replied. So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.
26 CPDV And the weight of the earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, aside from the ornaments, and necklaces, and purple garments, which the kings of Midian were accustomed to use, and aside from the gold chains on the camels. BSB BSB: The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
27 CPDV And Gideon made an ephod from these, and he kept it in his city, Ophrah. And all of Israel committed fornication with it, and it became a ruin to Gideon and to all his house. BSB BSB: From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
Forty Years of Peace 28 CPDV But Midian was humbled before the sons of Israel. Neither were they able any longer to lift up their necks. But the land rested for forty years, while Gideon presided. BSB BSB: In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,
29 CPDV And so Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house. BSB BSB: and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.
30 CPDV And he had seventy sons, who went forth from his own thigh. For he had many wives. BSB BSB: Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
31 CPDV But his concubine, whom he had in Shechem, bore him a son named Abimelech. BSB BSB: His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Gideon’s Death 32 CPDV And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, and he was buried in the sepulcher of his father, at Ophrah, of the family of Ezri. BSB BSB: Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 CPDV But after Gideon died, the sons of Israel turned away, and they committed fornication with the Baals. And they struck a covenant with Baal, so that he would be their god. BSB BSB: And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
34 CPDV And they did not remember the Lord their God, who rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on all sides. BSB BSB: The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
35 CPDV Neither did they show mercy to the house of Jerubbaal Gideon, in accord with all the good that he had done for Israel. BSB BSB: They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.