Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna 1 UEB The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, "What is this you have done to us? You did not call us when you went to fight against Midian." Then they had a violent argument with him. 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 UEB He said to them, "What have I done now compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest 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 UEB God has given you victory over the princes of Midian—Oreb and Zeeb! What have I accomplished compared to you?" Their anger toward him died down when he said this. 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 UEB Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over it, he and the three hundred men who were with him. They were exhausted, yet they still kept up the pursuit. BSB BSB: Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
5 UEB He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing 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 UEB Then the officials said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand? Why should 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 UEB Gideon said, "When Yahweh has given us victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will tear your skin with the desert thorns and briers." 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 UEB He went up from there to Peniel and spoke to the people there in the same way, but the men of Peniel 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 UEB He spoke also to the men of Peniel and said, "When I come again in peace, I will pull down this tower." BSB BSB: So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
10 UEB Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who remained out of the entire army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. 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 UEB Gideon went up the road taken by tent dwellers, past Nobah and Jogbehah. He defeated the enemy army, because they were not expecting an attack. 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 UEB Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and as Gideon pursued them, he captured the two kings of Midian—Zebah and Zalmunna—and set their whole army into a panic. BSB BSB: When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
13 UEB Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle going through the pass of Heres. BSB BSB: After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
14 UEB He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him. The young man wrote down the names of seventy-seven officials and elders of Succoth. 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 UEB Gideon came to the men of Succoth and said, "Look at Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you mocked me and said, 'Have you already conquered Zebah and Zalmunna? We do not know that we should give bread to your army.'" 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 UEB Gideon took the elders of the city, and he punished the men of Succoth with the desert thorns and briers. 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 UEB Then he pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of that city. BSB BSB: He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 UEB Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they. Every one of them looked 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 UEB Gideon said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, 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 UEB He said to Jether (his firstborn), "Get up and kill them!" But the young man did not draw his sword for he was afraid, because he was still a young 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 UEB Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself and kill us! For as the man is, so is his strength." Gideon rose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took off the crescent-shaped ornaments that were on their camels' necks. 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 UEB Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson—because you have saved us out of 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 UEB Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither will my son rule over you. Yahweh will 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 UEB Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you: Every one of you would give me the earrings from his plunder." (The Midianites had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 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 UEB They answered, "We are glad to give them to you." They spread out a cloak and every man threw on it the earrings from his plunder. 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 UEB The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold. This plunder was in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple clothing that was worn by the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that had been around their camels' necks. 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 UEB Gideon made an ephod out of the earrings and put it in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there. It became a trap for Gideon and for those in 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 UEB So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel and they did not raise their heads up again. So the land had peace for forty years in the days of Gideon. 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 UEB Jerub Baal, son of Joash, went and lived in his own house. BSB BSB: and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.
30 UEB Gideon had seventy sons who were his descendants, for he had many wives. BSB BSB: Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
31 UEB His concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son, and Gideon gave him the name Abimelech. BSB BSB: His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Gideon’s Death 32 UEB Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the clan of Abiezer. 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 UEB It came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, the people of Israel turned again and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals. They made Baal-Berith 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 UEB The people of Israel did not remember to honor Yahweh, their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side. 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 UEB They did not keep their promises to the house of Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon), in return for all the good he had done in 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.