Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna 1 ULT And the men of Ephraim said to him,“What{ is} this thing you have done to us, not calling to us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him in strength. 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 ULT But he said to them,“What have I now done like you?{ Are} not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage 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 ULT God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb! So what was I able to do like you?” Then their spirit abated toward him, upon him speaking this word. 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 ULT Then Gideon came to the Jordan. Crossing over, he and the 300 men who{ were} with him{ were} weary, but pursuing. BSB BSB: Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
5 ULT And he said to the men of Succoth,“Please give loaves of bread to the people who{ are} at my feet, for they{ are} weary, and I{ am} pursuing after 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 ULT But the leaders of Succoth said,“{ Is} the palm of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that{ we are} giving 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 ULT So Gideon said,“Therefore, in the giving of Yahweh{ of} Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your flesh with thorns of the wilderness 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 ULT Then he went up from there{ to} Penuel, and he spoke to them like this, but the men of Penuel 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 ULT And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying,“In my returning in peace, I will tear down this tower.” BSB BSB: So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
10 ULT Now Zebah and Zalmunna{ were} in Karkor and their camps{ were} with them, about 15, 000, all of the{ ones} remaining from all of the camp of the sons of the east, and the{ ones} having fallen{ were} 120, 000 men drawing 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 ULT Then Gideon went up the road of the{ ones} lodged in tents, from the east to Nobah and Jogbehah. And he struck the camp, and the camp was{ in} security. 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 ULT Then Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but he pursued after them, and he captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. And he made all of the camp tremble. BSB BSB: When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
13 ULT Then Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Ascent of Heres. BSB BSB: After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
14 ULT And he captured a youth from the men of Succoth and he questioned him. And he wrote for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, 77 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 ULT Then he went to the men of Succoth and said,“Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna,{ about} whom you taunted me, saying,‘Is the palm of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we{ are} giving bread to your weary men?’” 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 ULT And took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he taught the men of Succoth with them. 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 ULT Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. BSB BSB: He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 ULT Then he said to Zebah and to Zalmunna,“Where{ are} the men whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said,“As you{ are}, so they{ were}. Each{ was} like the form of the sons of the 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 ULT And he said,“They{ were} my brothers, the sons of my mother! The life of Yahweh, if you had let them live, I would not have killed 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 ULT Then he said to Jether his firstborn,“Arise, kill them!” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he feared, for he{ was} still a youth. 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 ULT Then Zebah and Zalmunna said,“Arise yourself and strike us! For like a man{ is} his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the ornaments that{ were} on the necks of their camels. 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 ULT Then the men of Israel said to Gideon,“Rule over us, both you and your son and the son of your son, for you have saved 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 ULT But Gideon said to them,“I will not rule over you myself, and my son will not 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 ULT But Gideon said to them,“Let me request a request from you, that a man give to me an earring of his spoil.” For earrings of gold{ were} to them, for 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 ULT And they said,“Giving, we will give.” And they spread out a cloak, and a man threw an earring of his spoil there. 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 ULT Now the weight of the earrings of gold that he requested{ was} 1, 700 gold, apart from the ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes that{ were} on the kings of Midian and apart from the chains that were on the necks of their 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 ULT Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, in Ophrah, and all of Israel whored after it there. And it was for a snare to Gideon and to 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 ULT So Midian was subdued to the face of the sons of Israel, and they did not continue to lift their head. And the land rested 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 ULT And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his house. BSB BSB: and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.
30 ULT Now to Gideon were 70 sons coming from his thigh, for many wives were to him. BSB BSB: Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
31 ULT And his concubine, who{ was} in Shechem, bore to him, she too, a son, and he made his name Abimelech. BSB BSB: His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Gideon’s Death 32 ULT And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Joash his father at Ophrah of the Abiezerite. 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 ULT Now it happened, when Gideon died, that the sons of Israel turned and whored after the Baals. And they made for themselves Baal- Berith as a 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 ULT And the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh, their God, the one having delivered them from the hand of all of their enemies from around. 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 ULT And they did not do covenant faithfulness with the house of Jerubbaal, Gideon, according to all of the good that he did with 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.
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