Judges 8
1AND the man Ephraim said to Gideon, What is this that thou hast done to us in not calling upon us when thou wentest out to fight Madiam? And they spoke sharply to him.
2But 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?
3The Lord hath delivered into your hand the princes of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb. Now what have I been enabled to do in comparison of you? And upon his saying this, their anger against him abated.
4And when Gideon came to the Jordan, and crossed it, he and the three hundred men who were with him, hungry, but still pursuing,
5he said to the men of Socchoth, Give, I pray you, bread to feed the people who follow me, for they are faint, and behold I am pursuing Zebee and Salmana, the kings of Madiam.
6And the chiefs of Socchoth said, Is the hand of Zebee and Salmana now in thy hand, that we should give thy army bread?
7Thereupon Gideon said, For this, when the Lord hath delivered Zebee and Salmana into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, even with those of Barkenim.
8And he went up thence to Phanuel, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Phanuel answered him as the men of Soccoth had done.
9Whereupon Gideon said to the men of Phanuel, When I return in peace, I will demolish that tower.
10Now Zebec and Salmana were at Karkar, and their army with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the whole host of the foreign tribes, they who had fallen being a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.
11So Gideon went up by the way of them who dwell in tents, eastward of Nabai and Jegebal, and smote the camp, though the camp thought themselves secure.
12And Zebee and Salmana fled, and he pursued them, and took the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Salmana, and discomfited the whole host.
13And when Gideon, son of Joas, returned from the engagement, back from the engagement at Ares;
14he caught a young man of the men of Soccoth, and inquired of him, and he wrote down for him the names of the chiefs of Soccoth, and of their elders, seventy-seven men.
15And when Gideon came to the chiefs of Soccoth, he said, Behold Zebee and Salmana, with whom you upbraided me, saying, Is the hand of Zebee and Salmana now in thy hand, that we should give bread to the men with thee who are faint?
16Then he took the elders of the city, and scourged them with the thorns of the wilderness, even with those of Barkenim.
17And when he had scourged the men of that city, in the midst of them, he demolished the tower of Phanuel, and slew the men of that city.
18Then he said to Zebee and Salmana, What sort of men were they whom ye slew at Thabor? And they said, As thou art so were they. They resembled the children of a king.
19Whereupon Gideon said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord liveth, if you had saved them alive, I would not have killed you.
20Then he said to Jether his first born, Arise and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword, for he was afraid, for he was yet very young.
21Whereupon Zebee and Salmana said, Arise thou thyself, and fall upon us, for thou hast the strength of a man. So Gideon arose, and slew Zebee and Salmana, and took the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.
22Then Israel said to Gideon, My lord, rule over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son’s son, because thou hast saved us out of the hand of Madiam.
23But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you. Nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.
24Then Gideon said to them, I have a favour to ask of you. Give me every man the earrings of his spoils; for the enemy wore gold earrings, because they were Ismaelites.
25And they said, We will give them cheerfully. So he spread his mantle, and they threw thereon, every man, the earrings of his spoils;
26and the weight of the gold earrings, which he had requested, was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, exclusive of the necklaces, and bracelets, and the garments, and purple robes, which were on the kings of Madiam, and exclusive of the chains which were about the neck of their camels.
27And of this Gideon made an ephod, and set it up in his city in Ephratha; and all Israel went there a-whoring after it, and it became a stumbling block to Gideon, and his house.
28Thus Madiam was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they never any more raised their head. And the land had rest forty years during the days of Gideon.
29And Jerobaal, son of Joas, went and dwelt at his house.
30Now Gideon had seventy sons who proceeded from his loins, for he had many wives.
31He had moreover a concubine, in Sychem, and she also bore him a son, and called his name Abimelech.
32And Gideon, son of Joas, died in his city, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joas, in Ephratha Abiesdri.
33And when Gideon was dead the children of Israel turned, and went a-whoring after the Baalims, and made for themselves a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god.
34The children of Israel neither remembered the Lord God who had delivered them out of the hands of all those who afflicted them round about;
35nor did they deal kindly with the house of Jerobaal, namely Gideon, according to all the good which he had done for Israel.