Dual Panel1The Ephraimites <0669> <0376> said <0559> to <0413> him, “Why <04100> have you done <06213> such <02088> a thing <01697> to us? You did not <01115> summon <07121> us when <03588> you went <01980> to fight <03898> the Midianites <04080>!” They argued <07378> vehemently <02394> with <0854> him.
2He said <0559> to <0413> them, “Now <06258> what <04100> have I accomplished <06213> compared to you? Even Ephraim’s <0669> leftover grapes <05955> are better <02896> quality than Abiezer’s <044> harvest <01210>!
3It was to you that God <0430> handed over <05414> <03027> the Midianite <04080> generals <08269>, Oreb <06159> and Zeeb <02062>! What <04100> did I accomplish <06213> to rival that?” When he said <01696> this <02088>, they calmed down <07503>.
4Now Gideon <01439> and his three <07969> hundred <03967> men <0376> had crossed over <05674> the Jordan River <03383>, and even though they were exhausted <05889>, they were still chasing <07291> the Midianites.
5He said <0559> to the men <0582> of Succoth <05523>, “Give <05414> some loaves <03603> of bread <03899> to the men <05971> who <0834> are following me, because <03588> they <01992> are exhausted <05889>. I <0595> am chasing <07291> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>, the kings <04428> of Midian <04080>.”
6The officials <08269> of Succoth <05523> said <0559>, “You have not yet overpowered <03709> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>. So <06258> why should we give <05414> bread <03899> to your army <06635>?”
7Gideon <01439> said <0559>, “Since <03651> you will not help <05414>, after the Lord <03068> hands <03027> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759> over <03027> to me, I will thresh <01758> your skin <01320> with <0854> desert <04057> thorns <06975> and briers <01303>.”
8He went up <05927> from there <08033> to Penuel <06439> and made <01696> the same <02063> request <06030>. The men <0376> of Penuel <06439> responded <06030> the same way the men <0376> of Succoth <05523> had.
9He also <01571> threatened <0559> the men <0376> of Penuel <06439>, warning <0559>, “When I return <07725> victoriously <07965>, I will tear down <05422> this <02088> tower <04026>.”
10Now Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759> were in Karkor <07174> with <05973> their armies <04264>. There were about fifteen <06240> <02568> thousand <0505> survivors <03498> from the army <04264> of the eastern <06924> peoples <01121>; a hundred <03967> and twenty <06242> thousand <0505> sword-wielding <02719> <08025> soldiers <0376> had been killed <05307>.
11Gideon <01439> went up <05927> the road <01870> of the nomads <0168> <07931> east <06924> of Nobah <05025> and Jogbehah <03011> and ambushed <05221> the surprised <0983> army <04264>.
12When Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759> ran away <05127>, Gideon chased <0310> <07291> them and captured <03920> the two <08147> Midianite <04080> kings <04428>, Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>. He had surprised <02729> their entire <03605> army <04264>.
13Gideon <01439> son <01121> of Joash <03101> returned <07725> from <04480> the battle <04421> by the pass <04608> of Heres <02775>.
14He captured <03920> a young <05288> man <0582> from Succoth <05523> and interrogated <07592> him. The young man wrote down <03789> for <0413> him the names of Succoth’s <05523> officials <08269> and city leaders <02205>– seventy-seven <07651> <07657> men <0376> in all.
15He approached <0935> the men <0376> of Succoth <05523> and said <0559>, “Look <02009> what I have! Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>! You insulted <02778> me, saying <0559>, ‘You have not yet overpowered <03709> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>. So <06258> why should we give <05414> bread <03899> to your exhausted <03286> men <0376>?’”
16He seized <03947> the leaders <02205> of the city <05892>, along with some desert <04057> thorns <06975> and briers <01303>; he then “threshed <03045>” the men <0376> of Succoth <05523> with them.
17He also tore down <05422> the tower <04026> of Penuel <06439> and executed <02026> the city’s <05892> men <0376>.
18He said <0559> to <0413> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>, “Describe for me <0375> the men <0376> you killed <02026> at Tabor <08396>.” They said <0559>, “They were like <03644> <03644> you. Each one <0259> looked like <08389> a king’s <04428> son <01121>.”
19He said <0559>, “They <01992> were my brothers <0251>, the sons <01121> of my mother <0517>. I swear, as surely as the Lord <03068> is alive <02416>, if <03863> you had let them live <02421>, I would not <03808> kill <02026> you.”
20He ordered <0559> Jether <03500> his firstborn son <01060>, “Come on <06965>! Kill <02026> them!” But <03808> Jether was too afraid <03372> to draw <08025> his sword <02719>, because <03588> he was still <05750> young <05288>.
21Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759> said <0559> to Gideon, “Come on <06965>, you <0859> strike <06293> us, for <03588> a man <0376> is judged by his strength <01369>.” So Gideon <01439> killed <02026> Zebah <02078> and Zalmunna <06759>, and he took <03947> the crescent-shaped ornaments <07720> which <0834> were on the necks <06677> of their camels <01581>.
22The men <0376> of Israel <03478> said <0559> to <0413> Gideon <01439>, “Rule <04910> over us– you <0859>, your son <01121>, and <01571> your grandson <01121> <01121>. For <03588> you have delivered <03467> us from Midian’s <04080> power <03027>.”
23Gideon <01439> said <0559> to <0413> them, “I <0589> will not <03808> rule <04910> over you, nor <03808> will my son <01121> rule <04910> over you. The Lord <03068> will rule <04910> over you.”
24Gideon <01439> continued <0559>, “I would like to make one request <07596> <07592>. Each <0376> of you give <05414> me an earring <05141> from the plunder <07998> you have taken.” (The Midianites had gold <02091> earrings <05141> because <03588> they <01992> were Ishmaelites <03459>.)
25They said <0559>, “We are happy to give <05414> <05414> you earrings.” So they spread out <06566> a garment <08071>, and each one <0376> threw <07993> an earring <05141> from his plunder <07998> onto it.
26The total weight <04948> of the gold <02091> earrings <05141> he requested <07592> came to seventeen hundred <03967> <07651> <0505> gold <02091> shekels. This was in addition to <0905> the crescent-shaped ornaments <07720>, jewelry <05188>, purple <0713> clothing <0899> worn by <05921> the Midianite <04080> kings <04428>, and the necklaces <06677> <06060> on the camels <01581>.
27Gideon <01439> used all this to make <06213> an ephod <0646>, which he put <03322> in his hometown <05892> of Ophrah <06084>. All <03605> the Israelites <03478> prostituted <02181> themselves to <0310> it by worshiping it there <08033>. It became <01961> a snare <04170> to Gideon <01439> and his family <01004>.
28The Israelites <03478> <01121> humiliated <03665> Midian <04080>; the Midianites’ fighting spirit <07218> <05375> was broken <03254> <03808>. The land <0776> had rest <08252> for forty <0705> years <08141> during Gideon’s <01439> time <03117>.
29Then Jerub-Baal <03378> son <01121> of Joash <03101> went <01980> home <01004> and settled down <03427>.
30Gideon <01439> fathered <03318> seventy <07657> sons <01121> through his many <07227> wives <0802>.
31His concubine <06370>, who <0834> lived in Shechem <07927>, also <01571> gave <03205> him <01931> a son <01121>, whom he named <08034> Abimelech <040>.
32Gideon <01439> son <01121> of Joash <03101> died <04191> at a very old age <07872> and was buried <06912> in the tomb <06913> of his father <01> Joash <03101> located in Ophrah <06084> of the Abiezrites <033>.
33After <0310> Gideon <01439> died <04191>, the Israelites <03478> <01121> again <07725> prostituted <02181> themselves to the Baals <01168>. They made <07760> Baal-Berith <01170> their god <0430>.
34The Israelites <03478> <01121> did not <03808> remain true <02142> to the Lord <03068> their God <0430>, who had delivered <05337> them from all <03605> the enemies <0341> who lived around <05439> them.
35They did not <03808> treat <06213> the family <01004> of Jerub-Baal <03378> (that is, Gideon <01439>) fairly <02617> in return for all <03605> the good <02896> he had done <06213> for <05973> Israel <03478>.