Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna

1Then the men of Ephraim (doubly fruitful) said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian (strife)?” And they contended with him violently.

2But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you⁺? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim (doubly fruitful) better than the grape harvest of Abiezer (my father is help)? 3God {Elohim} has delivered Oreb (raven) and Zeeb (wolf), the two princes of Midian (strife), into your⁺ hand. What was I able to do compared to you⁺?” When he had said this, their anger {ruachah}a against him subsided.

4Then Gideon (hewer) and his three hundred men came to the Jordan (flowing down) and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit. 5So Gideon said to the men of Succoth (booths), “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian (strife).”

6But the leaders of Succoth (booths) asked, “Are the hands of Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”

7“Very well,” Gideon (hewer) replied, “when the LORD {YHWH} has delivered Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your⁺ flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”

8From there he went up to Penuel (Peniel)b and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel (facing God) gave the same response as the men of Succoth (booths). 9So Gideon told the men of Penuel (facing God), “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”

10Now Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna were in Karkor (foundation) 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. 11And Gideon (hewer) went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah (barking) and Jogbehah (lofty), and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise. 12When Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian (strife), routing their entire army.

13After this, Gideon (hewer) son of Joash (given by the Lord) returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres (the sun). 14There he captured a young man of Succoth (booths) and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

15And Gideon went to the men of Succoth (booths) and said, “Here are Zebah (deprived of protection) 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?’” 16Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth (booths). 17He also pulled down the tower of Penuel (facing God) and killed the men of the city.

18Next, Gideon asked Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you⁺ kill at Tabor (mound)?”

“Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

19“They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD {YHWH} lives, if you⁺ had let them live, I would not kill you⁺.”

20So he said to Jether (abundance), 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.

21Then Zebah (deprived of protection) and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon (hewer) got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.

Gideon’s Ephod

22Then the Israelites (God prevails) said to Gideon (hewer), “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian (strife).”

23But Gideon (hewer) replied, “I will not rule over you⁺, nor will my son. The LORD {YHWH} shall rule over you⁺.”

24Then he (hewer) 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“We will give them gladly,” they replied.

So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 26The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels <42.7 lb / 19.4 kg>,c in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian (strife), and the chains from the necks of their camels.

27From all this Gideon (hewer) made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah (fawn), his hometown. But soon all Israel (he wrestles with God) prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Forty Years of Peace

28In this way Midian (strife) was subdued before the Israelites (God prevails) and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon (hewer), 29and he—Jerubbaal (let Baal contend)d son of Joash (given by the Lord)—returned home and settled down.

30Gideon (hewer) had seventy sons of his own \who came from his own loins/,e since he had many wives. 31His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem (shoulder), also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech (my father is king).

Gideon’s Death

32Later, Gideon (hewer) son of Joash (given by the Lord) died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah (fawn) of the Abiezrites (my father is help).

33And as soon as Gideon (hewer) was dead, the Israelites (God prevails) turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals (lord), and they set up Baal-berith (lord of the covenant) as their god.

34The Israelites (God prevails) failed to remember the LORD their God {YHWH Elohehem} who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (let Baal contend) (that is, Gideon (hewer)) for all the good things he had done for Israel (he wrestles with God).