Judges 8:1
New International Version
Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.

New Living Translation
Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.

English Standard Version
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

King James Bible
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

New King James Version
Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.

New American Standard Bible
Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “What is this thing that you have done to us, not calling upon us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they quarreled with him vehemently.

NASB 1995
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him vigorously.

NASB 1977
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him vigorously.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they strongly contended with him.

Amplified Bible
And the men of [the tribe of] Ephraim said to Gideon, “What is this thing that you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight with Midian?” And they quarreled with him vehemently.

Christian Standard Bible
The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites? ” And they argued with him violently.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they argued with him violently.

American Standard Version
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they of the house of Aphreim were saying to him: “Why have you done so and you did not call us when you went to fight with Midian?” And they were contending with him severely

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the men of Ephraim said to Gedeon, What is this that thou hast done to us, in that thou didst not call us when thou wentest to fight with Madiam? and they chode with him sharply.

Contemporary English Version
But the men were really upset with Gideon and complained, "When you went to war with Midian, you didn't ask us to help! Why did you treat us like that?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the men of Ephraim said to him: What is this that thou meanest to do, that thou wouldst not call us when thou wentest to fight against Madian? and they chid him sharply and almost offered violence.

English Revised Version
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The men from Ephraim strongly protested Gideon's actions. They said, "Why did you do this to us? You didn't invite us to go fight Midian with you."

Good News Translation
Then the people of Ephraim said to Gideon, "Why didn't you call us when you went to fight the Midianites? Why did you treat us like this?" They complained bitterly about it.

International Standard Version
Later on, the descendants of Ephraim spoke to Gideon. They argued vehemently, "What are you doing to us? You never called us! But you went out to fight Midian!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the men of Ephraim said unto him: 'Why hast thou served us thus, that thou didst not call us when thou wentest to fight with Midian?' And they did chide with him sharply.

Literal Standard Version
And the men of Ephraim say to him, “What [is] this thing you have done to us—not to call for us when you went to fight with Midian?” And they strive with him severely;

Majority Standard Bible
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.

New American Bible
But the Ephraimites said to him, “What have you done to us, not summoning us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they quarreled bitterly with him.

NET Bible
The Ephraimites said to him, "Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us when you went to fight the Midianites!" They argued vehemently with him.

New Revised Standard Version
Then the Ephraimites said to him, “What have you done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they upbraided him violently.

New Heart English Bible
The men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you done such a thing to us, not calling us when you went to fight with Midian?" And they argued with him fiercely.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why hast thou treated us thus, that thou calledst us not when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? and they chid with him sharply.

World English Bible
The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you treated us this way, that you didn’t call us when you went to fight with Midian?” They rebuked him sharply.

Young's Literal Translation
And the men of Ephraim say unto him, 'What is this thing thou hast done to us -- not to call for us when thou didst go to fight with Midian?' and they strive with him severely;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
1Then 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. 2But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?…

Cross References
Judges 8:2
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?

Judges 12:1
Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!"

2 Samuel 19:41
Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, "Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, together with all of David's men?"

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Hosea 13:1
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.


Treasury of Scripture

And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that you called us not, when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

the men

Judges 12:1-6
And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire…

2 Samuel 19:41
And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over Jordan?

Job 5:2
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

why, etc.

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Judges 8
1. Gideon pacifies the Ephraimites
4. Succoth and Penuel refuse to deliver Gideon's army
10. Zebah and Zalmunna are taken
13. Succoth and Penuel are destroyed
17. Gideon revenges his brothers's death on Zebah and Zalmunna
22. He refuses government
24. His ephod the cause of idolatry
28. Midian subdued
29. Gideon's children, and death
33. The Israelites' idolatry and ingratitude














(1) The men of Ephraim.--The arrogance of this tribe was derived partly from its strength, and partly from the memories of their ancestor Joseph; from the double portion which Joseph had received in memorial of his pre-eminence; from the fact that Jacob, in his blessing, had preferred the younger Ephraim before his elder brother, Manasseh; and from the almost regal influence which had been so long exercised by their tribesman, Joshua. This arrogance was destined, as we shall see later, to bring on them a terrible humiliation (Judges 12:1). The complaint was fiercely urged, probably at the time when, by bringing the heads of Oreb and Zeeb (Judges 7:25), they had proved both their power and their fidelity to the national cause. What they wanted was the acknowledgment of their claims (their hegemony, as the Greeks would have called it) by all the tribes.

They did chide with him sharply.--Literally, with force or violence, as in 1Samuel 2:16, so that the Vulg. renders it, jurgantes fortiter, et prope vim inferentes, "strongly reproaching him, and almost treating him with violence."

Verse 1. - The men of Ephraim. It is possible that the transfer of the birthright from Manasseh to Ephraim (Genesis 48:13-19) may have produced some estrangement between the tribes. It is also possible that Ephraim, in view of their great tribal power, and the distinction conferred upon them by the judgeship of Joshua the son of Nun (Numbers 13:8), and the possession of his grave (Joshua 24:30), may have grown haughty and domineering, and perhaps more disposed to rest upon their former glories than to embark in fresh undertakings. Anyhow Gideon did not consult them, nor ask their aid, in the first instance. Now that the war had been so successful, the men of Ephraim were much displeased at not having been consulted.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then the men
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

of Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֗יִם (’ep̄·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

said
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to [Gideon],
אֵלָ֜יו (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“Why
מָֽה־ (māh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

have you done
עָשִׂ֣יתָ (‘ā·śî·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

this
הַזֶּה֙ (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

to us?
לָּ֔נוּ (lā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew

Why did you fail
לְבִלְתִּי֙ (lə·ḇil·tî)
Preposition-l
Strong's 1115: A failure of, not, except, without, unless, besides, because not, until

to call
קְרֹ֣אות (qə·rō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

us
לָ֔נוּ (lā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew

when
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

you went
הָלַ֖כְתָּ (hā·laḵ·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

to fight
לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם (lə·hil·lā·ḥêm)
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3898: To feed on, to consume, to battle

against Midian?”
בְּמִדְיָ֑ן (bə·miḏ·yān)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4080: Midian -- a son of Abraham and Keturah, also his descendants and the region where they settled

And they contended
וַיְרִיב֥וּן (way·rî·ḇūn)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

with him violently.
אִתּ֖וֹ (’it·tōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among


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OT History: Judges 8:1 The men of Ephraim said to him (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 7:25
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