| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Later 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!" | 1The 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. |
| 2"What have I accomplished compared to you?" he responded. "Isn't what's left from Ephraim's harvest better than the best vintage of Abiezer? | 2He said to them, "Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim's leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer's harvest! |
| 3God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the leaders of Midian, into your control. What was I able to do compared to you?" When he said this, their anger calmed down. | 3It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?" When he said this, they calmed down. |
| 4Meanwhile, Gideon and the 300 soldiers with him came to the Jordan, exhausted but continuing their pursuit. | 4Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites. |
| 5He told the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the soldiers who are following behind me. They're tired, and I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." | 5He said to the men of Succoth, "Give some loaves of bread to the men who are following me, because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." |
| 6But the officials of Succoth replied, "Do you have Zebah and Zalmunna in custody already, so that we should give food to your army?" | 6The officials of Succoth said, "You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your army?" |
| 7So Gideon responded, "Okay then, but when the LORD has turned over Zebah and Zalmunna into my control, I'm going to whip you with thorns and briers from the desert!" | 7Gideon said, "Since you will not help, after the LORD hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh your skin with desert thorns and briers." |
| 8Then he left there to go to Penuel and asked the same thing from them, but the men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth did. | 8He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. |
| 9So he responded the same way to the men of Penuel, "When I come back safely, I'm going to tear down this tower." | 9He also threatened the men of Penuel, warning, "When I return victoriously, I will tear down this tower." |
| 10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, along with their armies, about 15,000 men who survived from the entire army of the group from the east, since 120,000 swordsmen had already fallen. | 10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. |
| 11Gideon went up by a caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked their encampment when they were off guard. | 11Gideon went up the road of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. |
| 12When Zebah and Zalmunna escaped, he pursued them, captured those two kings of Midian, and threw the entire army into a panic. | 12When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised their entire army. |
| 13Then Joash's son Gideon returned from the battle along the Heres Ascent. | 13Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres. |
| 14He caught a young man from Succoth and interrogated him. He wrote out for Gideon a list of the 77 officials of Succoth, including its elders. | 14He captured a young man from Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth's officials and city leaders--seventy-seven men in all. |
| 15Then Gideon approached the men of Succoth and announced, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You criticized me about them when you said, 'Do you have Zebah and Zalmunna in custody already, so that we should give food to your weary army?'" | 15He approached the men of Succoth and said, "Look what I have! Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, 'You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'" |
| 16So he took the elders of the city and disciplined the men of Succoth with thorns and briers from the desert. | 16He seized the leaders of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then "threshed" the men of Succoth with them. |
| 17He also demolished the tower in Penuel and killed the men of the city. | 17He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city's men. |
| 18Afterwards, he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What were the men like whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "Like you, each one like the son of a king…" | 18He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "Describe for me the men you killed at Tabor." They said, "They were like you. Each one looked like a king's son." |
| 19Gideon replied, "They were my brothers—sons from my own mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I wouldn't be killing you." | 19He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, as surely as the LORD is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you." |
| 20Then he told his firstborn son Jether, "Get up and kill them!" But he was afraid, since he was still only a youngster. | 20He ordered Jether his firstborn son, "Come on! Kill them!" But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, because he was still young. |
| 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna responded, "Get up and attack us yourself, since a man's valor is only as good as the man himself." So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the crescent-shaped necklaces that adorned the necks of their camels. | 21Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, "Come on, you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength." So Gideon killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels. |
| 22Then the men of Israel asked Gideon, "Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandsons—because you have delivered us from Midian's domination." | 22The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian's power." |
| 23But Gideon told them, "I won't rule over you and my son won't rule over you. The LORD will rule you." | 23Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." |
| 24But Gideon also added, "I would like to ask that each of you give me a ring from his war booty" because, as Ishmaelites, the Midianites had been wearing gold rings. | 24Gideon continued, "I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken." (The Midianites had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) |
| 25They responded, "We'll be happy to give them." So they laid out a garment, and each of them contributed a ring from his war booty. | 25They said, "We are happy to give you earrings." So they spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. |
| 26The weight of the rings that he had asked for was 1,700 gold coins, not counting the crescent-shaped necklaces, pendants, and purple garments worn by the Midian kings, and also not counting the bands adorning the necks of their camels. | 26The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. |
| 27Gideon crafted the booty into an ephod and enshrined it in his home town of Ophrah. Then all of Israel committed spiritual adultery with it there, and it became a snare for Gideon and his household. | 27Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family. |
| 28Midian remained subjugated to the Israelis, and they didn't so much as raise their heads anymore, so the land was peaceful for 40 years during the lifetime of Gideon. | 28The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites' fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for forty years during Gideon's time. |
| 29Afterwards, Joash's son Jerubbaal went home and retired. | 29Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. |
| 30Gideon raised 70 sons as his direct descendants, since he had many wives. | 30Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. |
| 31His mistress in Shechem bore him a son whom he named Abimelech. | 31His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. |
| 32Later, Joash's son Gideon died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah, which belonged to the descendants of Abiezer. | 32Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. |
| 33Later on, as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelis again committed spiritual adultery with various Canaanite deities and appointed Baal-berith to be their god. | 33After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god. |
| 34The Israelis did not remember the LORD their God, who continually delivered them from the domination of their enemies who surrounded them on every side. | 34The Israelites did not remain true to the LORD their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. |
| 35And they showed no gracious love to the household of Jerubbaal—also known as Gideon—despite all the good that he had done for Israel. | 35They did not treat the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel. |
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