Judges 8 ISV NIV Parallel

◄ Judges 8 ►

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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!"

1Now 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.

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?

2But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?

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.

3God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

4Meanwhile, Gideon and the 300 soldiers with him came to the Jordan, exhausted but continuing their pursuit.

4Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.

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 Sukkoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing 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?"

6But the officials of Sukkoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

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!"

7Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh 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.

8From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth 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."

9So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, 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 a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.

11Gideon went up by a caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked their encampment when they were off guard.

11Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army.

12When Zebah and Zalmunna escaped, he pursued them, captured those two kings of Midian, and threw the entire army into a panic.

12Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

13Then Joash's son Gideon returned from the battle along the Heres Ascent.

13Gideon son of Joash then 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 caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth, the elders of the town.

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?'"

15Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? 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 took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.

17He also demolished the tower in Penuel and killed the men of the city.

17He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

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…"

18Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

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."

19Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, 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.

20Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

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, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.'" So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

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 Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son and your grandson--because you have saved us from the hand of Midian."

23But Gideon told them, "I won't rule over you and my son won't rule over you. The LORD will rule you."

23But Gideon told 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.

24And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

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 answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring 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 weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks.

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 made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and 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.

28Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land had peace forty years.

29Afterwards, Joash's son Jerubbaal went home and retired.

29Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live.

30Gideon raised 70 sons as his direct descendants, since he had many wives.

30He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

31His mistress in Shechem bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

31His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.

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 good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash 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.

33No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as 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.

34and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

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 also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.

New International Version (NIV)

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