| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Then 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. | 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. |
| 2But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan 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 you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided. | 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. |
| 4Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy. | 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. |
| 5When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing 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, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed 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 said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.” | 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." |
| 8From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer. | 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 said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.” | 9He also threatened the men of Penuel, warning, "When I return victoriously, I will tear down this tower." |
| 10By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors—all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed. | 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 circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise. | 11Gideon went up the road of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. |
| 12Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors. | 12When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised their entire army. |
| 13After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass. | 13Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres. |
| 14There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town. | 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. |
| 15Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted 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?'" |
| 16Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness. | 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 tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town. | 17He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city's men. |
| 18Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?” “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.” | 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." |
| 19“They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the LORD lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.” | 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." |
| 20Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid. | 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 said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels. Gideon’s Sacred Ephod | 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 Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.” | 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 replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you! | 23Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." |
| 24However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.) | 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.) |
| 25“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. | 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 gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around 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 made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. | 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. |
| 28That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land. | 28The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites' fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for forty years during Gideon's time. |
| 29Then Gideon son of Joash returned home. | 29Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. |
| 30He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. | 30Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. |
| 31He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech. | 31His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. |
| 32Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan 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. |
| 33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. | 33After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god. |
| 34They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. | 34The Israelites did not remain true to the LORD their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. |
| 35Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good 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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