Judges 8
Gideon Captures the
Kings of Midian |
1 |
And the men of E'phra-im said unto him,
Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou
wentest to fight with the Mid'i-anites? And they did chide with him
sharply.
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2 |
And he said unto them, What have I done
now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes
of E'phra-im better than the vintage of Abi-e'zer?
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3 |
God hath delivered into your hands the
princes of Mid'i-an, Oreb and Ze'eb: and what was I able to do in
comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he
had said that.
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4 |
And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with
him, faint, yet pursuing them.
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5 |
And he said unto the men of Succoth,
Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me;
for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and
Zalmun'na, kings of Mid'i-an.
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6 |
And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmun'na now in thine hand, that
we should give bread unto thine army?
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7 |
And Gideon said, Therefore when the
LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmun'na into
mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the
wilderness and with briers.
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8 |
And he went up thence to Penu'el, and
spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penu'el answered him as the
men of Succoth had answered him.
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9 |
And he spake also unto the men of
Penu'el, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this
tower.
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10 |
Now Zebah and Zalmun'na were in
Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of
the east: for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew
sword.
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11 |
And Gideon went up by the way of them
that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jog'behah, and smote
the host: for the host was secure.
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12 |
And when Zebah and Zalmun'na fled, he
pursued after them, and took the two kings of Mid'i-an, Zebah and
Zalmun'na, and discomfited all the host.
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13 |
And Gideon the son of Jo'ash returned
from battle before the sun was up,
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14 |
and caught a young man of the men of
Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes
of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and
seventeen men.
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15 |
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and
said, Behold Zebah and Zalmun'na, with whom ye did upbraid me,
saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmun'na now in thine
hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
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16 |
And he took the elders of the city, and
thorns of the wilderness, and briers, and with them he taught the
men of Succoth.
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17 |
And he beat down the tower of Penu'el,
and slew the men of the city.
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18 |
Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmun'na,
What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they
answered, As thou art, so were they; each one
resembled the children of a king.
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19 |
And he said, They were my
brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not
slay you.
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20 |
And he said unto Jether his firstborn,
Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he
feared, because he was yet a youth.
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21 |
Then Zebah and Zalmun'na said, Rise thou,
and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And
Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmun'na, and took away the
ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
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22 |
Then the men of Israel said unto
Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son
also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of
Mid'i-an.
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23 |
And Gideon said unto them, I will not
rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
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24 |
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire
a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of
his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ish'maelites.)
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25 |
And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every
man the earrings of his prey.
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26 |
And the weight of the golden earrings
that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of
gold; besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Mid'i-an, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
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27 |
And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put
it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a
whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
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28 |
Thus was Mid'i-an subdued before the
children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And
the country was in quietness forty years in the days of
Gideon.
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29 |
And Jerubba'al the son of Jo'ash went
and dwelt in his own house.
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30 |
And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of
his body begotten: for he had many wives.
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31 |
And his concubine that was in
Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called
Abim'elech.
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32 |
And Gideon the son of Jo'ash died in a
good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Jo'ash his father,
in Ophrah of the Abi-ez'rites.
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33 |
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon
was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a
whoring after Ba'alim, and made Ba'al-be'rith their god.
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34 |
And the children of Israel remembered not
the LORD their God, who had delivered them out
of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
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35 |
neither showed they kindness to the house
of Jerubba'al, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness
which he had showed unto Israel.
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