King James Version

1 And they said to me, an Ephraimite, "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. 2 And he said to them, "What have I done to you now? Is it not good to care for Ephraim from the harvest of Abiezer?" 3 In your hand, God gave the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what can I do like you? Then my spirit departed from me because of your words, this matter. 4 And Gideon came to the Jordan; he and three hundred men who were with him, weary and pursuing. 5 And he said to the men of Succoth, "Give, please, loaves of bread to the people who are with me, for they are weary; and I am chasing after Zeba and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." 6 And the princes of Sukkoth said, "Will we give bread to your army now, when it has been given to you?" 7 And Gideon said, "Then when the Lord gives Zeba and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh, as with the thorns of the wilderness and the briars." 8 And Penuel went up from there and spoke to them this way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower." 10 And a sacrifice and a mutilation at the camp, and their hosts with them, as fifteen thousand, all the survivors from all the encampment of the sons of the east, and the fallen were one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up the way of the tents east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he struck the camp, and the camp was secure. 12 And they fled, Zebach and Zalmunna, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebach and Zalmunna, and all the camp was terrified. 13 And Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres. 14 And a young man from the men of Succoth was captured, and he asked him, and he wrote to him the rulers of Succoth and the elders of the seventy and seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here is the sacrifice and the idols that you have reproached me, saying, ‘Is the sacrifice and the idols now in your hand, for they have been given to your weary men to eat?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city and the leaders of the desert and the mighty men, and he made them know the men of Succoth. 17 And he destroyed the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 18 And he said to Zivchah and to Tsalmunah, "Where are the men whom you killed in Tavore?" And they said, "Just like you, they are one in appearance, like the sons of the king." 19 And my brother said, "As the Lord lives, if you had spared them, I would not have killed you." 20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up and kill them," but the youth did not draw his sword because he was afraid, for he was still a youth. 21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up, you, and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 22 And the man of Israel said to Gideon, “You also, your son, and your grandson, have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 And Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you; the LORD will rule over you." 24 And Gideon said to them, "I will ask you a question, and give me each man a ring of your spoil, for they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites." 25 And they said, "Let us give," and they spread out the garment, and they threw there a man’s nose ring of their plunder. 26 And the weight of the gold rings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments that were upon the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains that were on the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel turned there after him, and it became a snare to Gideon and his house. 28 And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they did not lift their heads; and the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon. 29 And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his house. 30 And Gideon had seventy sons, who went out from his loins, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 And it was that when Gideon died, the children of Israel returned and they prostituted themselves after the Baals, and they made for themselves a Baal of a covenant to the gods. 34 And the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God who delivered them from the hand of all their enemies all around. 35 And they did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal Gideon, as all the good that he had done for Israel.