Gideon Calms Ephraim
1The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way, not calling us when you went to fight Midian?” And they argued with him fiercely. 2He said to them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Isn’t the gleaning of Ephraim’s grapes better than the whole harvest of Abiezer? 3God gave the commanders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hand. What could I do compared to that?” At this answer, their anger toward him died down.
Pursuit and Vengeance
4Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed it, he and the three hundred men with him, exhausted, yet still pursuing. 5He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to the troops who are following me; they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6The officials of Succoth said, “Do you already have Zebah and Zalmunna in your grasp, that we should give bread to your army?” 7Gideon said, “Very well — when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness.” 8From there he went up to Penuel and made the same request, and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had. 9So he said also to the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.” 10Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies, about fifteen thousand men — all that remained of the whole army of the people of the east; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen. 11Gideon went up by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the camp, catching them off guard. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, throwing the whole camp into panic. 13Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. 14He caught a young man from Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the officials and elders of Succoth — seventy-seven men. 15Then Gideon came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Do you already have Zebah and Zalmunna in your grasp, that we should give bread to your exhausted men?’” 16He took the elders of the city and taught the men of Succoth a lesson with thorns and briers of the wilderness. 17He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What sort of men did you kill at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you — each one had the bearing of a king’s son.” 19He said, “They were my brothers, my own mother’s sons. As surely as Yahweh lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword, because he was afraid — he was still just a boy. 21Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up yourself and strike us down, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
Gideon Refuses the Crown
22The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son, and your grandson — because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.” 24Gideon also said to them, “Let me make one request of you: let each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (The enemy had gold earrings, since they were Ishmaelites.) 25They said, “We will gladly give them.” So they spread out a cloak, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 26The weight of the gold earrings he had requested came to seventeen hundred shekels of gold, not counting the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. 27Gideon made an ephod from it and set it up in his own city, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
The Death of Gideon
28So Midian was subdued before the Israelites and never raised its head again, and the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. 29Then Jerubbaal son of Joash went back and lived in his own house. 30Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives. 31His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 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. 33As soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals, making Baal-berith their god. 34The Israelites did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35Nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal — that is, Gideon — for all the good he had done for Israel.
