Judges 8

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 But the Ephraimites said to him, "What have you done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they quarreled bitterly with him.	1 And the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this, that you wanted to do, so that you would not call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they rebuked him strongly, and came close to using violence.
2 "What have I accomplished now in comparison with you?" he answered them. "Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?	2 And he responded to them: “But what could I have done that would be so great as what you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer?
3 Into your power God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" When he said this, their anger against him subsided.	3 The Lord has delivered into your hands the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What could I have done that would be so great as what you have done?” And when he had said this, their spirit, which was swelling up against him, was quieted.
4 When Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it with his three hundred men, they were exhausted and famished.	4 And when Gideon had arrived at the Jordan, he crossed over it with the three hundred men who were with him. And they were so weary that they were unable to pursue those who were fleeing.
5 So he said to the men of Succoth, "Will you give my followers some loaves of bread? They are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian."	5 And he said to the men of Succoth, “I beg you, give bread to the people who are with me, for they are greatly weakened, so that we may be able to pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 But the princes of Succoth replied, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your army?"	6 The leaders of Succoth answered, “Perhaps the palms of the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hand, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to your army.”
7 Gideon said, "Very well; when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will grind your flesh in with the thorns and briers of the desert."	7 And he said to them, “So then, when the Lord will have delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.”
8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request of them, but the men of Penuel answered him as had the men of Succoth.	8 And going up from there, he arrived at Penuel. And he spoke to the men of that place similarly. And they also answered him, just as the men of Succoth had answered.
9 So to the men of Penuel, too, he said, "When I return in triumph, I will demolish this tower."	9 And so he said to them also, “When I will have returned as a victor in peace, I will destroy this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their force of about fifteen thousand men; these were all who were left of the whole Kedemite army, a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen having fallen.	10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were resting with their entire army. For fifteen thousand men were left out of all the troops of the eastern people. And one hundred twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword had been cut down.
11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when it felt secure.	11 And Gideon ascended by the way of those who were dwelling in tents, to the eastern part of Nobah and Jogbehah. And he struck the camp of the enemies, who were confident and were suspecting nothing adverse.
12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, captive, throwing the entire army into panic.	12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And Gideon pursued and overtook them, sending their entire army into confusion.
13 Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from battle by the pass of Heres.	13 And returning from the war before sunrise,
14 He captured a young man of Succoth, who upon being questioned listed for him the seventy-seven princes and elders of Succoth.	14 he took a boy from among the men of Succoth. And he asked him the names of the leaders and elders of Succoth. And he described seventy-seven men.
15 So he went to the men of Succoth and said, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you taunted me, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your weary followers?'"	15 And he went to Succoth, and he said to them: “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, over whom you rebuked me, saying: ‘Perhaps the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna are in your hands, and for this reason, you request that we give bread to men who are languishing and weakened.’ ”
16 He took the elders of the city, and thorns and briers of the desert, and ground these men of Succoth into them.	16 Therefore, he took the elders of the city, and, using the thorns and briers of the desert, he threshed them with these, and he cut the men of Succoth to pieces.
17 He also demolished the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city.	17 He also overturned the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "Where now are the men you killed at Tabor?" "They all resembled you," they replied. "They appeared to be princes."	18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were those whom you killed at Tabor?” They responded, “They were like you, and one of them was like the son of a king.”
19 "They were my brothers, my mother's sons," he said. "As the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I should not kill you."	19 He answered them: “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had preserved them, I would not kill you.”
20 Then he said to his first-born, Jether, "Go, kill them." Since Jether was still a boy, he was afraid and did not draw his sword.	20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn son, “Rise up, and put them to death.” But he did not draw his sword. For he was afraid, being still a boy.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, kill us yourself, for a man's strength is like the man." So Gideon stepped forward and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.	21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said: “You should rise up and rush against us. For the strength of a man is in accord with his age.” Gideon rose up, and he killed Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took the ornaments and studs, with which the necks of the royal camels are usually adorned.
22 The Israelites then said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son, and your son's son--for you rescued us from the power of Midian."	22 And all the men of Israel said to Gideon: “You should rule over us, and your son, and your son’s son. For you freed us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon answered them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The LORD must rule over you."	23 And he said to them: “I will not rule over you. Neither shall my son rule over you. Instead, the Lord shall rule over you.”
24 Gideon went on to say, "I should like to make a request of you. Will each of you give me a ring from his booty?" (For being Ishmaelites, the enemy had gold rings.)	24 And he said to them: “I petition one request from you. Give me the earrings from your spoils.” For the Ishmaelites were accustomed to wear gold earrings.
25 "We will gladly give them," they replied, and spread out a cloak into which everyone threw a ring from his booty.	25 They responded, “We are very willing to give them.” And spreading a cloak on the ground, they cast upon it the earrings from the spoils.
26 The gold rings that he requested weighed seventeen hundred gold shekels, in addition to the crescents and pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the trappings that were on the necks of their camels.	26 And the weight of the earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, aside from the ornaments, and necklaces, and purple garments, which the kings of Midian were accustomed to use, and aside from the gold chains on the camels.
27 Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in his city Ophrah. However, all Israel paid idolatrous homage to it there, and caused the ruin of Gideon and his family.	27 And Gideon made an ephod from these, and he kept it in his city, Ophrah. And all of Israel committed fornication with it, and it became a ruin to Gideon and to all his house.
28 Thus was Midian brought into subjection by the Israelites; no longer did they hold their heads high. And the land had rest for forty years, during the lifetime of Gideon.	28 But Midian was humbled before the sons of Israel. Neither were they able any longer to lift up their necks. But the land rested for forty years, while Gideon presided.
29 Then Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went back home to stay.	29 And so Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house.
30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his direct descendants, for he had many wives.	30 And he had seventy sons, who went forth from his own thigh. For he had many wives.
31 His concubine who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech.	31 But his concubine, whom he had in Shechem, bore him a son named Abimelech.
32 At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.	32 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, and he was buried in the sepulcher of his father, at Ophrah, of the family of Ezri.
33 But after Gideon was dead, the Israelites again abandoned themselves to the Baals, making Baal of Berith their god	33 But after Gideon died, the sons of Israel turned away, and they committed fornication with the Baals. And they struck a covenant with Baal, so that he would be their god.
34 and forgetting the LORD, their God, who had delivered them from the power of their enemies all around them.	34 And they did not remember the Lord their God, who rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on all sides.
35 Nor were they grateful to the family of Jerubbaal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.	35 Neither did they show mercy to the house of Jerubbaal Gideon, in accord with all the good that he had done for Israel.