Judges 8

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Now the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, 'What do you mean by treating us like this, not summoning uswhen you went to fight Midian?' And they reproached him bitterly.	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 He replied, 'What have I achieved, compared with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim's grapes betterthan 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 God delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the chieftains of Midian, into your power. What was I able to do, incomparison with what you have done?' At these words, their anger with him died down.	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 Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it, but he and his three hundred companions were exhaustedwith the pursuit.	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, 'Please give my fol owers some loaves of bread, since they areexhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna the 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 The headmen of Succoth replied, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that weshould give bread 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 'Very wel ,' retorted Gideon, 'when Yahweh has put Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I shal tearyour flesh off with desert-thorn and thistles.'	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 From there he went up to Penuel and asked the men of Penuel the same thing; they replied as those ofSuccoth had done.	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 And to those of Penuel he made a similar retort, 'When I return victorious, I shal destroy 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 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, al that was left ofthe entire army of the sons of the East. Of men bearing arms, a hundred and twenty thousand had fal en.	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 approached them by the tent-dwellers' route, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked thearmy when it thought itself in safety.	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; he took the two kings of Midian prisoner -- Zebah andZalmunna -- and the whole army he routed in panic.	12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And Gideon pursued and overtook them, sending their entire army into confusion.
13 After the battle Gideon came back by the Ascent of Heres.	13 And returning from the war before sunrise,
14 He caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him, and the latter wrote downthe names of the headmen and elders of Succoth for him -- seventy-seven men.	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 Gideon son of Joash then went to the people of Succoth and said, 'Here you see Zebah andZalmunna, about whom you taunted me and said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp,that we should give bread to your exhausted troops?" '	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 then seized the elders of the town and, taking desert-thorn and thistles, tore the men of Succoth topieces.	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 destroyed the tower of Penuel and slaughtered the townsmen.	17 He also overturned the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.
18 He then said to Zebah and Zalmunna, 'The men you kil ed at Tabor -- what were they like?' Theyreplied, 'They looked like you. Every one of them carried himself like the son of a king.'	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 Gideon replied, 'They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if you hadspared their lives I would not kil 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 To Jether his eldest son he said, 'Stand up and kil them!' But the boy did not draw his sword; he darednot; he was stil only a lad.	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 then said, 'Stand up yourself, and strike us down; for as a man is, so is hisstrength.' Then Gideon stood up and kil ed Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents from round theircamels' necks.	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 men of Israel said to Gideon, 'Rule over us, you, your son and your grandson, since you haverescued 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 replied, 'I wil not rule you, neither wil my son. Yahweh shal rule 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, however, 'Let me make you one request. Each of you give me one ring out of hisbooty' -- for the vanquished had had gold rings, being Ishmaelites.	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 shal give them gladly,' they replied. So he spread out his cloak, and on it each of them threw aring 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 weight of the gold rings which he had asked for amounted to seventeen hundred shekels of gold,besides the crescents and the earrings and purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the col arsround their camels' necks.	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 From this Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his town, in Ophrah. All Israel, fol owing his example,prostituted themselves to it, and it was a snare for 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 Midian was humbled before the Israelites. He did not raise his head again, and the country hadpeace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.	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 So Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live at home.	29 And so Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house.
30 Gideon had seventy sons begotten by him, 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, to whom he gave the name Abimelech.	31 But his concubine, whom he had in Shechem, bore him a son named Abimelech.
32 Gideon son of Joash died after a happy old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, atOphrah of Abiezer.	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 After Gideon's death, the people of Israel again began to prostitute themselves to the Baals, takingBaal-Berith for 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 The Israelites no longer remembered Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all the enemiesround 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 And to the family of Jerubbaal -- Gideon -- they showed no faithful gratitude for al the good which ithad 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.