{"meta":{"source":"Prime Bible","sourceUrl":"https://primebible.com","license":"Public domain (translation text); see citation policy at /citation-policy","organization":"501(c)(3) nonprofit — EIN 41-2531951","canonicalUrl":"https://primebible.com/dbt/judges/8","llmTxt":"https://primebible.com/llms.txt","generatedAt":"2026-05-27T00:30:54.695Z"},"reference":{"translation":"DBT","book":"Judges","bookSlug":"judges","chapter":8,"testament":"OLD"},"navigation":{"previousChapter":7,"nextChapter":9,"totalChapters":21,"totalVerses":35},"verses":[{"verseNumber":1,"text":"And the men of E'phraim said to him, |What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight with Mid'ian?| And they upbraided him violently."},{"verseNumber":2,"text":"And he said to them, |What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of E'phraim better than the vintage of Abi-e'zer?"},{"verseNumber":3,"text":"God has given into your hands the princes of Mid'ian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you?| Then their anger against him was abated, when he had said this."},{"verseNumber":4,"text":"And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint yet pursuing."},{"verseNumber":5,"text":"So he said to the men of Succoth, |Pray, give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmun'na, the kings of Mid'ian.|"},{"verseNumber":6,"text":"And the officials of Succoth said, |Are Zebah and Zalmun'na already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?|"},{"verseNumber":7,"text":"And Gideon said, |Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmun'na into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.|"},{"verseNumber":8,"text":"And from there he went up to Penu'el, and spoke to them in the same way; and the men of Penu'el answered him as the men of Succoth had answered."},{"verseNumber":9,"text":"And he said to the men of Penu'el, |When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.|"},{"verseNumber":10,"text":"Now Zebah and Zalmun'na were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword."},{"verseNumber":11,"text":"And Gideon went up by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jog'behah, and attacked the army; for the army was off its guard."},{"verseNumber":12,"text":"And Zebah and Zalmun'na fled; and he pursued them and took the two kings of Mid'ian, Zebah and Zalmun'na, and he threw all the army into a panic."},{"verseNumber":13,"text":"Then Gideon the son of Jo'ash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres."},{"verseNumber":14,"text":"And he caught a young man of Succoth, and questioned him; and he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men."},{"verseNumber":15,"text":"And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, |Behold Zebah and Zalmun'na, about whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are Zebah and Zalmun'na already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are faint?'|"},{"verseNumber":16,"text":"And he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth."},{"verseNumber":17,"text":"And he broke down the tower of Penu'el, and slew the men of the city."},{"verseNumber":18,"text":"Then he said to Zebah and Zalmun'na, |Where are the men whom you slew at Tabor?| They answered, |As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king.|"},{"verseNumber":19,"text":"And he said, |They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.|"},{"verseNumber":20,"text":"And he said to Jether his first-born, |Rise, and slay them.| But the youth did not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth."},{"verseNumber":21,"text":"Then Zebah and Zalmun'na said, |Rise yourself, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength.| And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmun'na; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels."},{"verseNumber":22,"text":"Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, |Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Mid'ian.|"},{"verseNumber":23,"text":"Gideon said to them, |I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.|"},{"verseNumber":24,"text":"And Gideon said to them, |Let me make a request of you; give me every man of you the earrings of his spoil.| (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ish'maelites.)"},{"verseNumber":25,"text":"And they answered, |We will willingly give them.| And they spread a garment, and every man cast in it the earrings of his spoil."},{"verseNumber":26,"text":"And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Mid'ian, and besides the collars that were about the necks of their camels."},{"verseNumber":27,"text":"And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah; and all Israel played the harlot after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family."},{"verseNumber":28,"text":"So Mid'ian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon."},{"verseNumber":29,"text":"Jerubba'al the son of Jo'ash went and dwelt in his own house."},{"verseNumber":30,"text":"Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives."},{"verseNumber":31,"text":"And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abim'elech."},{"verseNumber":32,"text":"And Gideon the son of Jo'ash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Jo'ash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiez'rites."},{"verseNumber":33,"text":"As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and played the harlot after the Ba'als, and made Ba'al-be'rith their god."},{"verseNumber":34,"text":"And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side;"},{"verseNumber":35,"text":"and they did not show kindness to the family of Jerubba'al (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel."}],"citation":{"inline":"Judges 8 (DBT)","markdown":"[Judges 8](https://primebible.com/dbt/judges/8)","sbl":"Prime Bible. *The Bible.* DBT. https://primebible.com/dbt/judges/8 (accessed 2026-05-27)."}}