Then the men of Ephraim said to (Gideon) , “ Why ... have you done this Why did you fail to call when you went to fight against Midian ? ” And they contended with him violently ....
But (Gideon) answered them , “ Now what have I accomplished Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer ?
God - has delivered Oreb and Zeeb , the two princes of Midian , into your hand. - What was I able to do ... When he had said ... this , their anger against him subsided.
Then Gideon - and his three hundred men came to the Jordan (and) crossed it ... , exhausted yet still in pursuit.
So (Gideon) said to the men of Succoth , “ Please give my troops - - some bread , for they are exhausted , and I am still pursuing ... Zebah and Zalmunna , the kings of Midian. ”
But the leaders of Succoth asked , “ (Are) the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession , that we should give bread to your army ? ”
“ Very well , ” Gideon replied , “ when the LORD - has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand , I will tear - your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness ... ! ”
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them , but the men of Penuel gave the same response - as - the men of Succoth.
So (Gideon) told the men of Penuel , ... “ When I return in triumph , I will tear down - this tower ! ”
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen ... thousand (men) — all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen ... ... had already fallen.
And Gideon went up by way of the caravan ... route east of Nobah and Jogbehah , and he attacked - their army , (taking them) vvv by surprise.
When Zebah and Zalmunna fled , (Gideon) pursued ... and captured - these two kings of Midian - - - - , routing their entire army.
After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
There he captured a young man ... of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him - the names of the seventy-seven ... - leaders and elders of Succoth.
And (Gideon) went to the men of Succoth and said , “ Here are Zebah and Zalmunna , about whom you taunted me , saying , ‘ (Are) the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession , that we should give bread to your weary men ? ’”
Then he took - the elders of the city , and (using) the thorns and briers of the wilderness - - he disciplined the men of Succoth.
- He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed - the men of the city.
Next, (Gideon) asked ... Zebah ... and Zalmunna , “ What kind of men - did you kill at Tabor ? ” “ Men like you , ” ... they answered , “ (each) one resembling the son of a king. ”
“ They were my brothers , ” Gideon replied , “ the sons of my mother ! As surely as the LORD lives , if you had let them live , - I would not kill you. ”
So he said to Jether , his firstborn , “ Get up and kill them. ” - But the young man did not draw his sword ; - he was fearful because he was still a youth.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said , “ Get up and kill yourself , 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.
Then the Israelites ... said to Gideon , “ Rule you and your son ... and grandson ... — for you have saved us from the hand of Midian. ”
But Gideon replied ... , “ I will not rule nor will my son The LORD shall rule
Then he added - , “ Let me make a request ... that each of you give an earring from his plunder. ” ( For (the enemies) had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites. )
“ We will give (them) gladly , ” they replied. So they spread out - a garment , and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.
The weight of the gold - earrings he had requested was 1 ,700 ... ... (shekels) , in addition to ... the crescent ornaments , the pendants , the purple garments of the kings of Midian , ... ... and the chains - from the necks of their camels.
(From all this) Gideon made - an ephod , which he placed - in Ophrah , his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there , and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites ... and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon ,
and he — Jerubbaal son of Joash — returned home and settled down.
Gideon had seventy sons of his own ... , since he had many wives.
His concubine , who (dwelt) in Shechem , also ... bore a son , and he named - him Abimelech.
Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah vvv of the Abiezrites.
And as soon as Gideon was dead , the Israelites ... turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals , and they set up vvv Baal-berith as their god.
The Israelites ... - failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon ) for all the good things - he had done for Israel.