Judges 8:3

3 God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" And their {anger} against him subsided when {he said that}.

Judges 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:3

God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb
and Zeeb
A high honour this conferred upon you, and with which you may be well contented:

and what was I able to do in comparison of you?
what he had done in defeating and pursuing the army of Midian, in slaying and taking any of them prisoners, was nothing in comparison of what they had done; nay, he signifies that he was not capable of doing anything worth mentioning without them; the glory of finishing this conquest was reserved for them:

then their anger was abated towards him when he had said that;
it being what gratified their pride and was pleasing to them; and this conduct of Gideon showed him to be a wise and humble man.

Judges 8:3 In-Context

1 The men of Ephraim said to him, "What [is] this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they quarreled with him severely.

2 And he said to them, "What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

3 God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" And their {anger} against him subsided when {he said that}.

4 Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who [were] with him, weary and pursuing.

5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who [are] {following me}, for they [are] weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "spirit"
• [b]. Literally "he said this thing/word"