Judges 8:6

6 And the princes of Succoth answered in scorn, (and said,) In hap the palms of the hands of Zebah and of Zalmunna be in thine hands, and therefore thou askest, that we give (some) loaves to thine host.

Judges 8:6 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:6

And the princes of Succoth said
The chief magistrates of the place made answer, one in the name of the rest; for the word said is in the singular number:

are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hands;
that is, are they taken prisoners, and handcuffed, or their hands bound behind them, and put into the hands of Gideon, to do with them as he pleased? no, they were not; and they suggest they never would, deriding him and his small number of men as not a match for these kings, whom, perhaps a little before, they had seen pass by with 15,000 men; with whom his little army would not be able to encounter, should they turn and fall upon them, which they supposed would be the case; and therefore, say they, when these are in thine hands, which they thought would never be, it will be time enough

that we should give bread to thine army?
for they feared, should they do that, these kings would hear of it, and they should suffer for it, and their bondage be harder than it was before; so selfish and diffident in themselves, so cruel and uncompassionate to their brethren, and so ungrateful to their deliverers, which stirred up the spirit of this humble and good man to great resentment.

Judges 8:6 In-Context

4 And when Gideon had come to (the) Jordan, he passed it with three hundred men, that were with him; and for weariness they might not pursue them that fled. (And when Gideon had come to the Jordan River, he crossed over it with the three hundred men who were with him; and for weariness they might not pursue those who had fled before them.)

5 And he said to the men of Succoth, I beseech (thee), give ye (some) loaves to the people, that is with me; for they failed greatly (for they faint now), (so) that we may then pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, (the) kings of Midian.

6 And the princes of Succoth answered in scorn, (and said,) In hap the palms of the hands of Zebah and of Zalmunna be in thine hands, and therefore thou askest, that we give (some) loaves to thine host.

7 To whom Gideon said, Therefore, when the Lord shall betake Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hands, and when I shall turn again (as an) overcomer in peace, I shall rend your flesh with thorns and briars of the desert. (To whom Gideon said, And so, when the Lord shall deliver Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, and when I shall return to you in victory, I shall tear, or shall cut, your flesh with thorns and briars from the desert.)

8 And Gideon went up from thence, and came into Penuel; and he spake like things to men of that place, to whom also they answered, as the men of Succoth had answered (and they answered him just like the men of Succoth had answered him).