Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, What is this thing, that thou wouldest do, that thou calledest not us, when thou wentest to battle against Midian? And they chided with him strongly, and well nigh they did to him violence. (And the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, What is this that thou hast done, that thou did not call us when thou wentest to battle against the Midianites? And they strongly complained to him, and they almost did violence to him.)

2 To whom he answered, And what such thing might I have done, what manner thing ye have done? (But he answered to them, Could I have done such a thing as ye have done?) Whether a raisin of Ephraim is not better than the vintages of Abiezer?

3 And the Lord hath betaken into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What such thing might I have done, what manner thing ye have done? (For the Lord hath delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of the Midianites, into your hands. Could I have done such a thing as ye have done?) And when he had spoken this thing, the spirit of them rested, by which they swelled against him.

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).

9 And so he said to them, When I shall turn again (as an) overcomer in peace (When I shall return to you in victory), I shall destroy this tower.

10 Forsooth Zebah and Zalmunna rested with all their host; for fifteen thousand men (were) left of all the companies of the peoples of the east, when an hundred and twenty thousand of fighters and of men drawing out sword were slain. (And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army; and fifteen thousand men were all who were left of the companies of the peoples of the east, for a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men drawing out swords had been killed.)

11 And Gideon ascended by the way of them that dwelled in tabernacles at the east coast of Nobah and of Jogbehah, and smote the tents of [the] enemies, that were secure, and supposed not anything of adversity.

12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, whom Gideon pursued, and (he) took (hold of them), when all their host was troubled.

13 And he turned again from battle before the rising of the sun, (And Gideon returned from the battle by way of the Ascent of Heres,)

14 and he took (hold of) a young man of the men of Succoth; and he asked him the names of the princes, and of the elder men of Succoth; and he described (to Gideon) seven and seventy men in number.

15 And he came to Succoth, and said to them, Lo, (here be) Zebah and Zalmunna! of which ye upbraided me (of whom ye upbraided me), and said, In hap the hands of Zebah and of Zalmunna be in thine hands, and therefore thou askest, that we give (some) loaves to (thy) men, that be weary and failed.

16 Therefore Gideon took the elder men of the city, and thorns and briars of (the) desert, and he rent with those, and all-brake the men of Succoth; (And so Gideon took hold of the city elders, and some thorns and briars from the desert, and he tore, or cut, them with those, and broke the men of Succoth all to pieces;)

17 also he destroyed the tower of Penuel, when the dwellers of the city were slain. (and he also destroyed the tower of Penuel, and killed the inhabitants of that city.)

18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner men were they, that ye killed in Tabor? Which answered, They were like thee, and one of them was as the son of a king (and one of them was like a king's son).

19 To whom Gideon said, They were (all) my brethren, the sons of my mother; (as) the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them, I would not slay you.

20 And he said to Jether, his first begotten son, Rise thou (up), and slay them. And Jether drew not his sword; for he dreaded, for he was yet a boy (But Jether would not draw out his sword; for he was afraid, for he was still a boy).

21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said (to Gideon), Rise thou (up thyself), and fall on us; for thou art by the age and strength of [a] man. (So) Gideon rose (up), and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and (then he) took the ornaments, and (the) bells, with which the necks of (the) kings? camels be wont to be made fair.

22 And all the men of Israel said to Gideon, Be thou lord of us, thou, and thy son, and the son of thy son; for thou deliveredest us from the hand of Midian.

23 To whom he said, I shall not be lord of you, neither my son shall be lord on you, but the Lord shall be lord on you. (To whom he said, I shall not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you, but the Lord shall rule over you.)

24 And Gideon said to them, I ask one asking of you, give ye to me the earrings of your prey; for Ishmaelites were wont to have golden earrings.

25 Which answered, We shall give (you them) most gladly. And they spreaded forth a mantle on the earth, and casted forth therein [the] earrings of the prey;

26 and the weight of the earrings that he asked (for) was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, without [the] ornaments, and brooches, and cloak of purple, which the kings of Midian were wont to use, and besides [the] golden bands of camels (and without the gold bands for the camels).

27 And Gideon made thereof (an) ephod, that is, a priest's cloak, and he put it in his city (of) Ophrah; and all Israel did fornication, that is idolatry, therein (therewith); and it was made to Gideon, and to all his house, into falling.

28 But Midian was made low before the sons of Israel, and they might no more raise up their nolls; and the land rested forty years, in which Gideon was sovereign.

29 And so Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went, and dwelled in his house;

30 and he had seventy sons, that went out of his thigh, for he had many wives.

31 And a concubine, that is, (the) secondary wife, of him, whom he had in Shechem, engendered to him a son, Abimelech by name.

32 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in [a] good eld [age], and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash, his father, in Ophrah, of the family of Abiezrites.

33 And after that Gideon was dead, the sons of Israel turned away, and they did fornication, that is, idolatry, with Baalim; and they smote (a) bond of peace with Baal(berith), that he should be to them into God (and they made a covenant with Baalberith, so that he would be their god),

34 neither Israel had mind of their Lord God, that had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies by compass/about; (and the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies around them;)

35 neither they did mercy to the family of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, after all the good things that he did to Israel. (nor were they grateful, or loyal, to Jerubbal's family, after all the good that he had done for Israel.)

Judges 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

Gideon pacifies the Ephraimites. (1-3) Succoth and Penuel refuse to relieve Gideon. (4-12) Succoth and Penuel punished. (13-17) Gideon avenges his brethren. (18-21) Gideon declines the government, but given occasion for idolatry. (22-28) Gideon's death, Israel's ingratitude. (29-35)

Verses 1-3 Those who will not attempt or venture any thing in the cause of God, will be the most ready to censure and quarrel with such as are of a more zealous and enterprising spirit. And those who are the most backward to difficult services, will be the most angry not to have the credit of them. Gideon stands here as a great example of self-denial; and shows us that envy is best removed by humility. The Ephraimites had given vent to their passion in very wrong freedom of speech, a certain sign of a weak cause: reason runs low when chiding flies high.

Verses 4-12 Gideon's men were faint, yet pursuing; fatigued with what they had done, yet eager to do more against their enemies. It is many a time the true Christian's case, fainting, and yet pursuing. The world knows but little of the persevering and successful struggle the real believer maintains with his sinful heart. But he betakes himself to that Divine strength, in the faith of which he began his conflict, and by the supply of which alone he can finish it in triumph.

Verses 13-17 The active servants of the Lord meet with more dangerous opposition from false professors than from open enemies; but they must not care for the behaviour of those who are Israelites in name, but Midianites in heart. They must pursue the enemies of their souls, and of the cause of God, though they are ready to faint through inward conflicts and outward hardships. And they shall be enabled to persevere. The less men help, and the more they seek to hinder, the more will the Lord assist. Gideon's warning being slighted, the punishment was just. Many are taught with the briers and thorns of affliction, who would not learn otherwise.

Verses 18-21 The kings of Midian must be reckoned with. As they confessed themselves guilty of murder, Gideon acted as the avenger of blood, being the next of kin to the persons slain. Little did they think to have heard of this so long after; but murder seldom goes unpunished in this life. Sins long forgotten by man, must be accounted for to God. What poor consolation in death from the hope of suffering less pain, and of dying with less disgrace than some others! yet many are more anxious on these accounts, than concerning the future judgment, and what will follow.

Verses 22-28 Gideon refused the government the people offered him. No good man can be pleased with any honour done to himself, which belongs only to God. Gideon thought to keep up the remembrance of this victory by an ephod, made of the choicest of the spoils. But probably this ephod had, as usual, a teraphim annexed to it, and Gideon intended this for an oracle to be consulted. Many are led into false ways by one false step of a good man. It became a snare to Gideon himself, and it proved the ruin of the family. How soon will ornaments which feed the lust of the eye, and form the pride of life, as well as tend to the indulgences of the flesh, bring shame on those who are fond of them!

Verses 29-35 As soon as Gideon was dead, who kept the people to the worship of the God of Israel, they found themselves under no restraint; then they went after Baalim, and showed no kindness to the family of Gideon. No wonder if those who forget their God, forget their friends. Yet conscious of our own ingratitude to the Lord, and observing that of mankind in general, we should learn to be patient under any unkind returns we meet with for our poor services, and resolve, after the Divine example, not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 8

In this chapter we are told how Gideon pacified the Ephraimites, who complained because they were not sent unto to fight the Midianites, Jud 8:1-3 how he pursued the Midianites, until he took their two kings, and on his return chastised the men of Succoth and Penuel, because they refused to relieve his men with food as they were pursuing, Jud 8:4-17 how he slew the two kings of Midian, Jud 8:18-21 and after this conquest refused to take the government of Israel when offered him, Jud 8:22,23 how he requested of the Israelites the earrings they had taken from the Midianites, with which he in weakness made an ephod, which proved a snare to his house, Jud 8:24-27 how that the people were in peace forty years during his life, and that he had a numerous issue, and died in a good old age, Jud 8:28-32 but that after his death the Israelites fell into idolatry, and were ungrateful to his family, Jud 8:33-35.