| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon. | 1Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently. |
| 2But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer? | 2But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? |
| 3God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided. | 3God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided. |
| 4Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy. | 4Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit. |
| 5When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” | 5So 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.” |
| 6But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.” | 6But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?” |
| 7So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.” | 7“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!” |
| 8From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer. | 8From 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. |
| 9So he said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.” | 9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!” |
| 10By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors—all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed. | 10Now 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. |
| 11Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise. | 11And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise. |
| 12Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors. | 12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army. |
| 13After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass. | 13After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres. |
| 14There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town. | 14There 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. |
| 15Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’” | 15And 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?’ ” |
| 16Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness. | 16Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth. |
| 17He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town. | 17He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. |
| 18Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?” “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.” | 18Next, 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.” |
| 19“They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the LORD lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.” | 19“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.” |
| 20Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid. | 20So 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. |
| 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels. Gideon’s Sacred Ephod | 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us 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. |
| 22Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.” | 22Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” |
| 23But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you! | 23But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.” |
| 24However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.) | 24Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) |
| 25“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. | 25“We will give them gladly,” they replied. So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it. |
| 26The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. | 26The 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. |
| 27Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. | 27From 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. |
| 28That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land. | 28In 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, |
| 29Then Gideon son of Joash returned home. | 29and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down. |
| 30He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. | 30Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives. |
| 31He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech. | 31His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. |
| 32Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer. | 32Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. |
| 33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. | 33And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god. |
| 34They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. | 34The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. |
| 35Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel. | 35They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel. |
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