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Judges 8:1-35 — Gideon's Ephod; His Death

Judg.8.1-35

¹Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they quarreled with him vehemently. ²But he said to them, “What have I done now compared with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?” ³“God has given into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do compared with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this. ⁴Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted, yet still pursuing. ⁵And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” ⁶But the leaders of Succoth said, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” ⁷Gideon said, “Very well, when the LORD gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars.” ⁸From there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. ⁹And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.” ¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the whole camp of the people of the east; and those who had fallen were a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword. ¹¹Gideon went up by the route of those who lived in tents, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the camp while the camp felt secure. ¹²When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw the whole army into panic. ¹³Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres. ¹⁴He captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him, and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your exhausted men?'” ¹⁶And he took the elders of the city, along with the thorns of the wilderness and the briars, and with them he disciplined the men of Succoth. ¹⁷He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. ¹⁸Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What sort of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they; each one had the appearance of a king's son.” ¹⁹He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ²⁰Then he said to Jether his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth. ²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You get up and strike us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. ²²Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson as well, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” ²³But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” ²⁴And Gideon said to them, “Let me make one request of you: that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.” For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites. ²⁵They said, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread a garment, and each man threw onto it an earring from his spoil. ²⁶And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neckbands that were on the necks of their camels. ²⁷And Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel played the prostitute after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his household. ²⁸So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads again. And the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. ²⁹Then Jerubbaal son of Joash went and lived in his own house. ³⁰Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. ³¹And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. ³²And Gideon son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ³³And as soon as Gideon died, the sons of Israel turned back and played the prostitute after the Baals, and they made Baal-berith their god. ³⁴The sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side. ³⁵And they did not show loyalty to the household of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon , in return for all the good that he had done for Israel.

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4/11/2026

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