Judges 8

Gideon Finishes What He Started

1 The men from Ephraim came at Gideon hard like, “Listen, why you did not call us when you went to war with Midian, That was foul!” They were heated with him.

2 But Gideon told them, “Man, what I did is not nothing compared to you all. You all caught the best of them boys from Midian.”

3 “God handed over Oreb and Zeeb to you all. What I did is small-time compared to that.” After that, they calmed down.

Gideon Stays on Mission

4 Gideon and his 300 stayed moving. They were tired but still chasing down the Midianites.

5 He asked the people of Succoth, “Listen, hook my crew up with some bread. We worn out, still chasing down Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

6 But the leaders of Succoth said, “Why should we help you, You have not even caught those kings yet.”

7 Gideon said, “Bet. When God hands them over to me, I am coming back through here and tearing you all up with thorns from the desert.”

8 Then he went to Penuel and asked them the same thing. They gave him the same disrespectful answer.

9 Gideon told them, “When I come back in victory, I am tearing down this tower you all got.”

Gideon Captures the Kings

10 Meanwhile, Zebah and Zalmunna were chilling in Karkor with about 15,000 men, all that was left from their crew. 120,000 Midianite soldiers had already been laid down.

11 Gideon took the back road and surprised the army while they were feeling safe.

12 Zebah and Zalmunna tried to run, but Gideon chased them down and caught them both.

Gideon Pays Back Succoth & Penuel

13 Gideon came back from the fight by the road of Heres Pass.

14 He caught a young dude from Succoth and made him write down all the names of the city leaders, seventy-seven names.

15 Gideon pulled up in Succoth like, “Remember when you all clowned me about not having these kings, Look who I got.”

16 He grabbed desert thorns and whipped the leaders of Succoth with them, made them feel that pain.

17 Then he went to Penuel and tore down their tower, and killed the men of that city.

Gideon Deals with the Kings

18 Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What did the dudes you all killed at Tabor look like?” They said, “They looked like you, royal, like a king’s son.”

19 Gideon told them, “Those were my brothers, my momma’s sons. If you all had let them live, I would not kill you.”

20 He told his firstborn son, Jether, “Kill them.” But the boy was too scared, he was still young.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Do it yourself. A man handles his own business.” So Gideon got up and killed them both. Then he took the decorations off their camels’ necks.

Israel Wants Gideon as King

22 The Israelites told Gideon, “Rule over us, you, your son, and your grandson too. You saved us from Midian.”

23 But Gideon told them, “Nah, I am not going to rule over you all. God is your King.”

Gideon Collects the Spoils

24 Gideon said, “But let me ask for one thing, give me the gold earrings from your loot.” The enemy soldiers wore gold.

25 They said, “Bet.” They laid out a robe and threw the earrings on it.

26 The gold from the earrings weighed about 43 pounds, not including the other stuff, ornaments, pendants, and purple clothes the kings had.

27 Gideon made an ephod (a priestly vest) out of the gold and set it up in his city, Ophrah. But Israel started treating it like an idol, it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

Peace in the Land

28 Midian stayed down bad under Israel’s hand. The land had peace for 40 years while Gideon was alive.

Gideon’s Legacy

29 Jerubbaal (aka Gideon) went home and lived in peace.

30 He had 70 sons, dude had a lot of wives.

31 He even had a side chick in Shechem, she gave him a son named Abimelech.

32 Gideon died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Israel Falls Off Again

33 As soon as Gideon died, Israel went right back to the streets, wilding out, worshipping Baal, calling him Baal-berith.

34 They forgot about the Lord their God, the One who saved them from all their enemies.

35 And they did not show any love or loyalty to Gideon’s family after everything he did for them.