1The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, "Why have you treated us this way? You didn't call us when you went to fight against Midian!" They argued with him strongly.
2He said to them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Isn't the gleaning of Ephraim's grapes better than the full harvest of Abiezer?
3God has given you victory over the Midianite commanders, Oreb and Zeeb! What could I possibly do compared to you?" After he said this, their anger toward him calmed down.
4Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan River and crossed it. They were exhausted but still chasing their enemies.
5He said to the people of Succoth, "Please give some loaves of bread to my men who are following me. They are exhausted, and I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
6The leaders of Succoth replied, "Do you already have Zebah and Zalmunna captured, that we should give bread to your army?"
7Gideon said, "Because of that, when Yahweh delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will whip your flesh with thorns and thistles from the wilderness."
8He went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way, but the men of Penuel responded to him just as the men of Succoth had.
9He also told the men of Penuel, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”
10Meanwhile, Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies, about fifteen thousand men. These were all that remained of the eastern armies, as one hundred twenty thousand armed men had been killed.
11Gideon went along the route used by those who live in tents, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army because they felt safe.
12Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and Gideon chased them. He captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw their entire army into confusion.
13Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle, coming from the ascent of Heres.
14He captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him. The young man then listed the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth for him.
15He came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, the very ones you mocked me about, saying, ‘Do you have Zebah and Zalmunna in your power, that we should give bread to your exhausted men?’”
16He took the elders of the city, along with thorns and briars from the wilderness, and with them he punished the men of Succoth.
17He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you; each one looked like a king’s son.”
19He said, “They were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As surely as Yahweh lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
20He told Jether, his firstborn son, “Get up and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword because he was afraid, as he was still very young.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You rise up and kill us yourself, for a man’s strength is like none other.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson—because you have rescued us from the power of Midian.”
23Gideon replied to them, “I will not rule over you, and neither will my son rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
24Gideon then said to them, “I do have one request: each of you give me an earring from your plunder.” (They had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25They answered, “We will gladly give them.” They spread out a cloak, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.
26The golden earrings he requested weighed seventeen hundred shekels of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, and the chains from their camels’ necks.
27Gideon used the gold to make a sacred vest and placed it in Ophrah, his hometown. All the people of Israel worshiped it there, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.
28So Midian was defeated by the people of Israel, and they no longer posed a threat. The land had peace for forty years during Gideon’s lifetime.
29Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went home and lived there.
30Gideon had seventy sons from his own body, because he had many wives.
31His concubine who lived in Shechem also gave birth to a son, and Gideon named him Abimelech.
32Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel again turned away and worshiped the Baals, and they made Baal Berith their god.
34The people of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies on every side.
35They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, despite all the good he had done for Israel.