Judges 8:4-21 - Gideon Pursues The Kings Of Midian

⁴ Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who [were] with him, weary and pursuing. ⁵ He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who [are] {following me}, for they [are] weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

⁶ The officials of Succoth said, "Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?"

⁷ Gideon said, "Well then, when Yahweh gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness." ⁸ He went from there [to] Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered. ⁹ And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return {safely}, I will tear down this tower."

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army of the people of [the] east; those that fell [in battle were] one hundred and twenty thousand {swordsmen}. ¹¹ And Gideon went up the route of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the army when it was off its guard. ¹² And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he routed the entire army.

¹³ Then Gideon son of Jehoash returned from the battle {by way of} the ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ He captured a young man {from Succoth} and questioned him. [The young man] listed for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵ He came to the men of Succoth, and he said, "Here [is] Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, '[Is] the palm of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give food to your weary men?'" ¹⁶ He took the elders of the city and [the] thorn bushes and briers of the wilderness, and {he trampled} the men of Succoth with them. ¹⁷ He broke down the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.

¹⁸ And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What type [were] the men whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "{They were like you}; each [one of them] had the appearance of the sons of the king."

¹⁹ He said, "They [were] my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you." ²⁰ And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he [was] still a boy.

²¹ Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself, and strike us, for as [is] the man, so [is] his power." So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.