Judges 8:22-35 - Gideon's Legacy

²² And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both you and your son, and your son's son also. For you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.

²³ And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Jehovah shall rule over you. ²⁴ And Gideon said to them, I would desire a favor of you, that each man of you would give me the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

²⁵ And they answered, We will gladly give. And they spread a cloth, and each man threw the earrings of his prey in it. ²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked for was seventeen hundred of gold, besides ornaments, and pendants, and purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains around their camels' necks. ²⁷ And Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went there lusting after it, which thing became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

²⁸ And Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. ²⁹ And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

³⁰ And Gideon had seventy sons, begotten of his body. For he had many wives. ³¹ And his concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son whose name he called Abimelech. ³² And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ And it happened as soon as Gideon was dead, the sons of Israel turned again and went lusting after the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ And the sons of Israel did not remember Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. ³⁵ Neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.