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Zebah
and Zalmunna Routed |
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| Judges 8:1 |
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Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is
this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against
Midian?" And they contended with him vigorously. |
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| Judges 8:2 |
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But he said to them, "What have I done now in
comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than
the vintage of Abiezer? |
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| Judges 8:3 |
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God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and
Zeeb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then
their anger toward him subsided when he said that. |
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| Judges 8:4 |
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Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him
came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. |
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| Judges 8:5 |
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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." |
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| Judges 8:6 |
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The leaders of Succoth said, "Are the hands
of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your
army?" |
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| Judges 8:7 |
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Gideon said, "All right, when the LORD has given
Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns
of the wilderness and with briers." |
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| Judges 8:8 |
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He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly
to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. |
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| Judges 8:9 |
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So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying,
"When I return safely, I will tear down this tower." |
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| Judges 8:10 |
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Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their
armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire army of the
sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. |
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| Judges 8:11 |
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Gideon went up by the way of those who lived
in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp
was unsuspecting. |
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| Judges 8:12 |
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When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them
and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole
army. |
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| Judges 8:13 |
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Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the
battle by the ascent of Heres. |
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| Judges 8:14 |
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And he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned
him. Then the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders,
seventy-seven men. |
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| Judges 8:15 |
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He came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold
Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are the hands of
Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men
who are weary?'" |
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| Judges 8:16 |
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He took the elders of the city, and thorns of
the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. |
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| Judges 8:17 |
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He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed
the men of the city. |
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| Judges 8:18 |
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Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind
of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "They were like you,
each one resembling the son of a king." |
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| Judges 8:19 |
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He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of
my mother. As the LORD lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill
you." |
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| Judges 8:20 |
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So he said to Jether his firstborn, "Rise, kill
them." But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was
still a youth. |
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| Judges 8:21 |
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Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise up yourself,
and fall on us; for as the man, so is his strength." So Gideon arose and killed
Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels'
necks. |
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| Judges 8:22 |
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Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule
over us, both you and your son, also your son's son, for you have delivered us
from the hand of Midian." |
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| Judges 8:23 |
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But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over
you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you." |
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| Judges 8:24 |
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Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of
you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings,
because they were Ishmaelites.) |
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| Judges 8:25 |
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They said, "We will surely give them. " So they
spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. |
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| Judges 8:26 |
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The weight of the gold earrings that he requested
was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and
the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands
that were on their camels' necks. |
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| Judges 8:27 |
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Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it
in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it
became a snare to Gideon and his household. |
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Forty
Years of Peace |
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| Judges 8:28 |
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So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel,
and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for
forty years in the days of Gideon. |
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| Judges 8:29 |
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Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived
in his own house. |
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| Judges 8:30 |
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Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct
descendants, for he had many wives. |
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| Judges 8:31 |
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His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him
a son, and he named him Abimelech. |
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| Judges 8:32 |
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And Gideon the son of Joash died at a ripe old
age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. |
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| Judges 8:33 |
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Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead,
that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith
their god. |
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| Judges 8:34 |
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Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the
LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on
every side; |
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| Judges 8:35 |
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nor did they show kindness to the household
of Jerubbaal ( that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to
Israel. |
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