1The men of Ephraim asked Gideon, ‘Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you ask us to help you when you went out to fight against Midian?’ In anger they challenged Gideon.2But he answered them, ‘What I’ve done isn’t anything compared to what you have done. Ephraim’s grapes have been gathered. Isn’t what is left over better than all the grapes that have been gathered from Abiezer’s vines?3God handed Oreb and Zeeb over to you. They were Midianite leaders. So what was I able to do compared to what you did?’ After Gideon had said that, they didn’t feel angry with him anymore.4Gideon and his 300 men were very tired. But they kept on chasing their enemies. They came to the River Jordan and went across it.5Gideon said to the men of Sukkoth, ‘Give my troops some bread. They are worn out. And I’m still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna. They are the kings of Midian.’6But the officials of Sukkoth objected. They said, ‘Have you already killed Zebah and Zalmunna? Have you cut their hands off and brought them back to prove it? If you haven’t, why should we give bread to your troops?’7Gideon replied, ‘The LORD will hand Zebah and Zalmunna over to me. When he does, I’ll tear your skin with thorns from desert bushes.’8From there Gideon went up to Peniel. He asked its men for the same thing. But they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.9So he said to the men of Peniel, ‘I’ll be back after I’ve won the battle. Then I’ll tear down this tower.’10Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. They had an army of about 15,000 men. That’s all that were left of the armies of the tribes from the east. About 120,000 men who carried swords had died in battle.11Gideon went up the trail the people of the desert had made. It ran east of Nobah and Jogbehah. He attacked the army by surprise.12Zebah and Zalmunna ran away. They were the two kings of Midian. Gideon chased them and captured them. He destroyed their whole army.13Then Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle. He came back through the Pass of Heres.14He caught a young man from Sukkoth. He asked him about the elders of the town. The young man wrote down for him the names of Sukkoth’s 77 officials.15Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, ‘Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me because of them. You said, “Have you already killed Zebah and Zalmunna? Have you cut their hands off and brought them back to prove it? If you haven’t, why should we give bread to your tired men?” ’16Gideon went and got the elders of the town. Then he taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson. He tore their skin with thorns from desert bushes.17He also pulled down the tower at Peniel. He killed the men in the town.18Then he spoke to Zebah and Zalmunna. He asked, ‘What were the men like that you killed at Tabor?’ ‘Men like you,’ they answered. ‘Each one walked as if he were a prince.’19Gideon replied, ‘Those were my brothers. They were the sons of my own mother. You can be sure that the LORD lives. And you can be just as sure that if you had spared their lives, I wouldn’t kill you.’20Then Gideon turned to his eldest son Jether. He said, ‘Kill them!’ But Jether didn’t pull out his sword. He was only a boy. So he was afraid.21Zebah and Zalmunna said, ‘Come on. Do it yourself. “The older the man, the stronger he is.” ’ So Gideon stepped forward and killed them. Then he took the gold chains off the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s linen apron
22The Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us. We want you, your son and your grandson to be our rulers. You have saved us from the power of Midian.’23But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you. My son won’t rule over you either. The LORD will rule over you.’24He continued, ‘I do ask one thing. I want each of you to give me an earring. I’m talking about the earrings you took from your enemies.’ It was the practice of the people in the family line of Ishmael to wear gold earrings.25The Israelites said, ‘We’ll be glad to give them to you.’ So they spread out a piece of clothing. Each of them threw a ring on it from what he had taken.26The weight of the gold rings Gideon asked for was 20 kilograms. That didn’t include the moon-shaped necklaces the kings of Midian had worn. It didn’t include their other necklaces or their purple clothes. And it didn’t include the gold chains that had been on the necks of their camels.27Gideon made an object out of all the gold. It looked like the linen apron the high priest of Israel wore. Gideon placed it in Ophrah. That was his home town. All the Israelites worshipped it there. They weren’t faithful to the LORD. So the gold object became a trap to Gideon and his family.
Gideon dies
28Israel brought Midian under their control. Midian wasn’t able to attack Israel anymore. So the land was at peace for 40 years. The peace lasted as long as Gideon was living.29Jerub-Baal, the son of Joash, went back home to live. Jerub-Baal was another name for Gideon.30He had 70 sons of his own. That’s because he had many wives.31And he had a concubine who lived in Shechem. She also had a son by him. Gideon named that son Abimelek.32Gideon, the son of Joash, died when he was very old. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah. Ophrah was in the territory that belonged to the family line of Abiezer.33As soon as Gideon had died, the Israelites began serving and worshipping gods that were named Baal. Israel wasn’t faithful to the LORD. They worshipped Baal-Berith as their god.34They forgot what the LORD their God had done for them. He had saved them from the power of their enemies all around them.35Jerub-Baal had done many good things for the Israelites. But they weren’t faithful to his family. Jerub-Baal was another name for Gideon.
1Efrayimoğulları Gidyon'a, ‹‹Midyanlılar'la savaşmaya gittiğinde bizi çağırmadın; bize neden böyle davrandın?›› diyerek onu sert bir dille eleştirdiler.2Gidyon, ‹‹Sizin yaptığınızın yanında benim yaptığım ne ki?›› diye karşılık verdi, ‹‹Efrayim'in bağbozumundan artakalan üzümler, Aviezer'in bütün bağbozumu ürününden daha iyi değil mi?3Tanrı Midyan önderlerini, Orev'i ve Zeev'i elinize teslim etti. Sizin yaptıklarınıza kıyasla ben ne yapabildim ki?›› Gidyon'un bu sözleri onların öfkesini yatıştırdı.4Gidyon bitkin olmalarına karşın Midyanlılar'ı kovalamayı sürdüren üç yüz adamıyla Şeria Irmağı'na ulaşıp karşıya geçti.5Sukkot'a vardıklarında kent halkına, ‹‹Lütfen ardımdaki adamlara ekmek verin, bitkin haldeler›› dedi, ‹‹Ben Midyan kralları Zevah ve Salmunna'yı kovalıyorum.››6Sukkot önderleri, ‹‹Zevah ile Salmunna'yı tutsak aldın mı ki, orduna ekmek verelim?›› dediler.7Gidyon, ‹‹Öyle olsun!›› diye karşılık verdi, ‹‹RAB Zevah ile Salmunna'yı elime teslim edince, bedenlerinizi çöl dikenleriyle, çalılarla yaracağım.››8Gidyon oradan Penuel'e gitti ve oranın halkından da aynı şeyi istedi. Penuel halkı da Sukkot halkının verdiği yanıtın aynısını verdi.9Gidyon onlara, ‹‹Esenlik içinde döndüğüm zaman bu kuleyi yıkacağım›› dedi.10Zevah ile Salmunna doğulu halkların ordularından artakalan yaklaşık on beş bin kişilik bir orduyla birlikte Karkor'daydılar. Eli kılıç tutan yüz yirmi bin savaşçı ölmüştü.11Gidyon Novah ve Yogboha'nın doğusundan, göçebelerin yolundan geçerek düşman ordugahına saldırdı. Adamlar hazırlıksız yakalandılar.12Zevah ile Salmunna kaçtıysa da Gidyon peşlerine düştü. Bu iki Midyan kralını, Zevah ile Salmunna'yı yakalayıp bütün ordularını bozguna uğrattı.13Yoaş oğlu Gidyon Heres Geçidi yoluyla savaştan döndü.14Yolda Sukkot'tan genç bir adamı yakalayıp sorguya çekti. Adam Sukkot önderleriyle ileri gelenlerinin adlarını, toplam yetmiş yedi kişinin adını yazıp Gidyon'a verdi.15Gidyon Sukkot'a gidip halka şöyle dedi: ‹‹ ‹Zevah ile Salmunna'yı tutsak aldın mı ki bitkin adamlarına ekmek verelim› diyerek beni aşağıladınız. İşte Zevah ile Salmunna!››16Sonra kentin ileri gelenlerini topladı; Sukkot halkını çöl dikenleriyle, çalılarla döverek cezalandırdı.17Ardından Penuel Kulesi'ni yıkıp kent halkını kılıçtan geçirdi.18Sonra Zevah ile Salmunna'ya, ‹‹Tavor'da öldürdükleriniz nasıl adamlardı?›› diye sordu. ‹‹Tıpkı senin gibiydiler, hepsi kral oğullarına benziyordu›› yanıtını verdiler.19Gidyon, ‹‹Onlar kardeşlerimdi, öz annemin oğullarıydı›› dedi, ‹‹Yaşayan RAB'bin adıyla ant içerim ki, onları sağ bıraksaydınız sizi öldürmezdim.››20Sonra büyük oğlu Yeter'e, ‹‹Haydi, öldür onları›› dedi. Ne var ki, henüz genç olan Yeter korktu, kılıcını çekmedi.21Bunun üzerine Zevah ile Salmunna Gidyon'a, ‹‹Sen öldür bizi›› dediler, ‹‹Erkeğin işini ancak erkek yapar.›› Böylece Gidyon varıp Zevah ile Salmunna'yı öldürdü. Develerinin boyunlarındaki hilal biçimi süsleri de aldı.22İsrailliler Gidyon'a, ‹‹Sen, oğlun ve torunun bize önderlik edin›› dediler. ‹‹Çünkü bizi Midyanlılar'ın elinden sen kurtardın.››23Ama Gidyon, ‹‹Ben size önderlik etmem, oğlum da etmez›› diye karşılık verdi, ‹‹Size RAB önderlik edecek.››24Sonra, ‹‹Yalnız sizden bir dileğim var›› diye sözünü sürdürdü, ‹‹Ele geçirdiğiniz ganimetin içindeki küpeleri bana verin.›› -İsmaililer altın küpeler takarlardı.-25İsrailliler, ‹‹Seve seve veririz›› diyerek yere bir üstlük serdiler. Herkes ele geçirdiği küpeleri üstlüğün üzerine attı.26Hilaller, kolyeler, Midyan krallarının giydiği mor giysiler ve develerin boyunlarından alınan zincirler dışında, Gidyon'un aldığı altın küpelerin ağırlığı bin yedi yüz şekel[1] tuttu.27Gidyon bu altından bir efod yaparak onu kendi kenti olan Ofra'ya yerleştirdi. Bütün İsrailliler bu put yüzünden RAB'be vefasızlık ettiler. Böylece efod Gidyon ile ailesi için bir tuzak oldu.28İsrailliler'e yenilen Midyanlılar bir daha toparlanamadılar. Ülke Gidyon zamanında kırk yıl barış içinde yaşadı.
Gidyon'un Ölümü
29Yoaş oğlu Yerubbaal dönüp kendi evinde yaşamını sürdürdü.30Çok sayıda kadınla evlendi ve yetmiş oğlu oldu.31Ayrıca Şekem'de bir cariyesi vardı. Bundan da bir oğlu oldu, adını Avimelek koydu.32Yoaş oğlu Gidyon iyice yaşlanıp öldü. Aviezerliler'e ait Ofra Kenti'nde, babası Yoaş'ın mezarına gömüldü.33Gidyon ölünce İsrailliler yine RAB'be vefasızlık ettiler. Baallar'a taptılar. Baal-Berit'i ilah edinerek34kendilerini çevrelerindeki düşmanlarının elinden kurtaran Tanrıları RAB'bi unuttular.35İsrail'e büyük iyilikler yapan Yerubbaal'ın -Gidyon'un- ev halkına vefasızlık ettiler.