Ginpatay ni Gideon si Zeba kag si Zalmuna
1Karon, nagsiling ang katawhan sang Efraim kay Gideon, “Ano ining ginhimo mo? Ngaa wala mo kami pagtawga sang magpakig-away kamo sa mga Midianhon?” Kag ginbasol gid nila si Gideon. 2Pero nagsiling si Gideon sa ila, “Ang nahimo ko gamay gid lang kon ikomparar sa nahimo ninyo. Bisan ang gamay nga nahimo ninyo mas labaw pa kon ikomparar sa tanan nga nahimo sang amon pamilya. 3Ginpapierdi sang Dios sa inyo ang mga pangulo sang mga Midianhon nga si Oreb kag si Zeeb. Ti, ano ang nahimo ko kon ikomparar dira?” Sang masiling ini ni Gideon, naumpawan sila sa ila kaakig.
4Nagtabok si Gideon kag ang iya 300 ka tinawo sa Suba sang Jordan. Kapoy na gid sila pero padayon pa gihapon ang ila paglagas sa ila mga kaaway. 5Sang mag-abot sila sa Sucot, nangabay si Gideon sa mga taga-didto. Siling niya, “Palihog hatagi ninyo kami sang pagkaon. Kapoy kag gutom na gid kami kag kinahanglan pa namon nga lagson ang duha ka hari sang Midian nga si Zeba kag si Zalmuna.” 6Pero nagsabat ang mga opisyal sang Sucot, “Wala pa gani ninyo madakpan si Zeba kag si Zalmuna. Ngaa hatagan namon kamo sang pagkaon?” 7Nagsiling si Gideon, “Gali ha! Andaman lang ninyo kon madakpan na namon si Zeba kag si Zalmuna. Latiguhon ko gid kamo sang tunukon nga mga kahoy-kahoy.”
8Halin didto nagtaklad sila ni Gideon sa Penuel8:8 Penuel: ukon, Peniel. kag amo man gihapon ang iya ginpangabay sa mga taga-didto, pero ang sabat nila pareho man sang sabat sang mga taga-Sucot. 9Nagsiling si Gideon sa ila, “Sa tapos nga madaog namon ang amon kaaway, mabalik kami diri, kag gub-on namon ang inyo tore.”
10Karon, si Zeba kag si Zalmuna ara sa Karkor upod sang 15,000 nila ka soldado nga nabilin. Mga 120,000 na ang napatay sa ila. 11Padayon ang pagtaklad nila ni Gideon kag didto sila nag-agi sa lugar sang mga nagaestar sa tolda sa sidlangan sang Noba kag Jogbeha. Dayon ginsalakay nila gulpi ang mga Midianhon. 12Nagpalagyo si Zeba kag si Zalmuna, pero ginlagas sila ni Gideon kag gindakop, gani nagsinala-sala ang ila mga soldado.
13Sang magpauli na sila ni Gideon halin sa inaway, didto sila nag-agi sa Taklaran sang Heres. 14Nakadakop sila sang isa ka bataon nga lalaki nga taga-Sucot, kag ginpamangkot nila kon sin-o ang mga opisyal sang Sucot. Kag ginlista niya ang ngalan sang 77 ka opisyal nga nagadumala sang Sucot. 15Pagkatapos ginkadtuan nila ni Gideon ang mga taga-Sucot kag ginsilingan, “Nadumduman bala ninyo ang inyo pag-insulto sa akon? Nagsiling kamo, ‘Wala pa gani ninyo madakpan si Zeba kag si Zalmuna. Ngaa hatagan namon sang pagkaon ang imo kapoy nga mga tinawo?’ Karon, ari na si Zeba kag si Zalmuna!” 16Dayon ginkuha ni Gideon ang mga manugdumala sang Sucot kag gintudluan niya sila sang leksyon paagi sa paglatigo sa ila sang tunukon nga mga kahoy-kahoy. 17Pagkatapos ginpaguba niya ang tore sa Penuel kag ginpamatay ang mga lalaki didto.
18Dayon ginpamangkot ni Gideon si Zeba kag si Zalmuna, “Ano ang hitsura sang mga lalaki nga inyo ginpamatay sa Tabor?” Nagsabat sila, “Pareho sa imo, daw mga anak sang hari.” 19Nagsiling si Gideon, “Mga utod ko sila; mga anak mismo sang akon iloy. Nagasumpa ako sa buhi nga Ginoo nga kon wala ninyo sila pagpatya, indi ko man kamo pagpatyon.” 20Dayon nagsiling siya sa iya kamagulangan nga anak nga si Jeter, “Patya sila.” Pero tungod kay bata pa si Jeter, nahadlok siya, gani wala niya gin-gabot ang iya espada. 21Nagsiling si Zeba kag si Zalmuna kay Gideon, “Ngaa indi ikaw ang magpatay sa amon? Ipakita ang pagkalalaki mo!” Gani ginpatay sila ni Gideon kag ginpakuha dayon niya ang mga dekorasyon sa liog sang ila mga kamelyo.
Ang Imahen nga Ginpahimo ni Gideon
22Karon nagsiling ang mga Israelinhon kay Gideon, “Tungod kay ikaw ang nagluwas sa amon sa mga Midianhon, ikaw na lang kag ang imo bata kag apo ang magpangulo sa amon.” 23Nagsabat si Gideon, “Indi ako ukon ang akon bata ang magpangulo sa inyo kundi ang Ginoo. 24Pero may pangayuon lang ako sa inyo: ang kada isa sa inyo maghatag sa akon sang isa ka aritos nga nakuha ninyo sa mga Midianhon.” (Ang mga Midianhon nagasuksok sang bulawan nga aritos suno sa ila kinabatasan bilang mga Ishmaelinhon.) 25Nagsabat ang mga tawo, “Huo, hatagan ka namon.” Naghumlad sila sang isa ka panapton, kag ang kada isa nagbutang didto sang aritos nga nakuha nila sa mga Midianhon. 26Mga 20 ka kilo ang natipon nga mga bulawan nga aritos wala labot sang mga dekorasyon, mga kulintas, mga bayo nga granate8:26 granate: sa English, purple. sang mga hari sang Midian, kag mga kulokadena sa liog sang ila mga kamelyo. 27Halin sa natipon nga bulawan, nagpahimo si Gideon sang isa ka espesyal nga panapton8:27 espesyal nga panapton: sa Hebreo, efod. kag ginbutang niya ini sa iya banwa sa Ofra. Nagtalikod naman ang mga Israelinhon sa Dios kag nagsimba sa sadtong ginpahimo ni Gideon. Nangin dako nga pagsulay ini sa kay Gideon kag sa iya pamilya.
28Amo ato ang estorya parte sa pagdaog sang mga Israelinhon kontra sa Midian, kag wala na gid ini makabangon pa. Nangin malinong ang Israel sa sulod sang 40 ka tuig samtang buhi pa si Gideon.
Ang Pagkapatay ni Gideon
29Nagpauli si Gideon8:29 Gideon: sa Hebreo, Jerubaal. sa iya kaugalingon nga balay kag didto nag-estar. 30May 70 siya ka kabataan tungod kay madamo ang iya asawa. 31May asawa man siya nga suluguon didto sa Shekem kag may anak sila nga lalaki nga gin-ngalanan niya nga Abimelec. 32Tigulang na si Gideon sang mapatay siya. Ginlubong siya sa lulubngan sang iya amay nga si Joash sa Ofra, sa lugar sang mga kaliwat ni Abiezer. 33Sa wala lang dugay nga napatay si Gideon, nagtalikod naman ang mga Israelinhon sa Dios kag nagsimba liwat sa mga imahen ni Baal. Ginhimo nila si Baal Berit nga ila dios. 34Ginkalimtan nila ang Ginoo nga ila Dios nga amo ang nagluwas sa ila kontra sa ila mga kaaway sa palibot. 35Wala gid sila nagpakita sing kaayo sa pamilya ni Jerubaal (nga amo man si Gideon) sa tanan nga maayo nga butang nga ginhimo niya sa Israel.
Zebah and Zalmunna
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 Jordan River 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 oldest 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 43 pounds. 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 hometown. All the Israelites worshiped 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 worshiping gods that were named Baal. Israel wasn’t faithful to the Lord. They worshiped 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.
