He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men. He came to the men of Succoth, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’ ” He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
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Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword. Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army felt secure. Zebah and Zalmunna fled and he pursued them. He took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army. Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres. He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men. He came to the men of Succoth, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’ ” He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
Parallel Translations
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He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men.
He came to the men of Succoth, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’ ”
He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
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And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
Show all 3 translations
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And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said: 'Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying: Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy power, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?'
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
Cross-references (8)
- Judges 8:6-7 (v15) The princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” Gideon said,…
- Judges 8:7 (v16) Gideon said, “Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the…
- Proverbs 10:13 (v16) Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.
- Proverbs 19:29 (v16) Penalties are prepared for scoffers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
- Judges 1:24-25 (v14) The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with…
Show all 8 cross-references
- 1 Samuel 30:11-15 (v14) They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink. They gave…
- Ezra 2:6 (v16) The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred twelve.
- Micah 7:4 (v16) The best of them is like a brier. The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even your visitation, has come;…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 Or, described.
Or, described.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Jdg 8:14 And caught a young man of the…
Jdg 8:14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, [even] threescore and seventeen men.
Ver. 14. And he described unto him the princes.] Who had denied him refreshing in his pursuit of the enemy, and were therefore to be punished; though it is seldom seen that princes fall alone, since their sins do much harm, (I.) By imitation; (2.) By imputation: for pleotuntur Achivi, as 2Sa 24:1-25
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 He told him their names and qualities.
He told him their names and qualities.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And caught a young man of the men of…
And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him,.... Just before he came to the city, he spied a young man which belonged to it, and laid hold on him, and inquired of him about the chief magistrates of the city, who they were, what their names, and their places of abode:
and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even seventy seven men; by which it appears that this was no inconsiderable city to have so many princes and elders in it; these the young man described to Gideon, what sort of men they were, what their names, and where they dwelt: or "he wrote unto him" (y); wrote down their names, and what part of the city they dwelt in; or Gideon took down in writing for himself their names and places of abode from the young man, that he might not forget: and in this Gideon showed great wisdom, and strict justice; being desirous to punish only the delinquents, and not the innocent with the wicked, the people with their rulers; for though he asked bread of the men of Succoth, the answer was returned in the ill natured manner it was by the princes.
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(y) "et scripsit ad eum", Montanus, Piscator; "et scripsit sibi", Pagninus, Munster; so some in Drusius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v14 He described - He told him their names and…
He described - He told him their names and qualities.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 Verse 14. He described unto him the princes of…
Verse 14. He described unto him the princes of Succoth] The young man probably gave him the names of seventy persons, the chief men of Succoth, who were those who were most concerned in refusing him and his men the refreshment he requested.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 Jdg 8:14. He described unto him, &c. — Hebrews…
Jdg 8:14. He described unto him, &c. — Hebrews יכתב, jichtob, he wrote down, probably the names and dwellings, and perhaps also the qualities of the great men of the city, and of the judges, who were the persons that derided Gideon, and whom alone he intended to punish, and not all the people who were not guilty.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 The written (see the margin) list would enable Gideon…
The written (see the margin) list would enable Gideon to punish the guilty and spare the innocent people. Succoth was governed by a sanhedrim or council of seventy elders (compare Num 11:16), with perhaps seven others of superior rank called princes.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v16 Tore. Hebrew seems to be corrupted in this place.…
Tore. Hebrew seems to be corrupted in this place. "And he shewed (instructed or chastised) with these thorns." The Septuagint and Vulgate read the same word as ver. 7. He crushed the people with such instruments as are used to beat out corn. It is probable that he only treated the magistrates of Soccoth and of Phanuel in this manner. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 he described--wrote the names of the seventy princes or…
he described--wrote the names of the seventy princes or elders. It was from them he had received so inhospitable a treatment.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 14. Described unto him the princes — Literally, wrote…
14. Described unto him the princes — Literally, wrote for him the princes. The young man probably gave him the names of the chiefs and elders in writing, and all other necessary information.
Threescore and seventeen men — Succoth must have been an important city to have so many princes and elders.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 14. he described for him] he wrote down (and…
14. he described for him] he wrote down (and gave) unto him. The knowledge of writing must have been widely spread even at this early period. Cf. the similar incidents in Jdg_1:24 f.; 1Sa_30:11-16.
the elders] Cf. Jdg_8:16; the leading inhabitants and representatives of a district or city, e.g. Jdg_11:5-11; they constituted the local authority and transacted public business, e. g. 1Ki_21:8; 1Ki_21:11. Elders and princes—the latter perhaps the executive of the local authority—are mentioned together in 2Ki_10:1; Psa_105:22; Ezr_10:8; Ezr_10:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 (14) Caught a young man.—Comp. Jdg_1:24.
(14) Caught a young man.—Comp. Jdg_1:24.
Described.—Marg. writ, i.e.: the boy wrote down their names (LXX., apegrapsato; Vulg., descripsit).
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Threescore and seventeen.—Perhaps a sort of local Sanhedrin of Seventy (Num_11:16), with their presiding sheykhs. The number shows that Succoth was a place of considerable importance.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–16 He described. Rather, he wrote down, i.e. gave him…
He described. Rather, he wrote down, i.e. gave him a list of the princes and elders.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 Zebah and Zalmunna
Zebah and Zalmunna
See how you translated these names in Judges 8:5.
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Have you already conquered Zebah and Zalmunna?
Gideon quotes the people of Succoth as using a question to mock him. AT: "You have not yet conquered Zebah and Zalmunna." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Gideon took ... he punished ... he pulled
Here "Gideon" represents himself and his soldiers. AT: "Gideon and his soldiers took ... they punished ... they pulled" (See: Synecdoche)
thorns and briers
These are sharp, pointed pieces on vines or tree limbs that stick out and can cut people and animals. See how you translated this in Judges 8:7.
Peniel
Translate the name of this city as you did in Judges 8:8.
translationWords
Gideon
Succoth
mock
bread
elder
thorn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.