The Final Defeat of the Midianites
1 Then the people of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why didn't you call us when you went to fight the Midianites? Why did you treat us like this?” They complained bitterly about it.
2 But he told them, “What I was able to do is nothing compared with what you have done. Even the little that you people of Ephraim did is worth more than what my whole clan has done. 3 After all, through the power of God you killed the two Midianite chiefs, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I done to compare with that?” When he said this, they were no longer so angry.
4 By this time Gideon and his three hundred men had come to the Jordan River and had crossed it. They were exhausted, but were still pursuing the enemy. 5 When they arrived at Sukkoth, he said to the men of the town, “Please give my men some loaves of bread. They are exhausted, and I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings.”
6 But the leaders of Sukkoth said, “Why should we give your army any food? You haven't captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”
7 So Gideon said, “All right! When the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will beat you with thorns and briers from the desert!” 8 Gideon went on to Penuel and made the same request of the people there, but the men of Penuel gave the same answer as the men of Sukkoth. 9 So he said to them, “I am going to come back safe and sound, and when I do, I will tear this tower down!”
10 Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor with their army. Of the whole army of desert tribesmen, only about 15,000 were left; 120,000 soldiers had been killed. 11 Gideon went on the road along the edge of the desert, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army by surprise. 12 The two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, ran away, but he pursued them and captured them, and caused their whole army to panic.
13 When Gideon was returning from the battle by way of Heres Pass, 14 he captured a young man from Sukkoth and questioned him. The young man wrote down for Gideon the names of the seventy-seven leading men of Sukkoth. 15 Then Gideon went to the men of Sukkoth and said, “Remember when you refused to help me? You said that you couldn't give any food to my exhausted army because I hadn't captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet. Well, here they are!” 16 He then took thorns and briers from the desert and used them to punish the leaders of Sukkoth. 17 He also tore down the tower at Penuel and killed the men of that city.
18 Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men you killed at Tabor?”
They answered, “They looked like you—every one of them like the son of a king.”
19 Gideon said, “They were my brothers, my own mother's sons. I solemnly swear that if you had not killed them, I would not kill you.” 20 Then he said to Jether, his oldest son, “Go ahead, kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword. He hesitated, because he was still only a boy.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, kill us yourself. It takes a man to do a man's job.” So Gideon killed them and took the ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
22 After that, the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler—you and your descendants after you. You have saved us from the Midianites.”
23 Gideon answered, “I will not be your ruler, nor will my son. The Lord will be your ruler.” 24 But he went on to say, “Let me ask one thing of you. Every one of you give me the earrings you took.” (The Midianites, like other desert people, wore gold earrings.)
25 The people answered, “We'll be glad to give them to you.” They spread out a cloth, and everyone put on it the earrings that he had taken. 26 The gold earrings that Gideon got weighed over forty pounds, and this did not include the ornaments, necklaces, and purple clothes that the kings of Midian wore, nor the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made an idol from the gold and put it in his hometown, Ophrah. All the Israelites abandoned God and went there to worship the idol. It was a trap for Gideon and his family.
28 So Midian was defeated by the Israelites and was no longer a threat. The land was at peace for forty years, until Gideon died.
The Death of Gideon
29 Gideon went back to his own home and lived there. 30 He had seventy sons, because he had many wives. 31 He also had a concubine in Shechem; she bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, at Ophrah, the town of the clan of Abiezer.
33 After Gideon's death the people of Israel were unfaithful to God again and worshiped the Baals. They made Baal-of-the-Covenant their god, 34 and no longer served the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies around them. 35 They were not grateful to the family of Gideon for all the good that he had done for Israel.
Bamidiyani banokundigwa tjatjose
1 Ngono balume be Ifureimi bakadwa Gidiyoni beti, “Ini utibhata uyijali? Ini wabe usatidana uyenda kunogwa ne Midiyani?” Ngono bakansapula kunogwadza. 2 Ngono kabadwa kati, “Ini tjandathama ha ndifanidzanyiwa namwi? Apa mamburumburu e zhambi dza Ifureimi aatoyita pa zhambi dzakatjegwa dza Abiyeza kene? 3 Ndzimu balonga batungamili babili be Bamidiyani mu maboko enyu, Orebu na Zibi, imi ndakathamani tjingafanidziwa namwi?” Bakati behwa ikoku, gwadzamoyo kwabo kukatebama.
4 Gidiyoni ne balume bali mazana matatu bakaswika ku Jorodani, bakatjuluka nenguba bakabe banyala bakadwilila ne tatamila. 5 Ndizo kadwa balume be Sukoti kati, “Ipa ngwa yangu tjiwunga ngoti banyala ngono ndakatatana na Zebha na Zalimuna bomambo be Bamidiyani.” 6 Ngono batungamili ba Sukoti bakandwa bakati, “Apa Zebha na Zalimuna batjibe mu maboko awo kale kwatingapa ngwa iyo tjiwunga kene?” 7 Ngono Gidiyoni kashandula eti, “Kwakalulwama, hapa Yahwe bangalonga Zebha na Zalimuna mu luboko gwangu, ndowopalulanya nyama dzenyu nge mimiwa ye tjilambanyika ne tjing'ang'a.” 8 Ngono kudwa ipapo katathila ku Penuweli, ngono naibo kabakumbila. Ngono balume be Penuweli bakadabila koga se be Sukoti. 9 Ngono kadwa balume be Penuweli kati, “Apa ndishanduka nge mbakiso, ndowoliga thungamakole iyeyi.”
10 Ipapo Zebha na Zalimuna bakabe bali mu Karikori nge ngwa yabo, ana balume bangabhata zwiwulu zwili gumi lina bushanu (15 000) kuli bose bakabe basala bengwa ye bathu be kubhezhuba, ngoti kwakabe kwa wa balume bali zwiwulu zwili zana lina makumi mabili (120 000) banosenga thumo. 11 Ngono Gidiyoni kabhuda nge zila ye bagali be mishasha, kunobhuda zhuba kwe Nobha ne Jogibheha ngono kanginilila ngwa ngoti yakabe itjakafala. 12 Ngono Zebha na Zalimuna bomambo babili be Midiyani bakatizha, kabatatamila kababhata kabatapa, ngono ngwa yose ikashangashangana.
13 Gidiyoni nkololo wa Joashi kashanduka ku ngwa nge nkoto we Heresi. 14 Ngono kabhata nzhuzha we Sukoti ngono kanbhuzwa, ngono nzhuzha kankwalila mazina e batungamili be Sukoti bali makumi ali kutendeka ana kutendeka (77). 15 Ndizo Gidiyoni kazha kubalume be Sukoti kabadwa kati, “Bonani, Zebha na Zalimuna ibo bamakandi gongobola ngekwabo muti, ‘Apa Zebha na Zalimuna batjibe mu maboko awo kale kwatingapa ngwa iyo yakanyala tjiwunga kene?’ ” 16 Ngono katola bakulu be nzi nkulu ngono katola mimiwa ye tjilambanyika ne tjing'ang'a ngono kabadiya ndizo. 17 Ngono kaliga thungamakole ye Penuweli ngono kabulaya balume be nzi.
18 Ngono kabhuzwa Zebha na Zalimuna eti, “Bangayi balume bamaka bulaya ku Tabori?” Bakashandula beti, “Sekwa uli iko koga, mmwe ne mmwe wakabe elingika se nkololo wa mambo.” 19 Gidiyoni kashandula eti, “Kwakabe kuli bakulu bangu, bana ba mme. Ndotuna na Yahwe banotjila nditi, alobe makabemabatjidza ndabendisowomubulaya.” 20 Ngono kadwa Jetha mbano iye kati, “Milika ubabulaye.” Koga Jetha kasishomole thumo lile ngoti wakabe etja ngobe atji ntjetjana. 21 Ipapo Zebha na Zalimuna bakandwa bakati, “Milika utibulaye ngekuko, ngoti simba le nlume lolizana nge mbubiko iye.” Ngono Gidiyoni kamilika kabulaya Zebha na Zalimuna, katola ndalama dzakabe dzili mu mitshiba ye kamela dzabo.
22 Ngono Baiziraela bakadwa Gidiyoni bakati, “Uti buse, iwe ne nkololo uwo ne mwana we mwana uwo, ngoti watitjidza mu luboko gwe Bamidiyani.” 23 Gidiyoni kabadwa kati, “Anditowomubusa, ne nkololo wangu aatowomubusa. Yahwe banowomubusa.” 24 Gidiyoni kabadwa kati, “Ndoshaka kumukumbila tjimwe, mmwe ne mmwe wenyu andipe ng'ina mu thundu iye yatapiwa.” Ngobe kwakabe kuna mang'ina e golide ngoti bakabebali Baishimaeli. 25 Ngono bakashandula beti, “Towokupa ngekushatha.” Ndizo bakawala jila ngono mmwe ne mmwe kalashila ng'ina kudwa mu thundu ya atapa. 26 Ngono bulemo gwe mang'ina aakakumbila gukabe shekele dzili tjiwulu tjina mazana ali kutendeka (1 700), kuzhe kwe ndalama ne zwinonakisa zebe ne zwiambalo zwe bushaba gwakabondelela zwinombagwa na mambo we Bamidiyani, na kuzhe kwe ketani dzakabe dzili mu mitshiba ye kamela dzabo. 27 Ngono Gidiyoni kathama Efodi ye golide kaibiga mu nzi uwe mu Ofira. Ngono Baiziraela bakathama bupombgwe ngokuithigamila se ndzimwana, ngono kukabe bhuzhu kuna Gidiyoni ne bensha uwe.
Lufu gwa Gidiyoni
28 Ndizo Bamidiyani bakayisiwa pasi mbeli kwe Baiziraela ngono bakasitjaduse nsholo kakale. Shango ikabe nge kunyalala kwe makole ali makumi manna mu mazhuba a Gidiyoni.
29 Shule kwe ngwa, Jerubhaale iye Gidiyoni nkololo wa Joashi kayenda kanogala mu ng'umba iye. 30 Gidiyoni wakabe ana bakololo bali makumi ali kutendeka (70) kuli bana babe, ngoti wakabe ana bakadzi banjinji. 31 Tjamba tjitje tjakabe tjigala mu Shekemu tjakanzwalilabo nkololo ngono kandana eti Abimeleki. 32 Gidiyoni nkololo wa Joashi kafa atjikwegula ngono kabiganyiwa mu ikumbu tja tate babe Joashi ku Ofira we Baabiyezeri.
33 Kwakati koga Gidiyoni atjambofa, bathu be Iziraela bakashanduka kakale bakathama bupombgwe na bo Bhaale. Bakabiga Bhaaleberiti kube ndzimu wabo. 34 Ngono bathu be Iziraela bakasitjakumbule Yahwe Ndzimu wabo iye wakabasunungula mu maboko e zwita zwabo kudwa mu midzibo yose. 35 Bakakong'wa lakidza lubu kuna bensha wa Jerubhaale iye Gidiyoni mu zwithu zwakanaka zwaakathamila Iziraela.