Judges 8:21

Judges 8:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
• New International Version (NIV)Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’ ” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Context of Judges 8:21

19Gideon said, ‘Those were my brothers, my own mother's sons. If you had not killed my brothers, I would not kill you. I promise you that, as surely as the Lord lives.’ 20Gideon said to his oldest son, Jether, ‘Kill them now!’ But Jether was only a boy. He was too afraid to do anything. Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ‘Kill us yourself! Let us see if you are brave enough to do that!’ So Gideon did kill them. He took away the silver images from the necks of their camels. 22After that, the Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us as our king! You, your son and your grandson should rule us. You have rescued us from Midian's power.’ 23But Gideon said to them, ‘I will not agree to rule over you. Nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.’

Judges 8:21 word by word

וַיֹּ֜אמֶר זֶ֣בַח וְצַלְמֻנָּ֗ע ק֤וּם אַתָּה֙ וּפְגַע־בָּ֔נוּ כִּ֥י כָאִ֖ישׁ גְּבוּרָת֑וֹ וַיָּ֣קָם גִּדְע֗וֹן וַֽיַּהֲרֹג֙ אֶת־זֶ֣בַח וְאֶת־צַלְמֻנָּ֔ע וַיִּקַּח֙ אֶת־הַשַּׂ֣הֲרֹנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּצַוְּארֵ֥י גְמַלֵּיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then Zebahזֶ֫בַחzebach · ZebahH2078
• and Zalmunnaצַלְמֻנָּעtsalmûnnâ‛ · ZalmunnaH6759
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Riseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• thou, and fallפָּגַעpâga‛ · to fall onH6293
• upon us: for as the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• his strengthגְּבוּרָהgebûrâh · mightH1369
• And Gideonגִּדְעוֹןgid‛ôn · GideonH1439
• and slewהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• and took awayלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• the ornamentsשַׂהֲרוֹןώahărôn · crescentH7720
• on their camels’גָּמָלgâmâl · camelH1581
• necksצַוָּארtsavvâ'r tsavvâr tsavvârôn tsavvâ'râh · neckH6677

Cross-references for Judges 8:21

• Judges 9:54Abimelech quickly said to the young man who carried his weapons, ‘Take hold of your sword and kill me! I do not want people to say that a woman killed me!’ So the young man killed him with his sword.
• 1 Samuel 31:3The Philistines were fighting the battle all around Saul. Some of their soldiers saw Saul and they shot their arrows at him. The arrows hurt Saul very much and he was nearly dead.
• Revelation 9:6During that time of great pain, people will want to kill themselves. They will want to die, but they will not find any way to die.
• Psalms 83:1God, do not continue to be silent! Do not remain quiet. Please do something!
• Isaiah 3:18On that day, the Lord God will take away the beautiful rings that they wear on their ankles. He will remove all the valuable rings and bright stones that they wear on their heads, their necks, their ears, their arms, their fingers and their noses. He will take away their beautiful clothes, their belts, their perfumes and their magic rings.

Commentaries on Judges 8:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise, thou, and fall upon us - It was disgraceful to fall by the hands of a child; and the death occasioned by the blows of such a person must be much more lingering and tormenting. Some have even employed children to despatch captives. Civilis, a Roman knight, headed a revolt of the Gauls against Rome, in the year of the city 824. Of him Tacitus says, Hist. lib. iv., c. 61: Ferebatur parvulo filio quosdam captivorum sagittis…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The ornaments - See marg. and compare Isaiah 3:18. The custom of adorning the necks of their camels with gold chains and ornaments prevailed among the Arabs so late as the time of Mahomet.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 The kings of Midian must be reckoned with. As they confessed themselves guilty of murder, Gideon acted as the avenger of blood, being the next of kin to the persons slain. Little did they think to have heard of this so long after; but murder seldom goes unpunished in this life. Sins long forgotten by man, must be accounted for to God. What poor consolation in death from the hope of suffering less pain, and of dying with less disgrace than…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21crescent ornaments (headbands and crescents in Isaiah 3:18): These were common among desert nomads. Jewelry was a lightweight means of carrying wealth.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-2710. Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor--a town on the eastern confines of Gad. The wreck of the Midianite army halted there.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 8:21

• Camel
• Captive
• Israel
• Retaliation
• Zalmunna
• Zebah

In the dictionaries

• Gideon
• Zebah and Zalmunna
• Chain
• Penuel
• Request
• Resemble
• Tires
• Zalmunna
• Zebah
• Abdon (1)

Commentaries on Judges 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings