Judges 8:4-17

4Then Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came 1to the Jordan and crossed over, exhausted yet still pursuing. 5And he said to the men of 2Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are 3following me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6But the leaders of Succoth said, “45Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7So Gideon said, “For this answer, 6when the Lord has handed over to me Zebah and Zalmunna, I will 7thrash your 8bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8Then he went up from there to 910Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9So he said also to the men of 11Penuel, “When I return safely, 12I will tear down this tower.”

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their 13armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the entire 14army of the 15people of the east; 16for the fallen were 120,000 17swordsmen. 11Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he 18attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. 12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the entire 19army.

13Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle 20by the ascent of Heres. 14And he captured a youth from 21Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘2223Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’” 16Then he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he 24disciplined the men of Succoth with them. 1725And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.