So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
- KJV And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
- NKJV Then he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”
- NASB And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
- NLT When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gideon asks the men of Succoth for bread for his weary troops chasing the Midianite kings.
Overview
Succoth, an Israelite town east of the Jordan, is asked to support its own deliverers in a reasonable request. The episode tests whether fellow Israelites will aid God's appointed work. Their coming refusal exposes faithless self-interest among the covenant people themselves.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 33:17but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.
- Ps 60:6God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
- 3 Jn 1:6–8They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.
- Deut 23:4For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- 2 Sam 17:28–29They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,
- 1 Sam 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys
- Gen 14:18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 8:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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