⁵ He said to the men of Sukkoth,^(A) “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out,^(B) and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,^(C) the kings of Midian.”

⁶ But the officials of Sukkoth^(D) said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread^(E) to your troops?”^(F)

⁷ Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna^(G) into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”

⁸ From there he went up to Peniel^[a](H) and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.

¹⁴ He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth,^(A) the elders^(B) of the town. ¹⁵ Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?^(C)’” ¹⁶ He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson^(D) by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.