The men of Ephraim said to Gideon,
"Why didn't you call us to fight the Midianites? Why did you do this to us? " They really murmur because of it.
But Gideon said to them,
"What I have done is small compared to what you have done. The little you have done is more than everything my family has done.
God has given you the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zebah. What have I done to compare with it? "
When Gideon said this, their anger at him subsided.
Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River and crossed it. They were tired and they were still chasing the enemies.
He said to the people of Succoth,
"Give my people something to eat. We are tired and we are chasing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. "
But the leaders of Succoth said, "Why should we feed your army?
You have not even captured Zebah and Zalmunna. "
So Gideon said, "If the Lord gives me Zebah and Zalmunna, then I will strike you with thorns and thistles in the desert."
Gideon went to Penuel and asked the people there to feed his men, but the men of Penuel answered him the same as the men of Succoth.
So Gideon said to them, "I will return and not harm you, and I will destroy this tower."
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. Of the army of the people in the wilderness, about 15,000 remained and 120,000 were killed.
And Gideon went along by the way of the wilderness, on the east side of Nobah and Jogbehah, and fought against the enemy. The two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, fled, but Gideon pursued them and captured them. The whole enemy army was terrified.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, He caught a young man from Succoth and interrogated him. The young man listed for Gideon the names of 77 chiefs and chieftains of Succoth.
Then Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, "Do you remember how you insulted me? You say you will not feed my weary army because we have not yet captured Zebah and Zalmunna. Now they are here! "
He took thorns out of the wilderness and struck the princes of Succoth.
He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men who lived in it.