Judges 8:16

He seized the leaders ¹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ² 

He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.

He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

Then Gideon took the leaders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness.

Then he took the seventy-seven leaders of Succoth and thrashed them with desert thorns and thistles.

Then he took the responsible men of the town and had them crushed on a bed of thorns and sharp stems.

So he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them he trampled the people of Succoth.

And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

He seized the leaders ¹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ² 

¹ tn Heb “elders.”

² tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”