Judges 8:3

God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
God	אֱלֹהִ֜ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
delivered	נָתַ֨ן na.Tan	H5414	to give · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hands	בְּיֶדְכֶם֩ be.yed.Khem	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
princes	שָׂרֵ֤י sa.Rei	H8269	a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Midian	מִדְיָן֙ mid.Yan	H4080	Midjan · proper noun, a place name
Oreb	עֹרֵ֣ב 'o.Rev	H6159	Oreb · proper noun, a man's name
Zeeb	זְאֵ֔ב ze.'Ev	H2062	Zeeb · proper noun, a man's name
able	יָּכֹ֖לְתִּי ya.Kho.le.ti	H3201	to be able · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
do	עֲשׂ֣וֹת a.Sot	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal infinitive construct
anger	רוּחָם֙ ru.Cham	H7307	wind · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
abated	רָפְתָ֤ה ra.fe.Tah	H7503	to slacken (in many applications · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
said	הַדָּבָ֥ר ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
that	בְּדַבְּר֖וֹ be.da.be.Ro	H1696	perhaps properly · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Judges 7:24-25 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth…
Psalms 44:3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the…
Psalms 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Psalms 118:14-16 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
Proverbs 25:15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 8:1-3

No sooner were the Midianites, the common enemy, subdued, than, through the violence of some hot spirits, the children of Israel were ready to quarrel among themselves; an unhappy spark was struck, which, if Gideon had not with a great deal of wisdom and grace extinguished immediately, might have broken out into a flame of fatal consequence. The Ephraimites, when they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon as general, instead of congratulating him upon his successes and addressing him with thanks for his great services, as they ought to have done, picked a quarrel with him and grew very hot upon it. I. Their accusation was very peevish and unreasonable: Why didst thou not call us when…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 8:2

he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?--His mild and truly modest answer breathes the spirit of a great as well as good man, who was calm, collected, and self-possessed in the midst of most exciting scenes. It succeeded in throwing oil on the troubled waters (Pro 16:1), and no wonder, for in the height of generous self-denial, it ascribes to his querulous brethren a greater share of merit and glory than belonged to himself (Co1 13:4; Phi 2:3).

John Gill on Judges 8:3

God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb,.... A high honour this conferred upon you, and with which you may be well contented: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? what he had done in defeating and pursuing the army of Midian, in slaying and taking any of them prisoners, was nothing in comparison of what they had done; nay, he signifies that he was not capable of doing anything worth mentioning without them; the glory of finishing this conquest was reserved for them: then their anger was abated towards him when he had said that; it being what gratified their pride and was pleasing to them; and this conduct of Gideon showed him to be a wise and humb…

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Rashi

Dictionary and topics

Penuel — Face of God, a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. It is also called “Peniel.” Here Jacob wrestled (Gen. 32:24-32) “with a man” (“the angel”, Hos.…
Zebah — Man-killer, or sacrifice, one of the two kings who led the vast host of the Midianites who invaded the land of Israel, and over whom Gideon gained a great and decisive victory (Judg. 8). Zebah and…
Zeeb — The wolf, one of the two leaders of the great Midianite host which invaded Israel and was utterly routed by Gideon. The division of that host, which attempted to escape across the Jordan, under Oreb…
Ephraim, Tribe Of · Remonstrated with Gideon for not calling them sooner against Midian — Remonstrated with Gideon for not calling them sooner against Midian
Flattery · .By Gi — .By Gi
Gideon · Reproaches the Ephraimites for not joining in the — Reproaches the Ephraimites for not joining in the
Meekness · .Gi — .Gi
Oreb · 1. A prince of Midian, overcome by Gi — 1. A prince of Midian, overcome by Gi
Prudence · Exemplified: Gideon — Exemplified: Gideon
Tact · Of Gi — Of Gi
Zeeb · A prince of Midian — A prince of Midian

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).