So he took the ancients of the city and thorns and briers of the desert, and tore them with the same, and cut in pieces the men of Soccoth.

And he taketh the elders of the city, and the thorns of the wilderness, and the threshing instruments, and teacheth by them the men of Succoth,

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

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

Therefore, he took the elders of the city, and, using the thorns and briers of the desert, he threshed them with these, and he cut the men of Succoth to pieces.

He taught - Thought to be a false reading, for "he threshed," as in Judges 8:7 margin.

He taught the men of Succoth - Instead of וידע he taught, Houbigant reads וידש he tore; and this is not only agreeable to what Gideon had threatened, Judges 8:7, but is supported by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. The Hebrew text might have been easily corrupted in this place by the change of ש shin into ע ain, letters very similar to each other.

And he took the elders of the city,.... All of them, especially those of them who had been most guilty, and had them to a proper place, where they might be made public examples of:
and thorns of the wilderness, and briers; which were near at hand, and soon cut up, for which he gave orders to proper persons:
and with them he taught the men of Succoth; either the inhabitants of the place, as distinct from the elders, whose punishment he taught them to be cautious not to follow such examples, or to behave ill to their superiors; or the princes and elders of the city are meant by the men of it, whom Gideon taught or chastised with thorns and briers; and so it is usual with us for a parent or master to say to his child or servant that has offended, I will "teach" you to do so or so, or to do otherwise, when he threatens to chastise: or "with them he made them to know" (z); that is, their sin and the heinousness of it, by the punishment he inflicted on them. Abarbinel thinks the word "know" has the signification of mercy in it, as in Exodus 2:25 in that he did not punish in general the men of that city, only the elders of it. The Targum is,"he broke upon them, or by them, the men of Succoth;''so Jarchi and others; that is, he broke the briers and thorns upon them, scourging them with them; or rather broke and tore their flesh by them: whether they died or no is not certain.
(z) "et cognoscere fecit", Montanus; so some in Vatablus; "notificavit", Piscator.

he took . . . the thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth--By refusing his soldiers refreshment, they had committed a public crime, as well as an act of inhumanity, and were subjected to a horrible punishment, which the great abundance and remarkable size of the thorn bushes, together with the thinness of clothing in the East, has probably suggested.