By that severe punishment (of which Judges 8:7) he made the men, i.e. the elders of Succoth, to know their sin and folly, though it was too late for their good, but not for the instruction and warning of others.
Related Commentaries of Judges 8:16
Judges 8:16
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taughte the men of Succoth.