Judges 9
9
1And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, 2Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh. 3And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem all these words. And their heart inclined after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. 4And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton men, and they followed him. 5And he came to his father's house, to Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons upon one stone; but there remained Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal; for he had hid himself. 6And all the citizens of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the memorial-oak that is in Shechem.
7And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God#GodHebrew: Elohim may hearken to you. 8The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us. 9And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God#GodHebrew: Elohim and man, and go to wave over the trees? 10And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us. 11But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees? 12Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us. 13And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God#GodHebrew: Elohim and man, and go to wave over the trees? 14Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us. 15And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 16Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and sincerely in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and if ye have done to him according to the deserving of his hands; 17— for my father fought for you, and endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18but ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your brother; 19— if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you; 20but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 21And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, because of Abimelech his brother.
22And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23And God#GodHebrew: Elohim sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who had strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. 25And the citizens of Shechem set liers in wait for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them. And it was told Abimelech. 26And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem put confidence in him. 27And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made rejoicings, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. 28And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is he not the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem! and why should we serve him? 29Oh! would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. 30And Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled; 31and he sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem, and behold, they shut up the city against thee; 32and now, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in ambush in the fields. 33And it shall be in the morning when the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and fall upon the city; and behold, he and the people that is with him shall come out against thee, and thou shalt do with him as thou shalt find occasion. 34And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. Then Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, out of the ambush. 36And Gaal saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men. 37And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and one company is coming along by the way of the Magician's oak. 38Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight against them. 39And Gaal went out before the citizens of Shechem, and fought against Abimelech. 40And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, as far as the entrance of the gate. 41And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they might not dwell in Shechem. 42And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 43And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in ambush in the field. And he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them. 44And Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and two of the companies ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew them. 45And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and broke down the city, and sowed it with salt. 46And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, and they entered into the stronghold of the house of the god#godHebrew: el Berith. 47And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem had gathered together. 48Then Abimelech went up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that was with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, do as I have done. 49And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and they followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and burned the hold with fire upon them. And all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
50And Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51But there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and thither fled all the men and women, all the citizens of the city; and they shut it behind them, and went up to the roof of the tower. 52And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire; 53and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull. 54Then he called hastily to the young man that carried his armour, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they say not of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went every man to his place. 56And God#GodHebrew: Elohim rendered back the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in slaying his seventy brethren. 57And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God#GodHebrew: Elohim render back upon their heads; and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
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Judges 9: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Judges 9
9
Abimelech Tries To Be King
1Abimelech the son of Gideon#9.1 Gideon: The Hebrew text has “Jerubbaal,” another name for Gideon (see 6.32). went to Shechem. While there, he met with his mother's relatives 2and told them to say to the leaders of Shechem, “Do you think it would be good to have all 70 of Gideon's sons ruling us? Wouldn't you rather have just one man be king? Abimelech would make a good king, and he's related to us.”
3Abimelech's uncles talked it over with the leaders of Shechem who agreed, “Yes, it would be better for one of our relatives to be king.” 4Then they gave Abimelech 70 pieces#9.4 70 pieces: Nearly 800 grams. of silver from the temple of their god Baal Berith.#9.4 Baal Berith: See the note at 8.33.
Abimelech used the silver to hire a gang of rough soldiers who would do anything for money. 5Abimelech and his soldiers went to his father's home in Ophrah and brought out Gideon's other sons to a large rock, where they murdered all 70 of them. Gideon's youngest son Jotham hid from the soldiers, but he was the only one who escaped.
6The leaders of Shechem, including the priests and the military officers,#9.6 including the priests and the military officers: The Hebrew text has “and the Millo house,” another name for the temple of Baal Berith. It probably also served as a military fortress. met at the tree next to the sacred rock#9.6 tree … rock: One ancient translation; Hebrew “propped-up sacred tree.” in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. 7Jotham heard what they were doing. So he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted down to the people who were there at the meeting:
Leaders of Shechem,
listen to me,
and maybe God
will listen to you.
8Once the trees searched
for someone to be king;
they asked the olive tree,
“Will you be our king?”
9But the olive tree replied,
“My oil brings honor
to people and gods.
I won't stop making oil,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
10Then they asked the fig tree,
“Will you be our king?”
11But the fig tree replied,
“I won't stop growing
my delicious fruit,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
12Next they asked the grape vine,
“Will you be our king?”
13But the grape vine replied,
“My wine brings cheer
to people and gods.
I won't stop making wine,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
14Finally, they went
to the thornbush and asked,
“Will you be our king?”
15The thornbush replied,
“If you really want me
to be your king,
then come into my shade
and I will protect you.
But if you're deceiving me,
I'll start a fire
that will spread out and destroy
the cedars of Lebanon.”#9.15 cedars of Lebanon: The cedars that grew in the Lebanon mountains were some of the largest trees in that part of the world.
After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said:
16-18My father Gideon risked his life for you when he fought to rescue you from the Midianites. Did you reward Gideon by being kind to his family? No, you did not! You attacked his family and killed all 70 of his sons on that rock.
And was it right to make Abimelech your king? He's merely the son of my father's slave girl.#9.16-18 son of … slave girl: See 8.31. But just because he's your relative, you made him king of Shechem.
19So, you leaders of Shechem, if you treated Gideon and his family the way you should have, then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other very happy. 20But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
21Jotham ran off and went to live in the town of Beer, where he could be safe from his brother Abimelech.
Abimelech Destroys Shechem
22Abimelech had been a military commander of Israel for three years, 23-24when God decided to punish him and the leaders of Shechem for killing Gideon's 70 sons.
So God turned the leaders of Shechem against Abimelech. 25Then they sent some men to hide on the hilltops and watch for Abimelech and his troops, while they sent others to rob everyone that went by on the road. But Abimelech found out what they were doing.
26One day, Gaal son of Ebed went to live in Shechem. His brothers moved there too, and soon the leaders of Shechem started trusting him.
27The time came for the grape harvest, and the people of Shechem went into their vineyards and picked the grapes. They gathered the grapes and made wine. Then they went into the temple of their god and threw a big party. There was a lot of eating and drinking, and before long they were cursing Abimelech.
28Gaal said:
Hamor was the founder of Shechem, and one of his descendants should be our ruler. But Abimelech's father was Gideon, so Abimelech isn't really one of us. He shouldn't be our king, and we shouldn't have to obey him or Zebul, who rules Shechem for him. 29If I were the ruler of Shechem, I'd get rid of that Abimelech. I'd tell him, “Get yourself an even bigger army, and we will still defeat you.”
30Zebul was angry when he found out what Gaal had said. 31And so he sent some messengers to Abimelech. But they had to pretend to be doing something else, or they would not have been allowed to leave Shechem.#9.31 But … Shechem: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Zebul told the messengers to say:
Gaal the son of Ebed has come to Shechem along with his brothers, and they have persuaded the people to let Gaal rule Shechem instead of you. 32This is what I think you should do. Lead your army here during the night and hide in the fields. 33Get up the next morning at sunrise and rush out of your hiding places to attack the town. Gaal and his followers will come out to fight you, but you will easily defeat them.
34So one night, Abimelech led his soldiers to Shechem. He divided them into four groups, and they all hid near the town.
35The next morning, Gaal went out and stood in the opening of the town gate. Abimelech and his soldiers left their hiding places, 36and Gaal saw them. Zebul was standing there with Gaal, and Gaal remarked, “Zebul, that looks like a crowd of people coming down from the mountaintops.”
“No,” Zebul answered, “it's just the shadows of the mountains. It only looks like people moving.”
37“But Zebul, look over there,” Gaal said. “There's a crowd coming down from the sacred mountain,#9.37 sacred mountain: The Hebrew text has “the navel of the land,” which probably refers to Mount Gerizim as a sacred mountain linking heaven and earth. and another group is coming along the road from the tree where people talk with the spirits of the dead.”
38Then Zebul replied, “What good is all of your bragging now? You were the one who said Abimelech shouldn't be the ruler of Shechem. Out there is the army that you made fun of. So go out and fight them!”
39Gaal and the leaders of Shechem went out and fought Abimelech. 40Soon the people of Shechem turned and ran back into the town. However, Abimelech and his troops were close behind and killed many of them along the way.
41Abimelech stayed at Arumah,#9.41 Arumah: About eight kilometers from Shechem. and Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
42The next morning, the people of Shechem were getting ready to work in their fields as usual, but someone told Abimelech about it. 43Abimelech divided his army into three groups and set up an ambush in the fields near Shechem. When the people came out of the town, he and his army rushed out from their hiding places and attacked. 44Abimelech and the troops with him ran to the town gate and took control of it, while two other groups attacked and killed the people who were in the fields. 45He and his troops fought in Shechem all day, until they had killed everyone in town. Then he and his men tore down the houses and buildings and scattered salt#9.45 scattered salt: This may have been part of a ceremony to place a curse on the town. everywhere.
46Earlier that day, the leaders of the temple of El Berith#9.46 temple of El Berith: The Hebrew text also calls all or part of this temple the “Fortress of Shechem.” El Berith, “the God of the Agreement,” was also known as Baal Berith, “the Lord of the Agreement” (see also 8.33; 9.4). at Shechem had heard about the attack. So they went into the temple fortress, 47but Abimelech found out where they were. 48He led his troops to Mount Zalmon, where he took an ax and chopped off a tree branch. He lifted the branch onto his shoulder and shouted, “Hurry! Cut off a branch just as I did.”
49When they all had branches, they followed Abimelech back to Shechem. They piled the branches against the fortress and set them on fire, burning down the fortress and killing about 1,000 men and women.
50After destroying Shechem, Abimelech went to Thebez. He surrounded the town and captured it. 51But there was a tall fortress in the middle of the town, and the town leaders and everyone else went inside. Then they barred the gates and went up to the flat roof.
52Abimelech and his army rushed to the fortress and tried to force their way inside. Abimelech himself was about to set the heavy wooden doors on fire, 53#2 S 11.21. when a woman on the roof dropped a large rock#9.53 large rock: One that was used in the grinding of grain. on his head and cracked his skull. 54The soldier who carried his weapons was nearby, and Abimelech told him, “Take out your sword and kill me. I don't want people to say that I was killed by a woman!”
So the soldier ran his sword through Abimelech. 55And when the Israelite soldiers saw that their leader was dead, they went back home.
56That's how God punished Abimelech for killing his brothers and bringing shame on his father's family. 57God also punished the people of Shechem for helping Abimelech.#9.57 helping Abimelech: Hebrew “their evil” (see 9.3,4). Everything happened just as Jotham's curse said it would.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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