Judges 9:22-11:28
New Century Version
Abimelech Fights Against Shechem
22 Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23 Then God sent an evil spirit to make trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem so that the leaders of Shechem turned against him. 24 Abimelech had killed Gideon’s[a] seventy sons, his own brothers, and the leaders of Shechem had helped him. So God sent the evil spirit to punish them. 25 The leaders of Shechem were against Abimelech then. They put men on the hilltops in ambush who robbed everyone going by. And Abimelech was told.
26 A man named Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers moved into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem trusted him. 27 They went out to the vineyards to pick grapes, and they squeezed the grapes. Then they had a feast in the temple of their god, where they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. 28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “We are the men of Shechem. Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Isn’t he one of Gideon’s sons, and isn’t Zebul his officer? We should serve the men of Hamor, Shechem’s father. Why should we serve Abimelech? 29 If you made me commander of these people, I would get rid of Abimelech. I would say to him, ‘Get your army ready and come out to battle.’”
30 Now when Zebul, the ruler of Shechem, heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. 31 He sent secret messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal’s brothers have come to Shechem, and they are turning the city against you! 32 You and your men should get up during the night and hide in the fields outside the city. 33 As soon as the sun comes up in the morning, attack the city. When Gaal and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to them.”
34 So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night and hid near Shechem in four groups. 35 Gaal son of Ebed went out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate. As he was standing there, Abimelech and his soldiers came out of their hiding places.
36 When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, “Look! There are people coming down from the mountains!”
But Zebul said, “You are seeing the shadows of the mountains. The shadows just look like people.”
37 But again Gaal said, “Look, there are people coming down from the center of the land, and there is a group coming from the fortune-tellers’ tree!”
38 Zebul said to Gaal, “Where is your bragging now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ You made fun of these men. Now go out and fight them.”
39 So Gaal led the men of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. 40 Abimelech and his men chased them, and many of Gaal’s men were killed before they could get back to the city gate. 41 While Abimelech stayed at Arumah, Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.
42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields. When Abimelech was told about it, 43 he separated his men into three groups and hid them in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he jumped up and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his group ran to the entrance gate to the city. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and struck them down. 45 Abimelech and his men fought the city of Shechem all day until they captured it and killed its people. Then he tore it down and threw salt[b] over the ruins.
The Tower of Shechem Burns
46 When the leaders who were in the Tower of Shechem heard what had happened to Shechem, they gathered in the safest room of the temple of El Berith. 47 Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem had gathered there. 48 So he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon, near Shechem. Abimelech took an ax and cut some branches and put them on his shoulders. He said to all those with him, “Hurry! Do what I have done!” 49 So all those men cut branches and followed Abimelech and piled them against the safest room of the temple. Then they set them on fire and burned the people inside. So all the people who were at the Tower of Shechem also died—about a thousand men and women.
Abimelech’s Death
50 Then Abimelech went to the city of Thebez. He surrounded the city, attacked it, and captured it. 51 But inside the city was a strong tower, so all the men, women, and leaders of that city ran to the tower. When they got inside, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came to the tower to attack it. He approached the door of the tower to set it on fire, 53 but as he came near, a woman dropped a grinding stone on his head, crushing his skull.
54 He quickly called to the officer who carried his armor and said, “Take out your sword and kill me. I don’t want people to say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’” So the officer stabbed Abimelech, and he died. 55 When the people of Israel saw Abimelech was dead, they all returned home.
56 In that way God punished Abimelech for all the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for the evil they had done. So the curse spoken by Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon,[c] came true.
Tola, the Judge
10 After Abimelech died, another judge came to save Israel. He was Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo. Tola was from the people of Issachar and lived in the city of Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. 2 Tola was a judge for Israel for twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.
Jair, the Judge
3 After Tola died, Jair from the region of Gilead became judge. He was a judge for Israel for twenty-two years. 4 Jair had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. These thirty sons controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which are called the Towns of Jair to this day. 5 Jair died and was buried in the city of Kamon.
The Ammonites Trouble Israel
6 Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites left the Lord and stopped serving him. 7 So the Lord was angry with them and handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites. 8 In the same year those people destroyed the Israelites who lived east of the Jordan River in the region of Gilead, where the Amorites lived. So the Israelites suffered for eighteen years. 9 The Ammonites then crossed the Jordan River to fight the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, causing much trouble to the people of Israel. 10 So the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you. We left our God and worshiped the Baal idols.”
11 The Lord answered the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites were cruel to you, you cried out to me, and I saved you. 13 But now you have left me again and have worshiped other gods. So I refuse to save you again. 14 You have chosen those gods. So go call to them for help. Let them save you when you are in trouble.”
15 But the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do to us whatever you want, but please save us today!” 16 Then the Israelites threw away the foreign gods among them, and they worshiped the Lord again. So he felt sorry for them when he saw their suffering.
17 The Ammonites gathered for war and camped in Gilead. The Israelites gathered and camped at Mizpah. 18 The leaders of the people of Gilead said, “Who will lead us to attack the Ammonites? He will become the head of all those who live in Gilead.”
Jephthah Is Chosen as Leader
11 Jephthah was a strong soldier from Gilead. His father was named Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife had several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave his home, saying to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property, because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah ran away from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. There some worthless men began to follow him.
4 After a time the Ammonites fought against Israel. 5 When the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah to bring him back from Tob. 6 They said to him, “Come and lead our army so we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 But Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me? You forced me to leave my father’s house. Why are you coming to me now that you are in trouble?”
8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “It is because of those troubles that we come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites. You will be the ruler over everyone who lives in Gilead.”
9 Then Jephthah answered, “If you take me back to Gilead to fight the Ammonites and the Lord helps me win, I will be your ruler.”
10 The elders of Gilead said to him, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. We promise to do all that you tell us to do.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander of their army. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at Mizpah.
Jephthah Sends Messengers to the Ammonite King
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, “What have you got against Israel? Why have you come to attack our land?”
13 The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because you took our land when you came up from Egypt. You took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now give our land back to us peacefully.”
14 Jephthah sent the messengers to the Ammonite king again. 15 They said:
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of the people of Moab or Ammon. 16 When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they went into the desert to the Red Sea and then to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Let the people of Israel go across your land.’ But the king of Edom refused. We sent the same message to the king of Moab, but he also refused. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Then the Israelites went into the desert around the borders of the lands of Edom and Moab. Israel went east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, the border of Moab. They did not cross it to go into the land of Moab.
19 “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of the city of Heshbon, asking, ‘Let the people of Israel pass through your land to go to our land.’ 20 But Sihon did not trust the Israelites to cross his land. So he gathered all of his people and camped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
21 “But the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and his army over to Israel. All the land of the Amorites became the property of Israel. 22 So Israel took all the land of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, from the desert to the Jordan River.
23 “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced out the Amorites ahead of the people of Israel. So do you think you can make them leave? 24 Take the land that your god Chemosh has given you. We will live in the land the Lord our God has given us!
25 “Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel? 26 For three hundred years the Israelites have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the towns around them and in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken these cities back in all that time? 27 I have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by making war on me. May the Lord, the Judge, decide whether the Israelites or the Ammonites are right.”
28 But the king of the Ammonites ignored this message from Jephthah.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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