Judges 9
Expanded Bible
Abimelech Becomes King
9 Abimelech [8:31] son of Jerub-Baal [C Gideon; 6:32] went to his ·uncles [L mother’s brothers] in the city of Shechem. He said to ·his uncles [L them] and all of his mother’s ·family group [clan], 2 “·Ask [or Whisper to; L Speak in the ears of] the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem, ‘Is it better for the seventy sons of Gideon to rule over you or for one man to rule?’ Remember, I am your ·relative [L bone and your flesh].”
3 Abimelech’s ·uncles [mother’s brothers] ·spoke to [or whispered to; L spoke in the ears of] all the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem about this [L for him; on his behalf]. And ·they decided [they were inclined; L their heart was stretched] to follow Abimelech, because they said, “He is our ·relative [brother].” 4 So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech about ·one and three-quarter pounds [L seventy pieces/coins] of silver from the temple of the god Baal-Berith [8:33]. Abimelech used the silver to hire some worthless, reckless men, who ·followed him wherever he went [L went after him]. 5 He went to Ophrah, the hometown of his father, and murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal [C Gideon; 6:32]. He killed them all on one stone. But Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, Jotham, hid from Abimelech and ·escaped [survived; was left]. 6 Then all of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo [C “house of the fill”; probably the earthen structure on which the Tower of Shechem (v. 46) was built] gathered beside the ·great tree [oak] by the pillar [C likely an object of pagan worship] in Shechem. There they made Abimelech their king.
Jotham’s Story
7 When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted to the people: “Listen to me, you ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem, so that God will listen to you! 8 One day the trees decided to ·appoint [L anoint] a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, ‘·You be king [Rule; Reign] over us!’
9 “But the olive tree said, ‘Men and gods are honored by my oil. Should I ·stop making it [L cease my fatness/abundance] and go and sway over the other trees?’ [C Ancient kings were sometimes compared to trees, providing shelter and protection for their subjects.]
10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and ·be king [rule; reign] over us!’
11 “But the fig tree answered, ‘Should I stop making my sweet and good fruit and go and sway over the other trees?’
12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and ·be king [rule; reign] over us!’
13 “But the vine answered, ‘My new wine makes men and gods happy. Should I stop making it and go and sway over the trees?’
14 “Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and ·be king [rule; reign] over us.’
15 “But the thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to ·appoint [L anoint] me king over you, come and ·find shelter [take refuge] in my shade! But if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and ·burn up [consume; devour] the cedars of Lebanon!’ [C A worthless thornbush provides no shelter and burns hot and quick (Ps. 58:9), igniting the great cedars of Lebanon (the most valuable trees in the ancient Near East); see v. 20.]
16 “Now, ·were you completely honest and sincere [L if you acted in truth and integrity/blamelessness] when you made Abimelech king? ·Have you [L And if you have] been fair to Jerub-Baal [C Gideon; 6:32] and his ·family [L house]? ·Have [L And if] you treated him as ·you should [L his hands deserved]? 17 Remember, my father fought for you and risked his life to ·save [rescue; T deliver] you from the ·power of the Midianites [L hand of Midian]. 18 But now you have ·turned [revolted; risen up] against my father’s ·family [L house] and have killed his seventy sons on one stone [v. 5]. You have made Abimelech, the son of my father’s ·slave girl [maidservant], king over the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem just because he is your ·relative [brother]! 19 So then, if you have ·been honest and sincere [acted in truth and integrity/blamelessness] to Jerub-Baal [C Gideon; 6:32] and his ·family [L house] today, ·be happy with [rejoice in] Abimelech as your king. And may he ·be happy with [rejoice in] you! 20 But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and completely burn you ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem and Beth Millo [C the cedars of Lebanon in the allegory; v. 15]! Also may fire come out of the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem and Beth Millo and burn up Abimelech!”
21 Then Jotham ran away and escaped to the city of Beer [C meaning “well”]. He lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
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 [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem so that they ·turned [revolted; acted treacherously] against him. 24 God did this to repay [avenge] the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal [C Gideon; 6:32] and to make their brother Abimelech pay for their spilled blood, together with the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem who ·helped him murder [L strengthened his hand to kill] his brothers. 25 The ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem were against Abimelech then and put men on the hilltops in ambush to rob everyone going by. And Abimelech was told.
26 A man named Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers ·moved into [came to] Shechem, and the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem ·trusted [or gave their allegiance to] him. 27 They went out to the vineyards to pick grapes, and they ·squeezed [stomped/trod on] 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 [L Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem] that we should serve him? Isn’t he one of Jerub-Baal’s [C Gideon’s] sons, and isn’t Zebul his ·officer [deputy; lieutenant]? ·We should serve [L 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 [Muster your troops; Strengthen your army] and come out to battle.’”
30 Now when Zebul, the ·ruler [governor] of ·Shechem [L the city], heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, ·he was very angry [L his anger burned]. 31 He sent messengers to Abimelech ·secretly [deceptively; or in Arumah], saying, “Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal’s brothers have come to Shechem, and they are ·turning [inciting; stirring up] the city against you! 32 You and your men should get up during the night and ·hide [lie in wait; set an ambush] in the fields outside the city. 33 As soon as the sun comes up in the morning, ·attack [raid; rush upon] the city. When Gaal and his men come out to fight you, do what ·you can to them [L your hand finds to do].”
34 So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night and ·hid near [lay in wait outside; set an ambush against] 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 [ambush].
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 [or navel of the earth; Ezek. 38:12], and there is a group coming from the ·fortune-tellers’ tree [diviner’s oak; C a place where fortunes were told; ironically, Gaal’s fortune had been sealed]!”
38 Zebul said to Gaal, “Where is your ·bragging [L mouth] now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ ·You made fun of [Didn’t you mock/insult/despise…?] these men. Now go out and fight them.”
39 So Gaal led the ·men [leading citizens; lords] of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. 40 Abimelech ·and his men chased them [L chased him], and many of Gaal’s men ·were killed [or fell wounded] 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 [set an ambush; lay in wait] in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he jumped up and ·attacked [struck; slew] them. 44 Abimelech and his ·group [force; company] 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 [razed/leveled the city] and ·threw salt over the ruins [L sowed it with salt; C to symbolize destruction and desolation; Deut. 29:23; Ps. 107:34].
The Tower of Shechem Burns
46 When the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] who were in the Tower of Shechem [C either a nearby town or a structure within Shechem; v. 6] heard what had happened to Shechem, they gathered in the ·safest room [stronghold; inner chamber] of the temple of El Berith [9:4]. 47 Abimelech heard that all the ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] of the Tower of Shechem had gathered there. 48 So he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon [C near Shechem]. Abimelech took an ax and cut some ·branches [brushwood] 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 [brushwood] and followed Abimelech and piled them against the ·safest room [stronghold; inner chamber] of the temple. Then they set them on fire and burned ·the people inside [L the stronghold over them]. 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, [L besieged/encamped against Thebez] and captured it. 51 But inside the city was a strong ·tower [or fortress], so all the men, women, and ·leaders [leading citizens; lords] 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 [C to fight back and avoid the fate of the people of Shechem; v. 49]. 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 [L upper millstone; C the smaller stone (about 10 inches long) that was rolled by hand over the top of the larger lower millstone; Deut. 24:6] on his head, crushing his skull.
54 He quickly called to the officer who carried his armor and said, “Draw your sword and kill me. I don’t want people to say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech [C a humiliation for a warrior; 4:17–24; 1 Sam. 31:4].’” So ·the officer [his servant; or the young man] stabbed Abimelech, and he died. 55 When the people of Israel saw Abimelech was dead, they all returned ·home [L each man to his place].
56 In that way God ·punished [repaid; returned to] Abimelech for all the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also ·punished [repaid; L returned on the heads of] the men of Shechem for the evil they had done. So the curse spoken by Jotham, the son of Jerub-Baal [C Gideon], came ·true [L on them].
Judges 9
New American Standard Bible
Abimelech’s Conspiracy
9 Now (A)Abimelech the son of [a]Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s relatives, and spoke to them and to the entire family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the [b]leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: for (B)seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, to rule over you, or for one man to rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am (C)your bone and your flesh.” 3 So his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the [c]leaders of Shechem; and [d]they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is (D)our relative.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of (E)Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed him. 5 Then he went to his father’s house in Ophrah and (F)killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, (G)seventy men, [e]on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself. 6 All the [f]leaders of Shechem and all [g]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the [h]oak of the memorial stone which was in Shechem.
7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of (H)Mount Gerizim, and raised his voice and called out. And he said to them, “Listen to me, you [i]leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 Once the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my fatness with [j]which God and mankind are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my sweetness and my good [k]fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I give up my new wine, which cheers God and mankind, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If you [l]really are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “Now then, if you have acted with [m]honesty and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with (I)Jerubbaal and his house, and [n]have dealt with him [o]as he deserved— 17 for my father fought for you, and [p]risked his life and saved you from the hand of Midian; 18 but in fact you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed (J)his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, (K)the son of his female slave, king over the [q]leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— 19 so if you have acted with [r]honesty and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, be joyful about Abimelech, and may he also be joyful about you. 20 But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the [s]leaders of Shechem and [t]Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the [u]leaders of Shechem and from [v]Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; and he stayed there because of his brother Abimelech.
Shechem and Abimelech Fall
22 Now Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23 (L)Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the [w]leaders of Shechem; and the [x]leaders of Shechem (M)dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 (N)so that the violence [y]done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal would come, and the responsibility for (O)their blood would be placed on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the [z]leaders of Shechem, who [aa]encouraged him to kill his brothers. 25 The [ab]leaders of Shechem set up men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who would pass by them on the road; and it was reported to Abimelech.
26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the [ac]leaders of Shechem trusted him. 27 So they went out to the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trampled them, and held a festival; and they went into the house of (P)their god, and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. 28 Then 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 is Zebul not his governor? Serve the men of (Q)Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 [ad](R)If only this people were under my authority! Then I would do away with Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Enlarge your army and come out!”
30 When Zebul the leader of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned. 31 So using deception, he successfully sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem; and behold, they are [ae]stirring up the city against you. 32 So now, arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field. 33 Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and attack the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall (S)do to them [af]whatever you can.”
34 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him got up at night, and lay in wait against Shechem, in four [ag]units. 35 Now Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and the people who were with him arose from the ambush. 36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “[ah]Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were people.” 37 And Gaal spoke yet again and said, “Look, people are coming down from (T)the [ai]highest part of the land, and one [aj]unit is coming by way of [ak]the diviners’ [al]oak.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where then is your [am]boasting with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people whom you rejected? Go out now and fight them!” 39 So Gaal went out [an]in the sight of the [ao]leaders of Shechem and fought Abimelech. 40 But Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded up to the entrance of the gate. 41 Then Abimelech stayed in Arumah, but Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives so that they could not stay in Shechem.
42 Now it came about the next day, that the people went out to the field, and it was reported to Abimelech. 43 So he took [ap]his people and divided them into three [aq]units, and lay in wait in the field; when he looked and [ar]saw the people coming out from the city, he [as]attacked them and killed them. 44 Then Abimelech and the [at]company who was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the city gate; the other two [au]companies then attacked all who were in the field and killed them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city that whole day, and he captured the city and killed the people who were in it; then he (U)tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 When all the [av]leaders of the tower of Shechem heard about it, they entered the inner chamber of the [aw]temple of (V)El-berith. 47 And it was reported to Abimelech that all the [ax]leaders of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 So Abimelech went up to Mount (W)Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took [ay]an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees, and lifted it and put it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you saw me do, hurry and do [az]likewise.” 49 So all the people also cut down, each one, his branch and followed Abimelech, and put them on top of the inner chamber and set the inner chamber on fire over those inside, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the [ba]leaders of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower. 52 So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it down with fire. 53 But (X)a woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. 54 Then (Y)he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So [bb]the young man pierced him through, and he died. 55 Now when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each left for his [bc]home. 56 So (Z)God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came [bd]upon them.
Footnotes
- Judges 9:1 I.e., Gideon
- Judges 9:2 Or landowners
- Judges 9:3 Or landowners
- Judges 9:3 Lit their hearts inclined after
- Judges 9:5 Perhaps a mass human sacrifice
- Judges 9:6 Or landowners
- Judges 9:6 Or the house of Millo
- Judges 9:6 Or terebinth
- Judges 9:7 Or landowners
- Judges 9:9 Lit which by me
- Judges 9:11 Lit produce
- Judges 9:15 Or sincerely
- Judges 9:16 Or sincerity
- Judges 9:16 Lit if you have
- Judges 9:16 Lit according to the accomplishment of his hands
- Judges 9:17 Lit threw his soul away
- Judges 9:18 Or landowners
- Judges 9:19 Or sincerity
- Judges 9:20 Or landowners
- Judges 9:20 Or the house of Millo
- Judges 9:20 Or landowners
- Judges 9:20 Or the house of Millo
- Judges 9:23 Or landowners
- Judges 9:23 Or landowners
- Judges 9:24 Lit of the seventy
- Judges 9:24 Or landowners
- Judges 9:24 Lit strengthened his hands
- Judges 9:25 Or landowners
- Judges 9:26 Or landowners
- Judges 9:29 Lit And who will hand this people over to me
- Judges 9:31 Or besieging
- Judges 9:33 Lit as your hand finds
- Judges 9:34 Lit heads
- Judges 9:36 Lit Behold
- Judges 9:37 Lit center
- Judges 9:37 Lit head
- Judges 9:37 Heb Elon-meonenim
- Judges 9:37 Or terebinth
- Judges 9:38 Lit mouth
- Judges 9:39 Or at the head of
- Judges 9:39 Or landowners
- Judges 9:43 Lit the
- Judges 9:43 Lit heads
- Judges 9:43 Lit behold, the
- Judges 9:43 Lit rose against
- Judges 9:44 Lit heads
- Judges 9:44 Lit heads
- Judges 9:46 Or landowners
- Judges 9:46 Lit house
- Judges 9:47 Or landowners
- Judges 9:48 Lit the axes
- Judges 9:48 Lit like me
- Judges 9:51 Or landowners
- Judges 9:54 Lit his
- Judges 9:55 Lit place
- Judges 9:57 Lit to
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