Judges 9:26-41
Legacy Standard Bible
26 Then Gaal the son of Ebed came with his [a]relatives, and they crossed over into Shechem; and the lords of Shechem put their trust in him. 27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them and celebrated a [b]festival; and they came into the house of (A)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 [c]officer? Serve the men of (B)Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 [d](C)Would, therefore, that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”
30 Then Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger burned. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech [e]deceitfully, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his [f]relatives have come to Shechem; and behold, they are [g]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 And it will be in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and behold, he and the people who are with him will come out against you, and you shall (D)do to them [h]whatever your hand finds pleasing.”
34 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him arose by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four [i]companies. 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and the people who were with him arose from the ambush. 36 Then Gaal saw the people and said to Zebul, “Behold, 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 men.” 37 Yet Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from (E)the [j]highest part of the land, and one [k]company comes by the way of [l]the soothsayers’ [m]oak.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your [n]boasting now 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 with them!” 39 So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him; and many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate. 41 Then Abimelech remained at Arumah, but Zebul drove out Gaal and his [o]relatives so that they could not remain in Shechem.
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- Judges 9:26 Lit brothers
- Judges 9:27 Lit rejoicing
- Judges 9:28 Lit overseer
- Judges 9:29 Lit And who will give this people into my hand
- Judges 9:31 Or in Tormah
- Judges 9:31 Lit brothers
- Judges 9:31 Lit besieging
- Judges 9:33 Lit as your hand can find
- Judges 9:34 Lit heads
- Judges 9:37 Or center
- Judges 9:37 Lit head
- Judges 9:37 Heb Elommeonenim
- Judges 9:37 Or terebinth
- Judges 9:38 Lit mouth
- Judges 9:41 Lit brothers
Judges 9:26-41
Evangelical Heritage Version
26 At this time Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers had come to Shechem and settled there, and the citizens of Shechem put their trust in him.
27 The people of Shechem went out into the fields and gathered grapes from their vineyards. They trod the grapes into wine and held a thanksgiving festival. They went to the house of their god and ate and drank, and they cursed Abimelek.
28 Ga’al son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelek? Why should the city of Shechem serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his representative? Serve the descendants of Hamor, the founding father of Shechem, but why should we serve Abimelek? 29 If only someone would give this people into my hand! I would remove Abimelek!”
So he said to Abimelek, “Get a bigger army and come out!”
30 When Zebul, ruler of the city, heard the words of Ga’al son of Ebed, he was hot with anger. 31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, “Look, Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers have been coming to Shechem, and now they are stirring up the city against you. 32 So now, get up tonight, you and the troops who are with you, and hide yourselves in the countryside. 33 When morning comes, at sunrise, get up early and make an attack on the city. Then when Ga’al and the people with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”
34 So Abimelek and all the troops who were with him set out in the middle of the night and set an ambush for Shechem, in four units.
35 Ga’al son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city gate. Then Abimelek and the troops with him rose up from their hiding places.
36 When Ga’al saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the mountains.”
But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing shadows on the mountains and mistaking them for men.”
37 But Ga’al spoke up again. He said, “No, look! There are people coming down from the navel of the land,[a] and one unit is coming from the direction of the Oak of the Fortune Tellers.”
38 Zebul said to him, “Where is your big mouth now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelek that we should serve him?’ Aren’t these the people you despised? Go out now, and fight against him!”
39 So Ga’al went out in front of the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelek. 40 Abimelek pursued him, and Ga’al fled from him. Many fell wounded all the way up to the entrance to the city’s gatehouse. 41 Abimelek remained in Arumah, but Zebul drove out Ga’al and his brothers, so that they could not stay in Shechem.
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- Judges 9:37 This is apparently a name for Mount Ebal.
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