Judges 9:26-41
1599 Geneva Bible
26 Then Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and they went to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
27 Therefore they [a]went out into the field, and gathered in their grapes, and trode them, and made merry, and went into the house of their gods, and did eat and drink, 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 Zebul is his officer? Serve rather the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
29 Now would God this people were under mine hand: then would I put away Abimelech. And he said to [b]Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
30 ¶ And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his wrath was kindled.
31 Therefore he sent messengers unto Abimelech [c]privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem, and behold, they fortify the city against thee.
32 Now therefore arise by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field.
33 And rise early in the morning as soon as the sun is up, and assault the city: and when he and the people that is with him, shall come out against thee, do to him [d]what thou canst.
34 ¶ So Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him by night: and they lay in wait against Shechem in four bands.
35 Then Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the folk that were with him, from lying in wait.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains: and Zebul said unto him, The [e]shadow of the mountains seem men unto thee.
37 And Gaal spake again, and said, See, there come folk down [f]by the middle of the land, and another band cometh by the way of the plain of [g]Meonenim.
38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth that said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people that thou hast despised? Go out now, I pray thee and fight with them.
39 And Gaal [h]went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40 But Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded even unto the entering of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren that they should not dwell in Shechem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 9:27 Before they were afraid of Abimelech’s power, and durst not go out of the city.
- Judges 9:29 Braggingly, as though he had been present, or to his captain Zebul.
- Judges 9:31 Hebrew, craftily.
- Judges 9:33 Hebrew, what thine hand can find.
- Judges 9:36 Thou art afraid of a shadow.
- Judges 9:37 Hebrew, by the navel.
- Judges 9:37 Or, charmers.
- Judges 9:39 As their captain.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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