Judges 9 NKJV ISV Parallel

◄ Judges 9 ►

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1Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,

1Then Jerubbaal's son Abimelech went to his mother's relatives in Shechem. He spoke to the entire family of his mother's father, telling them,

2“Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”

2"Ask all the "lords" of Shechem, 'What's better for you? That 70 men, each of them Jerubbaal's sons, rule over you? Or that one man rule over you?' Keep in mind that I'm like your own close relative."

3And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

3So his mother's relatives spoke all of this on his behalf in the presence of all the "lords" of Shechem. Since they were inclined to follow Abimelech, they said, "He's our relative!"

4So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men; and they followed him.

4and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him

5Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself.

5to his father's house in Ophrah. There he murdered his own brothers, Jerubbaal's sons—all 70 of them—in one place. But Jerubbaal's youngest son Jotham survived by hiding himself.

6And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem.

6All the men from Shechem and Beth-millo gathered together and set up Abimelech as king near the pillar erected in Shechem.

7Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, That God may listen to you!

7When Jotham was informed about this, he went out, took his stand on top of Mount Gerizim, and cried out loudly, "Listen to me, you "lords" of Shechem, and God will listen to you.

8“The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’

8"Once upon a time the trees went out to consecrate a king for themselves. "So they told the olive tree, 'Reign over us!'

9But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I cease giving my oil, With which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?’

9But the olive tree asked them, 'Should I stop producing my rich oils by which both God and men are honored and go take dominion over trees?'

10“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’

10"So the trees told the fig tree, 'Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

11But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway over trees?’

11But the fig tree asked them, 'Should I leave my sweet, good fruit and go take dominion over trees?'

12“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us!’

12"So the trees told the grape vine, 'Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

13But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, Which cheers both God and men, And go to sway over trees?’

13But the grape vine asked them, 'Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go take dominion over trees?'

14“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’

14"So all the trees told the bramble bush, 'Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

15And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of Lebanon!’

15Then the bramble bush replied to the trees, 'If you really are consecrating me to rule you, come and put your confidence in my shade; but if not, may fire spring out from the bramble bush and burn up the cedars of Lebanon…'

16“Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as he deserves—

16"Now then, if you have been acting in good faith and integrity by making a king out of Abimelech, if you have treated Jerubbaal and his household appropriately by acting toward him as he deserved —

17for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

17because my father fought on your behalf, throwing away all concern for his own life, and delivered you from Midian's domination.

18but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—

18"But now as for you, you've rebelled against my father's house today. You've murdered his sons—70 men—in one place, and you've installed Abimelech, the son of his mistress, as king to rule over the "lords" of Shechem, since he's related to you.

19if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

19So if you've acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then you're welcome to Abimelech, and he's welcome to you…

20But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!”

20But if not, may fire spring out from Abimelech and consume the "lords" of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire spring out from the "lords" of Shechem and Beth-millo to consume Abimelech."

21And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

21Then Jotham escaped by running away. He went to Beer and remained there because of his brother Abimelech.

22After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years,

22Abimelech dominated Israel for three years.

23God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

23Then God sent an evil spirit to divide Abimelech and the "lords" of Shechem

24that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.

24so that the violence committed against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come back on their brother Abimelech, who murdered them, and so it might come back on the "lords" of Shechem, who provoked him to murder his brothers.

25And the men of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was told Abimelech.

25The "lords" of Shechem sent out men to ambush him on the mountain tops, and they robbed everyone who came by them along the roads, and this was reported to Abimelech.

26Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

26Meanwhile, Ebed's son Gaal arrived with his relatives and crossed over into Shechem. The "lords" of Shechem put their faith in him.

27So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and made merry. And they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

27They went out into the fields, harvested their vineyards, made some wine, and threw a party. Then they went into the temple of their god, ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

28Then 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 not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?

28Then Ebed's son Gaal remarked, "Who is this Abimelech? And who is Shechem? Should we serve him? Isn't he Jerubbaal's son? Isn't Zebul his lieutenant? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's ancestor—but why are we serving him?

29If only this people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”

29If only authority over this people were given to me. Then I would remove Abimelech!" Then he challenged Abimelech: "Build up your army and then come out and fight!"

30When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused.

30When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard what Ebed's son Gaal had said, he flew into a rage.

31And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Take note! Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and here they are, fortifying the city against you.

31He sent messengers to Abimelech in secret and told him, "Look out! Ebed's son Gaal and his family have arrived here in Shechem. Watch out! They're stirring up the city against you.

32Now therefore, get up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.

32So get up at night, take your soldiers with you, and wait in ambush out in the field.

33And it shall be, as soon as the sun is up in the morning, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them as you find opportunity.”

33Tomorrow morning when the sun is up, get up early and attack the city. When Gaal and his army come out to fight you, do whatever you can to them."

34So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose by night, and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

34So Abimelech and his entire army got up that night and waited in ambush against Shechem in four separate companies.

35When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from lying in wait.

35Ebed's son Gaal went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate while Abimelech and his army were creeping out of their ambush.

36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!” But Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.”

36When Gaal saw the army, he observed to Zebul, "Look there! People are coming down from the top of the mountains." But Zebul replied to him, "You're looking at morning shadows cast by the mountains. They just look like men to you."

37So Gaal spoke again and said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the Diviners’ Terebinth Tree.”

37Gaal spoke up again to say, "Look! People are coming down from the highest part of the land, and there's a company approaching from the diviner's oak tree."

38Then Zebul said to him, “Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight with them now.”

38So Zebul replied, "Right... So where's your boasting now? You said, 'Who is Abimelech? Should we serve him?' Isn't this the army that you insulted? So go out right now and fight them!"

39So Gaal went out, leading the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

39So Gaal went out in full view of the "lords" of Shechem and fought Abimelech.

40And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded, to the very entrance of the gate.

40Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran away from him. Many fell wounded right up to the entrance to the city gate.

41Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.

41Afterwards, Abimelech remained at Arumah, but Zebul expelled Gaal and his family so they couldn't remain in Shechem.

42And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.

42The next day, the people went out to the field, and Abimelech learned about it.

43So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and attacked them.

43So he took his army, divided it into three separate companies, and laid in ambush out in the field. When Abimelech noticed the people coming out from the city, his army attacked them and killed them.

44Then Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed them.

44Then Abimelech and the soldiers who were with him rushed forward and commandeered the entrance to the city gate while the other two companies ran out to kill everyone who was in the field.

45So Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

45Abimelech fought against the city all that day, captured the city, killed the people in it, then tore the city to the ground and sowed it with salt.

46Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.

46When all the "lords" at the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they retreated into the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.

47And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

47Abimilech was told that all of the "lords" of the Shechem Tower had assembled there.

48Then Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.”

48So he went up to Mount Zalmon, accompanied by his entire army. Abimelech had an axe in his hand, so he cut down a branch from a tree, lifted it up, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he told the army that had accompanied him, "You've seen what I just did. Hurry up! Do the same thing!"

49So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire above them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

49Then his entire army also cut down a branch for each soldier, followed Abimelech to the inner chamber, and set fire to it while they were inside. As a result, all the men of the tower of Shechem died, including about a thousand men and women.

50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it.

50Later on, Abimelech went to Thebez, set up a siege encampment there, and captured it.

51But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower.

51But there was a fortified tower in the center of the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city escaped to it, shut themselves in, and went up to the roof of the tower.

52So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

52So Abimelech approached the tower, attacked it, and approached the tower's gate, intending to burn it down.

53But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

53But a certain woman threw an upper millstone down on Abimelech's head, fracturing his skull.

54Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died.

54So he cried out to his young armor bearer and ordered him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so no one will say about me that 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man pierced him through, and he died.

55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.

55When the men of Israel noticed that Abimelech was dead, they each left for home.

56Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers.

56That's how God repaid Abimelech for the evil thing he did to his father by killing his 70 brothers.

57And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

57God also repaid the men of Shechem for their wickedness, and the curse of Jerubbaal's son Jotham came true for them.

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