Judges 8-9New King James Version (NKJV)
Gideon Subdues the Midianites
8 Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have
you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the
Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.
2 So he said to them, “What have I
done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of
the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God
has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what
was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided
when he said that.
4 When Gideon came to the Jordan, he
and the three hundred men who were with him crossed over,
exhausted but still in pursuit. 5 Then he said to
the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me,
for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”
6 And the leaders of Succoth said, “Are the
hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your
army?”
7 So Gideon said, “For this cause,
when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I
will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” 8 Then
he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men
of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 So
he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come back in peace, I will
tear down this tower!”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at
Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left
of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand
men who drew the sword had fallen. 11 Then Gideon
went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and
Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the camp felt secure. 12 When
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian,
Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash
returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres. 14 And
he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote
down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 Then
he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about
whom you ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’” 16 And
he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and
with them he taught the men of Succoth. 17 Then he
tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna,
“What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?”
So they answered, “As you are, so were they;
each one resembled the son of a king.”
19 Then he said, “They were my
brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives,
if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 And
he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not
draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a
youth.
21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise
yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.”
So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments
that were on their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 Then the men of Israel said to
Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you
have delivered us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon said to them, “I will
not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall
rule over you.” 24 Then Gideon said to them, “I
would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the
earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
25 So they answered, “We will gladly
give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into
it the earrings from his plunder. 26 Now the weight
of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of
gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on
the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around
their camels’ necks. 27 Then Gideon made it into an
ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with
it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the
children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country
was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.
Death of Gideon
29 Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash
went and dwelt in his own house. 30 Gideon had
seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 And
his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose
name he called Abimelech. 32 Now Gideon the son of
Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father,
in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 So it was, as soon as Gideon was
dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and
made Baal-Berith their god. 34 Thus the children of
Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them
from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35 nor
did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with
the good he had done for Israel.
Abimelech’s Conspiracy
9 Then 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, 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.”
3 And 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.” 4 So 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. 5 Then 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. 6 And 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.
The Parable of the Trees
7 Now 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!
That God may 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!’
9 But 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?’
And they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us!’
9 But 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?’
10 “Then the trees said to the fig
tree,
‘You come and reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree said to them,
‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,
And go to sway over trees?’
‘You come and reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree said to them,
‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,
And go to sway over trees?’
12 “Then the trees said to the vine,
‘You come and reign over us!’
13 But the vine said to them,
‘Should I cease my new wine,
Which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?’
‘You come and reign over us!’
13 But the vine said to them,
‘Should I cease my new wine,
Which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?’
14 “Then all the trees said to the
bramble,
‘You come and reign over us!’
15 And 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!’
‘You come and reign over us!’
15 And 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!’
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— 17 for
my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of
Midian; 18 but 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— 19 if 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. 20 “But
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!” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled; and he
went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
Downfall of Abimelech
22 After Abimelech had reigned over
Israel three years, 23 God sent a spirit of ill
will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt
treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that 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. 25 And
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.
26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with
his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their
confidence in him. 27 So 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. 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 not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the
father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 If
only this people were under my authority![a] Then I would remove
Abimelech.” So he[b] said to Abimelech,
“Increase your army and come out!”
30 When Zebul, the ruler of the city,
heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused. 31 And
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. 32 Now therefore, get up by
night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in
the field. 33 And 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.”
34 So Abimelech and all the people
who were with him rose by night, and lay in wait against
Shechem in four companies. 35 When 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. 36 And
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.”
37 So Gaal spoke again and said,
“See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company
is coming from the Diviners’[c] Terebinth Tree.”
38 Then 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.”
39 So Gaal went out, leading the men
of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40 And
Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded, to the very entrance
of the gate. 41 Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and
Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came about on the next day
that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech. 43 So
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. 44 Then 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. 45 So 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.
46 Now when all the men of the tower
of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the
temple of the god Berith. 47 And it was told
Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered
together. 48 Then 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.” 49 So 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.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and
he encamped against Thebez and took it. 51 But
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. 52 So 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. 53 But a certain woman dropped an upper
millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54 Then
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. 55 And when
the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his
place.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of
Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy
brothers. 57 And 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.
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