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Today's Bible Reading :: Judges 8 - 9 (ESV)

Judges 8Listen to the passage

Judges 9Listen to the passage

Judges 8

Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:1

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:1 - Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:2

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:2 - And 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 grape harvest of Abiezer?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:3

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:3 - God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger[fn] against him subsided when he said this.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:4

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:4 - And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:5

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:5 - So 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 after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:6

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:6 - And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:7

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:7 - So Gideon said, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:8 - And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:9

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:9 - And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:10

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:10 - Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:11

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:11 - And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:12

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:12 - And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:13

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:13 - Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:14

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:14 - And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:15

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:15 - And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:16

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:16 - And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:17

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:17 - And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:18

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:18 - Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:19

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:19 - And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:20

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:20 - So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:21

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:21 - Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon’s Ephod

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:22

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:22 - Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:23

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:23 - Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:24

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:24 - And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:25

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:25 - And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:26

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:26 - And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels[fn] of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:27

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:27 - And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:28

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:28 - So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon.

The Death of Gideon

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:29

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:29 - Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:30

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:30 - Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring,[fn] for he had many wives.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:31

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:31 - And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:32

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:32 - And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:33

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:33 - As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:34

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:34 - And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 8:35

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 8:35 - and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
ESV Footnotes
Hebrew their spirit
A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Hebrew who came from his own loins

Judges 9

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:1

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:1 - Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:2

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:2 - “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:3

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:3 - And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:4

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:4 - And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:5

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:5 - And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:6

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:6 - And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:7

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:7 - When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:8 - The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:9

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:9 - But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:10

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:10 - And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:11

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:11 - But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:12

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:12 - And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:13

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:13 - But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:14

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:14 - Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:15

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:15 - And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:16

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:16 - “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved—

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:17

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:17 - for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:18

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:18 - and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:19

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:19 - if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:20

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:20 - But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:21

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:21 - And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

The Downfall of Abimelech

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:22

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:22 - Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:23

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:23 - And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:24

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:24 - that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:25

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:25 - And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:26

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:26 - And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:27

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:27 - And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:28

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:28 - And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:29

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:29 - Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say[fn] to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:30

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:30 - When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:31

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:31 - And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly,[fn] saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up[fn] the city against you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:32

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:32 - Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:33

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:33 - Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:34

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:34 - So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:35

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:35 - And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:36

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:36 - And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake[fn] the shadow of the mountains for men.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:37

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:37 - Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:38

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:38 - Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:39

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:39 - And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:40

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:40 - And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:41

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:41 - And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:42

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:42 - On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:43

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:43 - He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:44

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:44 - Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:45

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:45 - And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:46

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:46 - When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:47

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:47 - Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:48

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:48 - And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:49

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:49 - So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:50

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:50 - Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:51

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:51 - But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:52

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:52 - And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:53

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:53 - And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:54

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:54 - Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:55

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:55 - And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:56

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:56 - Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jdg 9:57

Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 9:57 - And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
See the ESV Preface
ESV Footnotes
Septuagint; Hebrew and he said
Or at Tormah
Hebrew besieging, or closing up
Hebrew You see
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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