Judges 9-12

Judges 9

¹Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,

²“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

³And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

⁴So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

⁵He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

⁶Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.

⁷When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.

⁸One day the trees set out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

⁹But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and reign over us.’

¹¹But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹²Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and reign over us.’

¹³But the grapevine replied, ‘Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’

¹⁵But the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have done to him as he deserves—

¹⁷for my father fought for you and risked his life to deliver you from the hand of Midian,

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

¹⁹if you have acted faithfully and honestly toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, then may you rejoice in Abimelech, and he in you.

²⁰But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”

²¹Then Jotham ran away, escaping to Beer, and he lived there for fear of his brother Abimelech.

²²After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years,

²³God sent a spirit of animosity between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully,

²⁴in order that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the leaders of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.

²⁵The leaders of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech on the hilltops, and they robbed all who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him.

²⁷And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Then Gaal 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? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

²⁹If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’”

³⁰When Zebul the governor of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he burned with anger.

³¹So he covertly sent messengers to Abimelech to say, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you.

³²Now then, tonight you and the people with you are to come and lie in wait in the fields.

³³And in the morning at sunrise, get up and advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do to them whatever you are able.”

³⁴So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵Now Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his men came out from their hiding places.

³⁶When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!” But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

³⁷Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.”

³⁸“Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”

³⁹So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,

⁴⁰but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. And many Shechemites fell wounded all the way to the entrance of the gate.

⁴¹Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

⁴²The next day the people of Shechem went out into the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech.

⁴³So he took his men, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose up against them and attacked them.

⁴⁴Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down.

⁴⁵And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.

⁴⁷And when Abimelech was told that all the leaders in the tower of Shechem were gathered there,

⁴⁸he and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his axe in his hand and cut a branch from the trees, which he lifted to his shoulder, saying to his men, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”

⁴⁹So each man also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. Then they piled the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire above them, killing everyone in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women.

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

⁵¹But there was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵²When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

⁵³But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

⁵⁴He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So Abimelech’s armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died.

⁵⁵And when the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶In this way God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father in murdering his seventy brothers.

⁵⁷And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

Judges 10

¹After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.

²Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir.

³Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.

⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.

⁵When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

⁶And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.

⁷So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,

⁸who that very year harassed and oppressed the Israelites, and they did so for eighteen years to all the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.

⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress.

¹⁰Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”

¹¹The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines,

¹²Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to Me, did I not save you from their hands?

¹³But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.

¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”

¹⁵“We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”

¹⁶So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

¹⁸And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

Judges 11

¹Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.

²And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”

³So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.

⁴Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel

⁵and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

⁶“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.”

⁷Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”

⁸They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”

⁹But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?”

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”

¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

¹²Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”

¹³The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”

¹⁴Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites

¹⁵to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites.

¹⁶But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

¹⁷Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

¹⁸Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.

¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’

²⁰But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

²¹Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country,

²²seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it?

²⁴Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.

²⁵Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

²⁶For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?

²⁷I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”

²⁸But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him.

²⁹Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

³⁰Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,

³¹then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³²So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand.

³³With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

³⁴And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

³⁵As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”

³⁶“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.”

³⁷She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

³⁸“Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.

³⁹After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel

⁴⁰that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Judges 12

¹Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

²But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.

³When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

⁴Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

⁵The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”

⁶they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

⁷Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

⁸After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.

¹²Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.

¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

¹⁵Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.