King James Bible

International Standard Version

1And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed 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,

2Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

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 brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts 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!"

4And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which 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

5And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for 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, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of 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.

7And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto 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.

8The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou 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 unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the 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?'

10And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

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

11But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

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

12Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

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

13And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

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

14Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

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

15And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and 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…'

16Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;

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 —

17(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, 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.

18And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, 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 ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye 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 out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of 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 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.

22When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

22Abimelech dominated Israel for three years.

23Then God sent an evil spirit 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 cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.

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 liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: 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.

26And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, 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.

27And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, 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.

28And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for 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?

29And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine 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!"

30And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

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

31And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.

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 up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, 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, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.

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."

34And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid 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.

35And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, 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, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow 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."

37And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.

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 said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

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!"

39And Gaal went out before 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 before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.

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

41And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should 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 to pass on the morrow, 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.

43And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote 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.

44And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew 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.

45And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down 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.

46And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house 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.

48And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye 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!"

49And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, 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 went Abimelech to Thebez, and 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 within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them 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.

52And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto 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.

53And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.

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

54Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And 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 unto his place.

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

56Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

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 did God render upon their heads: and upon 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.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.