Judges:9-11
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And 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 ,
*
Speak ,
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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them ;
and they said unto the olive tree ,
Reign thou over us .
*
But 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 ?
*
And the trees said to the fig tree ,
Come thou ,
and reign over us .
*
But the fig tree said unto them ,
Should I forsake my sweetness ,
and my good fruit ,
and go to be promoted over the trees ?
*
Then said the trees unto the vine ,
Come thou ,
and reign over us .
*
And the vine said unto them ,
Should I leave my wine ,
which cheereth God and man ,
and go to be promoted over the trees ?
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Then said all the trees unto the bramble ,
Come thou ,
and reign over us .
*
And 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 .
*
Now 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 ;
* (
For my father fought for you ,
and adventured his life far ,
and delivered you out of the hand of Midian :
*
And 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 ;)
*
If 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 :
*
But 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 .
*
And Jotham ran away ,
and fled ,
and went to Beer ,
and dwelt there ,
for fear of Abimelech his brother .
*
When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel ,
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Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem ;
and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech :
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That 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 .
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And 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 .
*
And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren ,
and went over to Shechem :
and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him .
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And 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 .
*
And 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 ?
*
And 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 .
*
And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed ,
his anger was kindled .
*
And 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 .
*
Now therefore up by night ,
thou and the people that is with thee ,
and lie in wait in the field :
*
And 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 .
*
And Abimelech rose up ,
and all the people that were with him ,
by night ,
and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
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Then 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 .
*
And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem ,
and fought with Abimelech .
*
And Abimelech chased him ,
and he fled before him ,
and many were overthrown and wounded ,
even unto the entering of the gate .
*
And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah :
and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren ,
that they should not dwell in Shechem .
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
that the people went out into the field ;
and they told Abimelech .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And 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 .
*
And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that ,
they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith .
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And it was told Abimelech ,
that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together .
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And 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 .
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And 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 .
*
Then went Abimelech to Thebez ,
and encamped against Thebez ,
and took it .
*
But 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 .
*
And Abimelech came unto the tower ,
and fought against it ,
and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire .
*
And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech '
s head ,
and all to brake his skull .
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Then 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 .
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And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead ,
they departed every man unto his place .
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Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech ,
which he did unto his father ,
in slaying his seventy brethren :
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And 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 .
*
And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah ,
the son of Dodo ,
a man of Issachar ;
and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim .
*
And he judged Israel twenty and three years ,
and died ,
and was buried in Shamir .
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And after him arose Jair ,
a Gileadite ,
and judged Israel twenty and two years .
*
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts ,
and they had thirty cities ,
which are called Havothjair unto this day ,
which are in the land of Gilead .
*
And Jair died ,
and was buried in Camon .
*
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD ,
and served Baalim ,
and Ashtaroth ,
and the gods of Syria ,
and the gods of Zidon ,
and the gods of Moab ,
and the gods of the children of Ammon ,
and the gods of the Philistines ,
and forsook the LORD ,
and served not him .
*
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel ,
and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines ,
and into the hands of the children of Ammon .
*
And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel :
eighteen years ,
all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites ,
which is in Gilead .
*
Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah ,
and against Benjamin ,
and against the house of Ephraim ;
so that Israel was sore distressed .
*
And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD ,
saying ,
We have sinned against thee ,
both because we have forsaken our God ,
and also served Baalim .
*
And the LORD said unto the children of Israel ,
Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians ,
and from the Amorites ,
from the children of Ammon ,
and from the Philistines ?
*
The Zidonians also ,
and the Amalekites ,
and the Maonites ,
did oppress you ;
and ye cried to me ,
and I delivered you out of their hand .
*
Yet ye have forsaken me ,
and served other gods :
wherefore I will deliver you no more .
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Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen ;
let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation .
*
And the children of Israel said unto the LORD ,
We have sinned :
do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee ;
deliver us only ,
we pray thee ,
this day .
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And they put away the strange gods from among them ,
and served the LORD :
and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel .
*
Then the children of Ammon were gathered together ,
and encamped in Gilead .
And the children of Israel assembled themselves together ,
and encamped in Mizpeh .
*
And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another ,
What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon ?
he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead .
*
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour ,
and he was the son of an harlot :
and Gilead begat Jephthah .
*
And Gilead '
s wife bare him sons ;
and his wife '
s sons grew up ,
and they thrust out Jephthah ,
and said unto him ,
Thou shalt not inherit in our father '
s house ;
for thou art the son of a strange woman .
*
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren ,
and dwelt in the land of Tob :
and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah ,
and went out with him .
*
And it came to pass in process of time ,
that the children of Ammon made war against Israel .
*
And it was so ,
that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel ,
the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob :
*
And they said unto Jephthah ,
Come ,
and be our captain ,
that we may fight with the children of Ammon .
*
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead ,
Did not ye hate me ,
and expel me out of my father '
s house ?
and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress ?
*
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah ,
Therefore we turn again to thee now ,
that thou mayest go with us ,
and fight against the children of Ammon ,
and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead .
*
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead ,
If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon ,
and the LORD deliver them before me ,
shall I be your head ?
*
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah ,
The LORD be witness between us ,
if we do not so according to thy words .
*
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead ,
and the people made him head and captain over them :
and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh .
*
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon ,
saying ,
What hast thou to do with me ,
that thou art come against me to fight in my land ?
*
And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah ,
Because Israel took away my land ,
when they came up out of Egypt ,
from Arnon even unto Jabbok ,
and unto Jordan :
now therefore restore those lands again peaceably .
*
And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon :
*
And said unto him ,
Thus saith Jephthah ,
Israel took not away the land of Moab ,
nor the land of the children of Ammon :
*
But when Israel came up from Egypt ,
and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea ,
and came to Kadesh ;
*
Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom ,
saying ,
Let me ,
I pray thee ,
pass through thy land :
but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto .
And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab :
but he would not consent :
and Israel abode in Kadesh .
*
Then they went along through the wilderness ,
and compassed the land of Edom ,
and the land of Moab ,
and came by the east side of the land of Moab ,
and pitched on the other side of Arnon ,
but came not within the border of Moab :
for Arnon was the border of Moab .
*
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites ,
the king of Heshbon ;
and Israel said unto him ,
Let us pass ,
we pray thee ,
through thy land into my place .
*
But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast :
but Sihon gathered all his people together ,
and pitched in Jahaz ,
and fought against Israel .
*
And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel ,
and they smote them :
so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites ,
the inhabitants of that country .
*
And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites ,
from Arnon even unto Jabbok ,
and from the wilderness even unto Jordan .
*
So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel ,
and shouldest thou possess it ?
*
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess ?
So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us ,
them will we possess .
*
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor ,
king of Moab ?
did he ever strive against Israel ,
or did he ever fight against them ,
*
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns ,
and in Aroer and her towns ,
and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon ,
three hundred years ?
why therefore did ye not recover them within that time ?
*
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee ,
but thou doest me wrong to war against me :
the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon .
*
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him .
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Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah ,
and he passed over Gilead ,
and Manasseh ,
and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead ,
and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon .
*
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD ,
and said ,
If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands ,
*
Then it shall be ,
that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me ,
when I return in peace from the children of Ammon ,
shall surely be the LORD '
S ,
and I will offer it up for a burnt offering .
*
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them ;
and the LORD delivered them into his hands .
*
And he smote them from Aroer ,
even till thou come to Minnith ,
even twenty cities ,
and unto the plain of the vineyards ,
with a very great slaughter .
Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel .
*
And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house ,
and ,
behold ,
his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances :
and she was his only child ;
beside her he had neither son nor daughter .
*
And it came to pass ,
when he saw her ,
that he rent his clothes ,
and said ,
Alas ,
my daughter !
thou hast brought me very low ,
and thou art one of them that trouble me :
for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD ,
and I cannot go back .
*
And she said unto him ,
My father ,
if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD ,
do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth ;
forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies ,
even of the children of Ammon .
*
And she said unto her father ,
Let this thing be done for me :
let me alone two months ,
that I may go up and down upon the mountains ,
and bewail my virginity ,
I and my fellows .
*
And he said ,
Go .
And he sent her away for two months :
and she went with her companions ,
and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains .
*
And it came to pass at the end of two months ,
that she returned unto her father ,
who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed :
and she knew no man .
And it was a custom in Israel ,
*
That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year .
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And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together ,
and went northward ,
and said unto Jephthah ,
Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon ,
and didst not call us to go with thee ?
we will burn thine house upon thee with fire .
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