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Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Judges 9:1

Gideon's son Abimelech went to the town of Shechem, where all his mother's relatives lived, and told them

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ambition;   Conspiracy;   Judge;   Rulers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Conspiracy;   Israel;   Israel-The Jews;   Judges of Israel;   Plotting;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Manasseh, the Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Jotham;   Shechem;   Zebul;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Jotham;   Marriage;   Shechem;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Family Life and Relations;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Judges;   Ophrah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Archaeology and Biblical Study;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Government;   Israel;   Jerubbaal;   Judges (1);   Levi;   Marriage;   Ophrah;   Palestine;   Shalman;   Shechem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Gerizim;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Shechem ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Abimelech;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ophrah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ga'al;   Oph'rah;   She'chem;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Shechem;   Zeruiah;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Shechem;   Treason;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem and spoke to his uncles and to his mother’s whole clan, saying,
Hebrew Names Version
Avimelekh the son of Yerubba`al went to Shekhem to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
King James Version
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,
Lexham English Bible
And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father,
English Standard Version
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,
New Century Version
Abimelech son of Gideon went to his uncles in the city of Shechem. He said to his uncles and all of his mother's family group,
New English Translation
Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother's relatives. He said to them and to his mother's entire extended family,
Amplified Bible
Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) went to Shechem to his mother's relatives, and said to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother's father,
New American Standard Bible
Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother's relatives, and spoke to them and to the entire family of the household of his mother's father, saying,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Abimelech the sonne of Ierubbaal went to Shechem vnto his mothers brethren, & communed with them, and with all the familie, and house of his mothers father, saying,
Legacy Standard Bible
En Abiméleg, die seun van Jerúbbaäl, het heengegaan na Sigem, na die broers van sy moeder, en hy het met hulle en met die hele geslag van sy moeder se familie gespreek en gesê:
Contemporary English Version
Abimelech the son of Gideon went to Shechem. While there, he met with his mother's relatives
Complete Jewish Bible
Avimelekh the son of Yeruba‘al went to Sh'khem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them and with the whole clan of his maternal grandfather. He said,
Darby Translation
And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Easy-to-Read Version
Abimelech was the son of Gideon. Abimelech went to his uncles who lived in the city of Shechem. He said to his uncles and all of his mother's family,
George Lamsa Translation
AND Abimeleck the son of Nedo-baal went to Shechem to his mothers brothers, and spoke to them and to all the family of the house of his mothers father, saying,
Literal Translation
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Abimelech the sonne of Ierubaal, wente vnto Siche to his mothers brethren, & spake vnto them, & to all the kynred of his mothers fathers house, and sayde:
American Standard Version
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and spake with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Bible in Basic English
Now Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem to his mother's family, and said to them and to all the family of his mother's father,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Abimelech the sonne of Ierobaal! went to Sichem vnto his mothers brethren, & communed with them, & with all the kynrede of the house of his mothers father, saying:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying:
King James Version (1611)
And Abimelech the sonne of Ierubbaal went to Shechem, vnto his mothers brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mothers father, saying;
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Abimelech son of Jerobaal went to Sychem to his mother’s brethren; and he spoke to them and to all the kindred of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
English Revised Version
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and spake with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Berean Standard Bible
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother's brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Abymelech, the sone of Gerobaal, yede in to Sichem to the britheren of his modir; and he spak to hem, and to al the kynrede of `the hows of his modir, and seide,
Young's Literal Translation
and Abimelech son of Jerubbaal goeth to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren, and speaketh unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Update Bible Version
And 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,
Webster's Bible Translation
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
World English Bible
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,
New King James Version
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,
New Living Translation
One day Gideon's son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his uncles—his mother's brothers. He said to them and to the rest of his mother's family,
New Life Bible
Jerubbaal's son Abimelech went to his mother's family at Shechem. He said to them and to all those of the family of his mother's father,
New Revised Standard
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's kinsfolk and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then went Abimelech son of Jerubbaal, to Shechem, unto the brethren of his mother, - and spake unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Abimelech, the son of Jerobaal, went to Sichem, to his mother’s brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the kindred of his mother’s father, saying:
Revised Standard Version
Now Abim'elech the son of Jerubba'al went to Shechem to his mother's kinsmen and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family,
THE MESSAGE
Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to his uncles and all his mother's relatives and said to them, "Ask all the leading men of Shechem, ‘What do you think is best, that seventy men rule you—all those sons of Jerub-Baal—or that one man rule? You'll remember that I am your own flesh and blood.'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's relatives, and spoke to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother's father, saying,

Contextual Overview

1 Gideon's son Abimelech went to the town of Shechem, where all his mother's relatives lived, and told them 2 to ask the men of Shechem, "Which would you prefer? To have all seventy of Gideon's sons govern you or to have just one man? Remember that Abimelech is your own flesh and blood." 3 His mother's relatives talked to the men of Shechem about this for him, and the men of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech because he was their relative. 4 They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-of-the-Covenant, and with this money he hired a bunch of worthless scoundrels to join him. 5 He went to his father's house at Ophrah, and there on top of a single stone he killed his seventy brothers, Gideon's sons. But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, hid and was not killed. 6 Then all the men of Shechem and Bethmillo got together and went to the sacred oak tree at Shechem, where they made Abimelech king.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Abimelech: Judges 8:31

Shechem: Genesis 33:18, Genesis 34:2, 1 Kings 12:1

communed: 2 Samuel 15:6, 1 Kings 12:3, 1 Kings 12:20, Psalms 83:2-4, Jeremiah 18:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:6 - Sichem Joshua 17:7 - Shechem Joshua 21:21 - Shechem Joshua 24:1 - Shechem 2 Samuel 15:4 - Oh that I 1 Kings 12:25 - Shechem 2 Chronicles 10:1 - Shechem Jeremiah 41:5 - Shechem Daniel 11:21 - by flatteries

Cross-References

Genesis 1:22
He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number.
Genesis 2:3
He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working.
Genesis 8:17
Take all the birds and animals out with you, so that they may reproduce and spread over all the earth."
Genesis 9:3
Now you can eat them, as well as green plants; I give them all to you for food.
Genesis 9:4
The one thing you must not eat is meat with blood still in it; I forbid this because the life is in the blood.
Genesis 9:7
"You must have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth."
Genesis 9:19
These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people on earth.
Genesis 10:32
All these peoples are the descendants of Noah, nation by nation, according to their different lines of descent. After the flood all the nations of the earth were descended from the sons of Noah.
Genesis 24:60
And they gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: "May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!"
Psalms 112:1
Praise the Lord ! Happy is the person who honors the Lord , who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren,.... It seems that though the mother of Abimelech lived at Shechem, he was taken and brought up in his father's house at Ophrah, where he was when he died; and from hence he came to Shechem, to pay a visit to his uncles there; whether his mother was now living, is not certain:

and communed with them; about the death of his father, the state of his family, and the government of Israel:

and with all the family of the house of his mother's father; that descended from his grandfather, the several branches of them, and of the family, the heads of them at least:

saying, as follows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We are not told how soon after the death of Gideon these events happened. There must have been time for the apostacy and establishment of Baal-worship, and for the development of ill-will between Abimelech and his brethren.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER IX

Abimelech is made king; and, to secure himself tn the kingdom,

slays his brethren; Jotham, the youngest only escapes, 14.

Jotham reproves him and the Shechemites by a curious and

instructive parable, 7-21.

Abimelech having reigned three years, the Shechemites, headed

by Gaal the son of Ebed, conspire against him, 22-29.

Zebul, governor of the city, apprises Abimelech of the

insurrection, who comes with his forces, and discomfits Gaal,

30-40.

Abimelech assaults the city, takes, beats it down, and sows it

with salt, 41-45.

Several of the Shechemites take refuge in the temple of

Baal-berith; Abimelech sets fire to it, and destroys in it

about one thousand men and women, 46-50.

He afterwards besieges and takes Thebez; but while he is

assaulting the citadel, a woman threw a piece of millstone

upon his head, and killed him. Thus God requited him and the

men of Shechem for their wickedness, and their ingratitude to

the family of Gideon, 51-57.

NOTES ON CHAP. IX

Verse Judges 9:1. Abimelech - went to Shechem — We have already seen that Abimelech was the son of Gideon, by his concubine at Shechem. His going thither immediately after his father's death was to induce his townsmen to proclaim him governor in the place of his father. Shechem was the residence of his mother, and of all her relatives.


 
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