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the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Good News Translation

Judges 9:20

But if not, may fire blaze out from Abimelech and burn up the men of Shechem and Bethmillo. May fire blaze out from the men of Shechem and Bethmillo and burn Abimelech up."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jotham;   Judge;   Millo;   Orphan;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fatherless;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jotham;   Shechem;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jotham;   Shechem;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Type, Typology;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Millo;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Baal (2);   Bramble;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Beth-Millo;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Government;   Israel;   Jotham (1);   Levi;   Millo;   Ophrah;   Palestine;   Shalman;   Shechem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Gerizim;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jotham ;   Millo;   Shechem ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gerizim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Mil'lo, the House of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Government of the Hebrews;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Abimelech;   Millo;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
Hebrew Names Version
but if not, let fire come out from Avimelekh, and devour the men of Shekhem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shekhem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Avimelekh.
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech."
English Standard Version
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."
New Century Version
But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and completely burn you leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! Also may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and burn up Abimelech!"
New English Translation
But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!"
Amplified Bible
"But if not, may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the people of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the people of Shechem and Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech."
New American Standard Bible
"But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech."
Geneva Bible (1587)
But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech, and consume the men of Shechem and the house of Millo: also let a fire come foorth from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and consume Abimelech.
Legacy Standard Bible
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Contemporary English Version
But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
Complete Jewish Bible
But if not, let fire come out from Avimelekh and burn up the men of Sh'khem and Beit-Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Sh'khem and Beit-Millo and burn up Avimelekh!"
Darby Translation
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Easy-to-Read Version
But leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo, if you have not acted right, may Abimelech destroy you. And may Abimelech be destroyed too!"
George Lamsa Translation
But if not, let fire come out from Abimeleck, and devour the lords of Shechem and the lords of Millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from the lords of Millo, and devour Abimeleck.
Literal Translation
If not, fire shall come out from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo. And fire shall come out from the leaders of Shechem and from the house of Millo and consume Abimelech.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf no, then go fyre out from Abimelech, and cosume the men of Sichem and the house of Millo: And fyre go out also fro the men of Sichem, and from the house of Millo, and consume Abimelech.
American Standard Version
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.
Bible in Basic English
But if not, may fire come out from Abimelech, burning up the townsmen of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the townsmen of Shechem and Beth-millo, for the destruction of Abimelech.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But if you haue not dealt truely, then let a fire come out of Abimelech, & consume the men of Sichem, & the house of Mello: and let there come out a fire fro among the men of Sichem, & out of the house of Mello, & consume Abimelech.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.'
King James Version (1611)
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and deuoure 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 deuoure Abimeleeh.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Sicima, and the house of Bethmaalo; and let fire come out from the men of Sicima and from the house of Bethmaalo, and devour Abimelech.
English Revised Version
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.
Berean Standard Bible
But 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."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
fier go out `of hym, and waste the dwelleris of Sichem, and the citee of Mello; and fier go out of the men of Sichem, and of the citee of Mello, and deuoure Abymelech.
Young's Literal Translation
and if not -- fire cometh out from Abimelech and devoureth the masters of Shechem and the house of Millo, and fire cometh out from the masters of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devoureth Abimelech.'
Update Bible Version
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.
Webster's Bible Translation
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.
World English Bible
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.
New King James Version
But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!"
New Living Translation
But if you have not acted in good faith, then may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and devour Abimelech!"
New Life Bible
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and burn up the people of Shechem and Beth-millo. Then let it burn up Abimelech."
New Revised Standard
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
but, if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the owners of Shechem, and the house of Millo, - and let fire come out from the owners of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech!
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if unjustly: let fire come out from him, and consume the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello: and let fire come out from the men of Sichem and from the town of Mello, and devour Abimelech.
Revised Standard Version
but if not, let fire come out from Abim'elech, and devour the citizens of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abim'elech."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech."

Contextual Overview

7 When Jotham heard about this, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, and God may listen to you! 8 Once upon a time the trees went out to choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.' 9 The olive tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and human beings.' 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king.' 11 But the fig tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my good sweet fruit.' 12 So the trees then said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king.' 13 But the vine answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my wine, that makes gods and human beings happy.' 14 So then all the trees said to the thorn bush, ‘You come and be our king.' 15 The thorn bush answered, ‘If you really want to make me your king, then come and take shelter in my shade. If you don't, fire will blaze out of my thorny branches and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.' 16 "Now then," Jotham continued, "were you really honest and sincere when you made Abimelech king? Did you respect Gideon's memory and treat his family properly, as his actions deserved?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let fire come out: Judges 9:15, Judges 9:23, Judges 9:56, Judges 9:57, Judges 7:22, 2 Chronicles 20:22, 2 Chronicles 20:23, Psalms 21:9, Psalms 21:10, Psalms 28:4, Psalms 52:1-5, Psalms 120:3, Psalms 120:4, Psalms 140:10

Reciprocal: Numbers 21:28 - a fire Judges 9:44 - rushed forward Judges 9:45 - he took Judges 9:49 - put them Judges 9:53 - woman 2 Samuel 5:9 - Millo 1 Kings 9:15 - Millo 2 Kings 2:24 - cursed them 1 Chronicles 11:8 - Millo Psalms 57:4 - set Proverbs 26:1 - so Ecclesiastes 4:16 - they also Song of Solomon 2:3 - I sat Jeremiah 51:35 - The violence Ezekiel 28:18 - therefore Amos 1:4 - I will Amos 6:13 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.
Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
Genesis 5:29
and said, "From the very ground on which the Lord put a curse, this child will bring us relief from all our hard work"; so he named him Noah.
Genesis 9:18
The sons of Noah who went out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
Genesis 9:19
These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people on earth.
Genesis 9:24
When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him,
Genesis 9:26
Give praise to the Lord , the God of Shem! Canaan will be the slave of Shem.
Deuteronomy 20:6
Is there any man here who has just planted a vineyard, but has not yet had the chance to harvest its grapes? If so, he is to go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will enjoy the wine.
Deuteronomy 28:30
"You will be engaged to a young woman—but someone else will marry her. You will build a house—but never live in it. You will plant a vineyard—but never eat its grapes.
Proverbs 10:11
A good person's words are a fountain of life, but a wicked person's words hide a violent nature.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But if not,.... If it appeared that they had not acted uprightly and sincerely in this matter:

let fire come out of Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; let wrath, rage, and fury, break out from Abimelech like fire, and issue in the destruction of those that made him king, both those of Shechem and of Millo:

and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech; let them be incensed against Abimelech, and seek his ruin, and procure it: the sense is, that he wishes that strife, contention, and quarrels, might arise among them, and they mutually destroy each other; the words are imprecative of evil upon them both, and which had its exact fulfilment.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This fable and that noted in the marginal reference are the only two of the kind found in Scripture. Somewhat different are the parables of the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 12:1-4; 2 Samuel 14:5-11; 1 Kings 20:39-40.

Judges 9:9

Honour God and man - Alluding to the constant use of oil in the meat-offerings Leviticus 2:1-16, and in the holy ointment Exodus 30:24-25. In like manner, the allusion in Judges 9:13 is to the drink-offerings of wine. See Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:10.

Judges 9:14

The bramble - Said to be the Rhamnus Paliurus of Linnaeus, otherwise called Spina-Christi, or Christ’s Thorn, a shrub with sharp thorns. The application is obvious. The noble Gideon and his worthy sons had declined the proffered kingdom. The vile, base-born Abimelech had accepted it, and his act would turn out to the mutual ruin of himself and his subjects.

Judges 9:15

If in truth - i. e. consistently with truth, honor, and uprightness, as explained in the interpretation in Judges 9:16, Judges 9:19.

Let fire come out ... - The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground. See Psalms 58:9.

Judges 9:16-20

These verses contain the interpretation of the fable. In them Jotham points out the base ingratitude of the people in raising Abimelech upon the ruin of Gideon’s house, and foretells the retribution which would fall upon both parties.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 9:20. Let fire come out from Abimelech — As the thorn or bramble may be the means of kindling other wood, because it may be easily ignited; so shall Abimelech be the cause of kindling a fire of civil discord among you, that shall consume the rulers and great men of your country. A prophetic declaration of what would take place.


 
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