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New Living Translation

Judges 9:53

a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Judge;   Judgments;   Millstone;   Thebez;   Women;   Thompson Chain Reference - Millstones;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Mills;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Corn;   Jotham;   Shechem;   Thebez;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Shechem;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Woman;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Mill;   Thebez;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Mill;   Thebez;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Calvary;   Golgotha;   Judges, Book of;   Thebez;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abimelech;   All to Break;   Government;   Israel;   Judges (1);   Levi;   Medicine;   Ophrah;   Palestine;   Shalman;   Shechem;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Shechem ;   Thebez ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Mill;   Obsolete or obscure words in the english av bible;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Mill;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Abimelech;   All;   City;   Mill;   Piece;   Siege;   Skull;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Flour;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.
Hebrew Names Version
A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Avimelekh's head, and broke his skull.
King James Version
And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
Lexham English Bible
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and cracked open his skull.
English Standard Version
And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
New Century Version
but as he came near, a woman dropped a grinding stone on his head, crushing his skull.
New English Translation
a woman threw an upper millstone down on his head and shattered his skull.
Amplified Bible
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone [down] on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
New American Standard Bible
But a woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, crushing his skull.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But a certaine woman cast a piece of a milstone vpon Abimelechs head, and brake his braine pan.
Legacy Standard Bible
gooi 'n vrou die boonste meulsteen op die hoof van Abiméleg en verbrysel sy skedel.
Contemporary English Version
when a woman on the roof dropped a large rock on his head and cracked his skull.
Complete Jewish Bible
a woman dropped an upper millstone on Avimelekh's head, cracking his skull.
Darby Translation
and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull.
Easy-to-Read Version
But, while Abimelech was standing at the door of the tower, a woman on the roof dropped a grinding stone on his head. The grinding stone crushed his skull.
George Lamsa Translation
And a certain woman threw a piece of an upper millstone upon Abimelecks head and broke his skull.
Good News Translation
But a woman threw a millstone down on his head and fractured his skull.
Literal Translation
And a certain woman threw a piece of a riding millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But a woman cast a pece of a mylstone vpon Abimelechs heade, and brake his brane panne.
American Standard Version
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and brake his skull.
Bible in Basic English
But a certain woman sent a great stone, such as is used for crushing grain, on to the head of Abimelech, cracking the bone.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And a certayne woman cast a peece of a mylstone vpon his head, & all to brake his brayne panne.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
King James Version (1611)
And a certaine woman cast a piece of a milstone vpon Abimelechs head, and all to brake his scull.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.
English Revised Version
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and brake his skull.
Berean Standard Bible
But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, crushing his skull.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
o womman castide fro aboue a gobet of a mylnestoon, and hurtlide to `the heed of Abymelech, and brak his brayn.
Young's Literal Translation
and a certain woman doth cast a piece of a rider on the head of Abimelech, and breaketh his skull,
Update Bible Version
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
Webster's Bible Translation
And a certain woman cast a piece of of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
World English Bible
A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
New King James Version
But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
New Life Bible
But a certain woman threw a grain-crushing stone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
New Revised Standard
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon the head of Abimelech, - and brake in pieces his skull.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold, a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.
Revised Standard Version
And a certain woman threw an upper millstone upon Abim'elech's head, and crushed his skull.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, crushing his skull.

Contextual Overview

50 Then Abimelech attacked the town of Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the town, and all the men and women—the entire population—fled to it. They barricaded themselves in and climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech followed them to attack the tower. But as he prepared to set fire to the entrance, 53 a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. 54 He quickly said to his young armor bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me! Don't let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!" So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died. 55 When Abimelech's men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes. 56 In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

woman: Judges 9:15, Judges 9:20, 2 Samuel 11:21, 2 Samuel 20:21, Job 31:3, Jeremiah 49:20, Jeremiah 50:45

and all to: An antiquated expression, meaning "full intention" to complete an object. "All to," observes Dr. Johnson, "is a particle of mere enforcement." The original is wattaritz eth gulgalto, which is simply as the LXX render ךבי וךכבףו פן ךסבםיןם בץפןץ, "and she brake his skull." Plutarch relates, that Pyrrhus was killed at the siege of Thebes, by a piece of a tile, which a woman threw upon his head.

Reciprocal: Ecclesiastes 10:8 - that

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone,.... Of the upper millstone, as the word signifies, which is observed by Jarchi and other Jewish commentators; this with other stones being carried up to the top of the tower, to do what execution they could with them: and a woman observing Abimelech making up to the door of the tower, took up this piece of millstone, and threw it down

upon Abimelech's head, and all to break his skull; she did it with that view, though it may as well be rendered, or "she", or "it broke his skull" r; it made a fracture in it, which was mortal. Abendana observes, and so others, that that was measure for measure, a righteous retaliation, that as he had slain seventy of his brethren on one stone, he should die by means of a stone.

r ותרץ את גלגלתו "et confregit cranium ejus", Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The phrase “all” to is now obsolete, and means “quite,” “entirely,” as in Chaucer, Spenser, and Milton.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 9:53. A piece of a millstone — פלח רכב pelach recheb, a piece of a chariot wheel; but the word is used in other places for upper millstones, and is so understood here by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic.

And all to break his skull. — A most nonsensical version of ותרץ את גלגלתו vattarits eth gulgolto, which is literally, And she brake, or fractured, his skull. Plutarch, in his life of Pyrrhus, observes that this king was killed at the siege of Thebes, by a piece of a tile, which a woman threw upon his head.


 
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