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The men of Ephraim were angry with Gideon. When they found him, they asked, “Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight against the Midianites?”

But Gideon answered the men of Ephraim, “I have not done as well as you. You people of Ephraim have a much better harvest than my family, the Abiezers. At harvest time you leave more grapes in the vineyard than my family gathers! Isn’t that true? In the same way you have a better harvest now. God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the leaders of Midian. How can I compare my success with what you did?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, they were not as angry as they had been.

Gideon Captures Two Kings of Midian

Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River and went across to the other side, but they were tired and hungry.[a] Gideon said to the men of the city of Succoth, “Give my soldiers something to eat. They are very tired. We are still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

But the leaders of the city of Succoth said to Gideon, “Why should we give your soldiers something to eat? You haven’t caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”

Then Gideon said, “The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. And since you would not give us any food, I will come back and beat you with thorns and briers from the desert.”

Gideon left the city of Succoth and went to the city of Penuel. He asked the men of Penuel for food, just as he had asked the men of Succoth. But the men of Penuel gave Gideon the same answer that the men of Succoth had given. So Gideon said to the men of Penuel, “After I win the victory, I will come back here and pull this tower down.”

10 Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army had 15,000 soldiers in it. These soldiers were all who were left of the army of the people of the east. 120,000 strong soldiers of that army had already been killed. 11 Gideon and his men used Tent Dwellers’ Road, which is east of the cities of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the enemy at Karkor. The enemy army did not expect the attack. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of the Midianites, ran away. But Gideon chased and caught them. Gideon and his men defeated the enemy army.

13 Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle. He and his men returned by going through a mountain pass called the Pass of Heres. 14 Gideon captured a young man from the city of Succoth. He asked the young man some questions. The young man wrote down some names for Gideon. The young man wrote down the names of the leaders and elders of the city of Succoth. He gave Gideon the names of 77 men.

15 When Gideon came to the city of Succoth, he said to the men of that city, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, ‘Why should we give food to your tired soldiers? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’” 16 Gideon took the elders of the city of Succoth and beat them with thorns and briers from the desert. 17 Gideon also pulled down the tower in the city of Penuel and killed the men living in that city.

18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “You killed some men on Mount Tabor. What were the men like?”

Zebah and Zalmunna answered, “They were like you. Each one of them seemed like a prince.”

19 Gideon said, “Those men were my brothers, my mother’s sons! As the Lord lives, if you had not killed them, I would not kill you now.”

20 Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son, and said, “Kill these kings.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he would not take out his sword.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, kill us yourself. You are a man and strong enough to do the job.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon took the decorations shaped like the moon off their camels’ necks.

Gideon Makes an Ephod

22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “You saved us from the Midianites. So now rule over us. We want you, your son, and your grandson to rule over us.”

23 But Gideon told the Israelites, “The Lord will be your ruler. I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you.”

24 Some of the people who the men of Israel defeated were Ishmaelites. And the Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. So Gideon said to the Israelites, “I want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold earring from the things you took in the battle.”

25 The Israelites said to Gideon, “We will gladly give you what you want.” So they put a coat down on the ground, and each man threw an earring onto the coat. 26 When the earrings were gathered up, they weighed about 43 pounds.[b] This did not include the other gifts the Israelites gave to Gideon. They also gave him jewelry shaped like the moon and jewelry shaped like teardrops. And they gave him purple robes. The kings of the Midianites had worn these things. They also gave him the chains from the camels of the Midianite kings.

27 Gideon used the gold to make an ephod,[c] which he put in his hometown, the town called Ophrah. All the Israelites worshiped the ephod. In this way the Israelites were not faithful to God—they worshiped the ephod.[d] The ephod became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.

The Death of Gideon

28 The Midianites were forced to be under the rule of the Israelites. The Midianites did not cause trouble anymore. And the land was at peace for 40 years, as long as Gideon was alive.

29 Gideon[e] son of Joash went home. 30 Gideon had 70 sons of his own. He had so many sons because he had many wives. 31 He had a slave woman who lived in the city of Shechem. He had a son by her. He named that son Abimelech.

32 So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb that Joash, his father, owned. That tomb is in the city of Ophrah, where the family of Abiezer lives. 33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites again were not faithful to God—they followed Baal.[f] They made Baal Berith[g] their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies living around them. 35 The Israelites were not loyal to the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), even though he had done many good things for them.

Abimelech Becomes King

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, “Ask the leaders of the city of Shechem this question: ‘Is it better for you to be ruled by the 70 sons of Gideon or to be ruled by only one man? Remember, I am your relative.’”

Abimelech’s uncles spoke to the leaders of Shechem and asked them that question. The leaders of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech. They said, “After all, he is our brother.” So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech 70 pieces of silver. That silver was from the temple of the god Baal Berith. Abimelech used the silver to hire some men. These men were worthless, reckless men. They followed Abimelech wherever he went.

Abimelech went to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers. He killed the 70 sons of his father Gideon. He killed them all at the same time,[h] but Gideon’s youngest son hid from Abimelech and escaped. The youngest son’s name was Jotham.

Then all the leaders in Shechem and the house of Millo[i] came together. Everyone gathered beside the big tree of the pillar in Shechem and made Abimelech their king.

Jotham’s Story

Jotham heard that the leaders of the city of Shechem had made Abimelech king. When he heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim[j] and shouted out this story to the people:

“Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to you.

“One day the trees decided to choose a king to rule over them. The trees said to the olive tree, ‘You be king over us.’

“But the olive tree said, ‘My oil is used to honor gods and humans. Should I stop making my oil just to go and sway over the other trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

11 “But the fig tree answered, ‘Should I stop making my good, sweet fruit just to go and sway over the other trees?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

13 “But the vine answered, ‘My wine makes men and kings happy. Should I stop making my wine just to go and sway over the trees?’

14 “Finally, all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

15 “But the thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to make me king over you, come and find shelter in my shade. But if you don’t want to do this, let fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn even the cedar trees of Lebanon.’

16 “Now if you were completely honest when you made Abimelech king, may you be happy with him. And if you have been fair to Gideon and his family, and if you have treated him as you should, this is also good. 17 But remember what my father did for you. He fought for you and risked his life when he saved you from the Midianites. 18 But now you have turned against my father’s family. You have killed 70 of his sons all at the same time. You made Abimelech the new king over the city of Shechem. He is only the son of my father’s slave girl. But you made him king because he is your relative. 19 So if you have been completely honest to Gideon and his family today, then may you be happy with Abimelech as your king. And may he be happy with you. 20 But leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo,[k] if you have not acted right, may Abimelech destroy you. And may Abimelech be destroyed too!”

21 After Jotham had said this, he ran away and escaped to the city named Beer. He stayed there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

Abimelech Fights Against Shechem

22 Abimelech ruled the Israelites for three years. 23-24 Abimelech had killed Gideon’s 70 sons—and they were his own brothers. The leaders of Shechem had supported him in doing this evil thing. So God caused trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. And they began planning ways to hurt Abimelech. 25 The leaders of the city of Shechem did not like Abimelech anymore. They put men on the hilltops to attack and rob everyone who went by. Abimelech found out about the attacks.

26 A man named Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers moved to the city of Shechem. The leaders of the city of Shechem decided to trust and follow Gaal.

27 One day the people of Shechem went out to the vineyards to pick grapes. They squeezed the grapes to make wine. And then they had a party at the temple of their god. The people ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.

28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “We are the men of Shechem. Why should we obey Abimelech? Who does he think he is? Abimelech is one of Gideon’s sons, right? And Abimelech made Zebul his officer, right? We should not obey Abimelech. We should follow our own people, men from Hamor.[l] (Hamor was the father of Shechem.) 29 If you make me the commander of these people, I will destroy Abimelech. I will say to him, ‘Get your army ready and come out to battle.’”

30 Zebul was the governor of the city of Shechem. Zebul heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, and he became very angry. 31 Zebul sent messengers to Abimelech in the city of Arumah.[m] This is the message:

“Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal’s brothers have come to the city of Shechem. They are making trouble for you. Gaal is turning the whole city against you. 32 So now you and your men should come tonight and hide in the fields outside the city. 33 When the sun comes up in the morning, attack the city. Gaal and his men will come out of the city to fight you. When they come out to fight, do what you can to them.”

34 So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night and went to the city. The soldiers separated into four groups. They hid near the city of Shechem. 35 Gaal son of Ebed went out and was standing at the entrance to the gate of the city of Shechem. While Gaal was standing there, Abimelech and his soldiers came out of their hiding places.

36 When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, “Look, there are people coming down from the mountains.”

But Zebul said, “You are only seeing the shadows of the mountains. The shadows just look like people.”

37 But again Gaal said, “Look, there are some people coming down from that place over there by Land’s Navel. And there! I saw someone’s head over by Magician’s Tree.[n] 38 Zebul said to Gaal, “Why aren’t you bragging now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech? Why should we obey him?’ You made fun of these men. Now go out and fight them.”

39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. 40 Abimelech and his men chased Gaal and his men. Gaal’s men ran back toward the gate of the city of Shechem, but many were killed before they could get back to the gate.

41 Then Abimelech returned to the city of Arumah. Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers to leave the city of Shechem.

42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields to work. Abimelech found out about it. 43 So Abimelech separated his men into three groups. He wanted to attack the people of Shechem by surprise. So he hid his men in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he jumped up and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his group ran to a place near the gate to Shechem. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and killed them. 45 Abimelech and his men fought against the city of Shechem all that day. They captured the city of Shechem and killed its people. Then Abimelech tore down the city and threw salt over the ruins.

46 There were some people who lived at the Tower of Shechem.[o] When they heard what had happened to Shechem, they gathered together in the safest room[p] of the temple of the god El Berith.[q]

47 Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem had gathered together. 48 So Abimelech and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon.[r] Abimelech took an ax and cut off some branches and carried them on his shoulders. Then Abimelech said to the men with him, “Hurry! Do the same thing that I have done.” 49 So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled the branches against the safest room of the temple of the god El Berith. Then they set the branches on fire and burned the people in the room. About 1000 men and women living near the Tower of Shechem died.

Abimelech’s Death

50 Then Abimelech and his men went to the city of Thebez and captured that city. 51 But inside the city there was a strong tower, so all the leaders and other men and women of that city ran to the tower. When the people were inside the tower, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech and his men came to the tower to attack it. Abimelech went up to the door of the tower to burn it. 53 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. 54 Abimelech quickly said to the servant who carried his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me. I want you to kill me so that people will not say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’” So the servant stabbed Abimelech with his sword, and he died. 55 The Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, so they all went back home.

56 In that way God punished Abimelech for all the bad things he had done. Abimelech sinned against his own father by killing his 70 brothers. 57 God also punished the men of the city of Shechem for the bad things they had done. So the things said by Jotham son of Gideon came true.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 8:4 hungry This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “chasing.”
  2. Judges 8:26 43 pounds Literally, “1700 shekels” (19.55 kg).
  3. Judges 8:27 ephod This may have been a special vest or coat like that worn by the high priest (see Ex. 28:2-14), or it may have been a kind of idol.
  4. Judges 8:27 were not faithful … ephod Literally, “acted like a prostitute to it.”
  5. Judges 8:29 Gideon Literally, “Jerub-Baal,” a nickname given to Gideon earlier (see 6:32). Also throughout chapter 9.”
  6. Judges 8:33 were not faithful … Baal Literally, “they acted like a prostitute to Baal.”
  7. Judges 8:33 Baal Berith A name that means “Lord of the Agreement.” It shows that the people were confusing the worship of the true God with the worship of local idols. Also in 9:4.
  8. Judges 9:5 all at the same time Literally, “on one stone.” Also in verse 18.
  9. Judges 9:6 Millo This was probably a well-protected part of the city, perhaps even the palace area. It might have been in the city itself or somewhere near the city.
  10. Judges 9:7 Mount Gerizim This mountain is right beside the city of Shechem.
  11. Judges 9:20 house of Millo Or “Royal Family of Millo.”
  12. Judges 9:28 men from Hamor This refers to native born citizens of Shechem. Hamor was the father of Shechem in a story in Gen. 34. The city of Shechem is said to have been named after Hamor’s son.
  13. Judges 9:31 in the city of Arumah Or “secretly” or “in Tormah,” the town where Abimelech lived as king. It was probably about eight miles south of Shechem.
  14. Judges 9:37 Land’s Navel … Magician’s Tree Two places in the hills near Shechem.
  15. Judges 9:46 Tower of Shechem This was probably a place near Shechem but not actually part of the city.
  16. Judges 9:46 safest room The meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain. Also in verse 49.
  17. Judges 9:46 El Berith Another name for the god Baal Berith mentioned in verses 4 and 8:33. The name here means “God of the Agreement.” Also in verse 49.
  18. Judges 9:48 Mount Zalmon This is probably another name for Mount Ebal, a mountain near Shechem.

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