Judges 9:4

Judges 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal–berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.
• New International Version (NIV)They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men; and they followed him.

Context of Judges 9:4

2‘Say this to the leaders of Shechem: “You should not agree to let all of Gideon's 70 sons rule over you. It would be better for you to have only one man rule over you. Remember that I belong to your own family.” ’ 3Abimelech's mother's family told the men of Shechem what Abimelech had said. They agreed that Abimelech would be a good ruler for them. They said, ‘He is our brother.’ So they gave him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of their god, Baal-Berith. Abimelech used this money to pay some wicked men to help him. 5He went to his father's home in Ophrah. He killed his 70 brothers, the sons of Gideon. He killed them all on one rock. But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, hid himself and he escaped. 6Then the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo met together. They took Abimelech to the oak tree near the pillar of rock in Shechem. There they made Abimelech king.

Judges 9:4 word by word

וַיִּתְּנוּ־לוֹ֙ שִׁבְעִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף מִבֵּ֖יתּ בַ֣עַל בְּרִ֑ית וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֨ר בָּהֶ֜ם אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ אֲנָשִׁ֤ים רֵיקִים֙ וּפֹ֣חֲזִ֔ים וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ אַחֲרָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• him threescore and tenשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• out of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Baal–berithבַּעַל בְּרִיתba‛al berîyth · Baal-berithH1170
• wherewith Abimelechאֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ'ăbîymelek · AbimelechH40
• hiredשָׂכַרώâkar sâkar · to hireH7936
• vainרֵיקrêyq rêq · worthlessH7386
• and lightפָּחַזpâchaz · be recklessH6348
• personsאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• which followedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• himאַחַר'achar · afterH310

Cross-references for Judges 9:4

• Judges 9:46The city's leaders who lived in the tower of Shechem heard the news. They went to hide in the strong building of El-berith's temple.
• Judges 8:33Soon after Gideon died, the Israelites stopped being faithful to the Lord. They started to worship the idols of Baal again. They chose Baal-Berith to be their new god.
• Judges 11:3So Jephthah ran away from his brothers. He went to live in the land of Tob. Other men joined the group that Jephthah led. They did not obey any laws.
• 1 Samuel 22:2Everybody who had trouble went to stay with David. People who had debts and those who were angry also went to him. About 400 men went to be with David and he became their leader.
• 2 Chronicles 13:7He took some wicked useless men to join his group. They made themselves strong against Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Rehoboam was young and he had not been king for very long. So he was not strong enough to stop them.
• Job 30:8They were foolish people that nobody respected. People chased them away from their land.
• Proverbs 12:11A farmer who works hard will have plenty of food to eat. But anyone who works only on useless things is foolish.
• Acts 17:5Some other Jews in the city were jealous of Paul and Silas, because people believed their message. So they went to the city's market place and they found some bad men there. These men often caused trouble in the city. Now the Jews brought these men to come together with them in an angry crowd. This crowd made a lot of noise and trouble in the streets of the city. They went to Jason's house and they broke down his door. They wanted to find Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out of the house to the crowd.

Commentaries on Judges 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Threescore and ten pieces of silver - Probably shekels; and this was the whole of his exchequer. As he was now usurping the government of God, he begins with a contribution from the idol temple. A work begun under the name and influence of the devil is not likely to end to the glory of God, or to the welfare of man. Hired vain and light persons - ופחזים ריקים אנשים anashim reykim uphochazim, worthless and dissolute men; persons who were living on the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4True leaders earn loyalty and appeal to the noble in society, not to reckless troublemakers like Abimelech's hired followers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the house of Baal-berith--either the temple, or the place where this idol was worshipped; Baal-berith, "god of the covenant," by invocation of whom the league of cities was formed. Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him--idle, worthless vagabonds, the scum of society, who had nothing to lose, but much to gain from the success of a revolutionary movement.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 9:4

• Ambition
• Baal-Berith
• Conspiracy
• Judge
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Abimelech
• Baal
• Baal-Berith
• Baalberith
• Deserving
• Incline
• Merry
• Middle
• Mouth
• Parable

Commentaries on Judges 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary