New English Translation
Judges 9:7
7When Jotham heard the news, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!
Judges 9:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
- New International Version (NIV)When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, "Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, That God may listen to you!
Context of Judges 9:7
5He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, the seventy legitimate sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, because he hid. 6All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar in Shechem. When Jotham heard the news, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you! 8“The trees were determined to go out and choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 9But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’
Read all of Judges 9Judges 9:7 word by word
וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ לְיוֹתָ֗ם וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ בְּרֹ֣אשׁ הַר־גְּרִזִ֔ים וַיִּשָּׂ֥א קוֹל֖וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֑א וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם שִׁמְע֤וּ אֵלַי֙ בַּעֲלֵ֣י שְׁכֶ֔ם וְיִשְׁמַ֥ע אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And when they toldנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
- to Jothamיוֹתָםyôthâm · JothamH3147
- he wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- and stoodעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- in the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
- of mountהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- Gerizimגְּרִזִיםgerizîym · (Mount) GerizimH1630
- and lifted upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
- his voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- and criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, Hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- unto me, ye menבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
- of Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
- that Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Judges 9:7
- Deuteronomy 11:29When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
- Deuteronomy 27:12“The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
- Joshua 8:33All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.
- John 4:20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”
- Psalms 18:40You make my enemies retreat; I destroy those who hate me.
- Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble! I will deliver you, and you will honor me!”
- Proverbs 1:28Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will diligently seek me, but they will not find me.
- Proverbs 21:13The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and will not be answered.
- Proverbs 28:9The one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
- Isaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.
- Isaiah 58:6No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke.
- Matthew 18:26Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’
- James 2:13For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
Commentaries on Judges 9:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Stood in the top of Mount Gerizim - Gerizim and Ebal were mounts very near to each other; the former lying to the north, the latter to the south, and at the foot of them Shechem. But see some remarks on the extent of the human voice in some hilly countries in the following extract from a late traveler in the East: - "The great extent to which the sound of the voice is conveyed may be mentioned. Some persons have thought this a proof of the extreme rarity…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The top of Mount Gerizim - The ancient Shechem was perhaps situated there. The population of Shechem is supposed to have been keeping some public festival outside the city when Jotham addressed them.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-21Verses 7-21 There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King. Those who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. All these fruit-trees gave much the same reason for their refusal to be promoted over the trees; or, as…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7Mount Gerizim was the mountain of blessing, opposite Mount Ebal, the mountain of cursing (Deuteronomy 11:29). Gerizim, located just south of Shechem, served as a natural stage for Jotham’s speech and allowed him to escape afterward.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-217. he ... stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice--The spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable [Jud 9:8-15] drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. The top of Gerizim is not so high in the rear of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 9:7
In the dictionaries
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries