New Living Translation
Judges 9:18
18But today you have revolted against my father and his descendants, killing his seventy sons on one stone. And you have chosen his slave woman’s son, Abimelech, to be your king just because he is your relative.
Judges 9:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
- New International Version (NIV)But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—
- New King James Version (NKJV)but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—
Context of Judges 9:18
16Jotham continued, “Now make sure you have acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelech your king, and that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. Have you treated him with the honor he deserves for all he accomplished? 17For he fought for you and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites. But today you have revolted against my father and his descendants, killing his seventy sons on one stone. And you have chosen his slave woman’s son, Abimelech, to be your king just because he is your relative. 19“If you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Gideon and his descendants today, then may you find joy in Abimelech, and may he find joy in you. 20But 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!”
Read all of Judges 9Judges 9:18 word by word
וְאַתֶּ֞ם קַמְתֶּ֨ם עַל־בֵּ֤ית אָבִי֙ הַיּ֔וֹם וַתַּהַרְג֧וּ אֶת־בָּנָ֛יו שִׁבְעִ֥ים אִ֖ישׁ עַל־אֶ֣בֶן אֶחָ֑ת וַתַּמְלִ֜יכוּ אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֤לֶךְ בֶּן־אֲמָתוֹ֙ עַל־בַּעֲלֵ֣י שְׁכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י אֲחִיכֶ֖ם הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And ye are risen upקוּםqûm · to arise: attackH6965
- against my father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
- and have slainהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
- his sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- threescore and tenשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
- personsאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- upon oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- and have made Abimelechאֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ'ăbîymelek · AbimelechH40
- of his maidservantאָמָה'âmâh · maidservantH519
- kingמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
- over the menבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
- of Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
- your brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-relativeH251
Cross-references for Judges 9:18
- Judges 9:5He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers, the sons of Gideon. But the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.
- Judges 8:35Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.
- Psalms 109:4I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!
- Judges 9:6Then all the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the pillar at Shechem and made Abimelech their king.
- Judges 8:31He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.
Commentaries on Judges 9:18
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-20Verses 8-20 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 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…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. 16-18The people of Shechem chose to follow an unworthy man. They also acted dishonestly by plotting with Abimelech against Gideon's family.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 9:18
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries