Judges 9:17

Easy-to-Read Version

But remember what my father did for you. He fought for you and risked his life when he saved you from the Midianites.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
for my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you from Midian,

Hebrew Names Version
(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midyan:

King James Version
(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

Lexham English Bible
for my father fought and risked his life for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

English Standard Version
for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,

New Century Version
Remember, my father fought for you and risked his life to save you from the power of the Midianites.

New English Translation
my father fought for you; he risked his life and delivered you from Midian's power.

Amplified Bible
for my father fought for you and risked his life and rescued you from the hand of Midian;

New American Standard Bible
for my father fought for you, and risked his life and saved you from the hand of Midian;

Geneva Bible (1587)
(For my father fought for you, and aduentured his life, and deliuered you out of the handes of Midian.

Legacy Standard Bible
But you, beloved, must remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Complete Jewish Bible
My father fought on your behalf, risking his life, and rescued you from the power of Midyan;

Darby Translation
—for my father fought for you, and endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

George Lamsa Translation
(For my father fought for you, and ventured his life afar, and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

Good News Translation
Remember that my father fought for you. He risked his life to save you from the Midianites.

Literal Translation
in which my father fought for you, and cast aside his life, and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Which (euen my father) foughte for youre sakes, and ioperde his lyfe, to delyuer out of the Madianites hade,

American Standard Version
(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

Bible in Basic English
(For my father made war for you, and put his life in danger, and made you free from the hands of Midian;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
(For euen my father fought for you, and aduentured his life, and ridde you out of the hande of Madian.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

King James Version (1611)
(For my father fought for you, and aduentured his life farre, and deliuered you out of the hand of Midian:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
as my father fought for you, and put his life in jeopardy, and delivered you out of the hand of Madiam;

English Revised Version
(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

Berean Standard Bible
for my father fought for you and risked his life to deliver you from the hand of Midian,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
that fauyt for you, and yaf his lijf to perelis, that he schulde delyuere you fro the hond of Madian;

Young's Literal Translation
because my father hath fought for you, and doth cast away his life from [him], and deliver you from the hand of Midian;

Update Bible Version
(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

Webster's Bible Translation
(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you from the hand of Midian:

World English Bible
(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

New King James Version
for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

New Living Translation
For he fought for you and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites.

New Life Bible
For my father fought for you. He put his life in danger to set you free from the power of Midian.

New Revised Standard
for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and rescued you from the hand of Midian;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
in that my father fought for you, and cast his soul away from before him, and rescued you out of the hand of Midian; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from the hand of Madian,

Revised Standard Version
for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and rescued you from the hand of Mid'ian;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

Contextual Overview

⁷ 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 and shouted out this story to the people: "Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to you. ⁸ "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.' ⁹ "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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

fought: Judges 7:1-25, Judges 8:4-10

adventured his life: Heb. cast his life, Esther 4:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 16:4, Revelation 12:11

Reciprocal: Judges 12:3 - put 1 Samuel 19:5 - put his life 1 Chronicles 11:19 - in jeopardy

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For my father fought for you,.... In the valley of Jezreel, and at Karkor, where with three hundred men he routed and destroyed an army of 135,000:

and adventured his life far: which, according to our version, may seem to have respect to his going over Jordan, and following the Midianites, fleeing into their country, and fighting them at Karkor, at a great distance from his native place; but the phrase in the original text is, "he cast away his life afar" e, made no account of it, exposed it to the greatest danger; or, as the Targum,

"he delivered his life as it were to destruction:''

and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; from the oppression and bondage of the Midianites, under which they had laboured seven years.

e וישלך את נפשו מנגד "et projecit animam suam a louge", Pagninus; "vel eminus", Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Leviticus 2:1-16, and in the holy ointment 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

The bramble - Said to be the Rhamnus Paliurus of Linnaeus, otherwise called Spina-Christi, or Christ’s Thorn, a shrub with sharp thorns. The application is obvious. The noble Gideon and his worthy sons had declined the proffered kingdom. The vile, base-born Abimelech had accepted it, and his act would turn out to the mutual ruin of himself and his subjects.

Judges 9:15

If in truth - i. e. consistently with truth, honor, and uprightness, as explained in the interpretation in Judges 9:16, Judges 9:19.

Let fire come out ... - The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground. See Psalms 58:9.

Judges 9:16-20

These verses contain the interpretation of the fable. In them Jotham points out the base ingratitude of the people in raising Abimelech upon the ruin of Gideon’s house, and foretells the retribution which would fall upon both parties.