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Judges 9:20

But leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo, if you have not acted right, may Abimelech destroy you. And may Abimelech be destroyed too!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jotham;   Judge;   Millo;   Orphan;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fatherless;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jotham;   Shechem;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jotham;   Shechem;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Type, Typology;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Millo;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Baal (2);   Bramble;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Beth-Millo;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Government;   Israel;   Jotham (1);   Levi;   Millo;   Ophrah;   Palestine;   Shalman;   Shechem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Gerizim;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jotham ;   Millo;   Shechem ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gerizim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Mil'lo, the House of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Government of the Hebrews;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Abimelech;   Millo;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
Hebrew Names Version
but if not, let fire come out from Avimelekh, and devour the men of Shekhem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shekhem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Avimelekh.
King James Version
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Lexham English Bible
But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech."
English Standard Version
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech."
New Century Version
But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and completely burn you leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! Also may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and burn up Abimelech!"
New English Translation
But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!"
Amplified Bible
"But if not, may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the people of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the people of Shechem and Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech."
New American Standard Bible
"But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech."
Geneva Bible (1587)
But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech, and consume the men of Shechem and the house of Millo: also let a fire come foorth from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and consume Abimelech.
Legacy Standard Bible
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Contemporary English Version
But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
Complete Jewish Bible
But if not, let fire come out from Avimelekh and burn up the men of Sh'khem and Beit-Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Sh'khem and Beit-Millo and burn up Avimelekh!"
Darby Translation
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
George Lamsa Translation
But if not, let fire come out from Abimeleck, and devour the lords of Shechem and the lords of Millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from the lords of Millo, and devour Abimeleck.
Good News Translation
But if not, may fire blaze out from Abimelech and burn up the men of Shechem and Bethmillo. May fire blaze out from the men of Shechem and Bethmillo and burn Abimelech up."
Literal Translation
If not, fire shall come out from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo. And fire shall come out from the leaders of Shechem and from the house of Millo and consume Abimelech.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf no, then go fyre out from Abimelech, and cosume the men of Sichem and the house of Millo: And fyre go out also fro the men of Sichem, and from the house of Millo, and consume Abimelech.
American Standard Version
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Bible in Basic English
But if not, may fire come out from Abimelech, burning up the townsmen of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the townsmen of Shechem and Beth-millo, for the destruction of Abimelech.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But if you haue not dealt truely, then let a fire come out of Abimelech, & consume the men of Sichem, & the house of Mello: and let there come out a fire fro among the men of Sichem, & out of the house of Mello, & consume Abimelech.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.'
King James Version (1611)
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and deuoure the men of Shechem and the house of Millo: and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and deuoure Abimeleeh.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Sicima, and the house of Bethmaalo; and let fire come out from the men of Sicima and from the house of Bethmaalo, and devour Abimelech.
English Revised Version
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Berean Standard Bible
But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
fier go out `of hym, and waste the dwelleris of Sichem, and the citee of Mello; and fier go out of the men of Sichem, and of the citee of Mello, and deuoure Abymelech.
Young's Literal Translation
and if not -- fire cometh out from Abimelech and devoureth the masters of Shechem and the house of Millo, and fire cometh out from the masters of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devoureth Abimelech.'
Update Bible Version
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Webster's Bible Translation
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
World English Bible
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
New King James Version
But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!"
New Living Translation
But 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!"
New Life Bible
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and burn up the people of Shechem and Beth-millo. Then let it burn up Abimelech."
New Revised Standard
but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
but, if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the owners of Shechem, and the house of Millo, - and let fire come out from the owners of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech!
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if unjustly: let fire come out from him, and consume the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello: and let fire come out from the men of Sichem and from the town of Mello, and devour Abimelech.
Revised Standard Version
but if not, let fire come out from Abim'elech, and devour the citizens of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abim'elech."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech."

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

let fire come out: Judges 9:15, Judges 9:23, Judges 9:56, Judges 9:57, Judges 7:22, 2 Chronicles 20:22, 2 Chronicles 20:23, Psalms 21:9, Psalms 21:10, Psalms 28:4, Psalms 52:1-5, Psalms 120:3, Psalms 120:4, Psalms 140:10

Reciprocal: Numbers 21:28 - a fire Judges 9:44 - rushed forward Judges 9:45 - he took Judges 9:49 - put them Judges 9:53 - woman 2 Samuel 5:9 - Millo 1 Kings 9:15 - Millo 2 Kings 2:24 - cursed them 1 Chronicles 11:8 - Millo Psalms 57:4 - set Proverbs 26:1 - so Ecclesiastes 4:16 - they also Song of Solomon 2:3 - I sat Jeremiah 51:35 - The violence Ezekiel 28:18 - therefore Amos 1:4 - I will Amos 6:13 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God forced the man out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground he was made from.
Genesis 4:2
Eve gave birth again to Cain's brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a farmer.
Genesis 5:29
Lamech named his son Noah. Lamech said, "We work very hard as farmers because God cursed the ground. But Noah will bring us rest."
Genesis 9:18
Noah's sons came out of the boat with him. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
Genesis 9:19
These three men were Noah's sons. And all the people on earth came from these three sons.
Genesis 9:24
Later, Noah woke up. (He was sleeping because of the wine.) When he learned what his youngest son Ham had done to him,
Genesis 9:26
Noah also said, "May the Lord , the God of Shem, be praised! May Canaan be Shem's slave.
Deuteronomy 20:6
Is there any man here who has planted a vineyard but has not yet gathered any of the grapes? That man should go back home. If that man dies in the battle, someone else will enjoy the fruit from his field.
Deuteronomy 28:30
"You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will have sexual relations with her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not gather anything from it.
Proverbs 10:11
The words of good people are like a spring of fresh water, but the words of the wicked only hide their violent plans.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But if not,.... If it appeared that they had not acted uprightly and sincerely in this matter:

let fire come out of Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; let wrath, rage, and fury, break out from Abimelech like fire, and issue in the destruction of those that made him king, both those of Shechem and of Millo:

and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech; let them be incensed against Abimelech, and seek his ruin, and procure it: the sense is, that he wishes that strife, contention, and quarrels, might arise among them, and they mutually destroy each other; the words are imprecative of evil upon them both, and which had its exact fulfilment.

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 9:20. Let fire come out from Abimelech — As the thorn or bramble may be the means of kindling other wood, because it may be easily ignited; so shall Abimelech be the cause of kindling a fire of civil discord among you, that shall consume the rulers and great men of your country. A prophetic declaration of what would take place.


 
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