Judges 9:27

Verse

And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

American Standard Version (1901)

And they went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

Bible in Basic English

And they went out into their fields and got in the fruit of their vines, and when the grapes had been crushed, they made a holy feast and went into the house of their god, and over their food and drink they were cursing Abimelech.

Free Bible Version

At harvest time they went out into the countryside and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them. They celebrated by having a festival in the temple of their god, where they ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

Geneva Bible 1599

Therefore they went out into the field, and gathered in their grapes and troade them, and made merie, and went into the house of their gods, and did eate and drinke, and cursed Abimelech.

King James (Authorized) Version

And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

Translation for Translators

They went out of the city to their vineyards and picked some grapes. They pressed the grapes to make juice, and then they made wine. Then they had a feast in the temple of their god, and they ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine. Then they cursed Abimelech.

Unlocked Literal Bible

They went out into the field and gathered grapes from the vineyards, and they trampled on them. They held a festival in the house of their god, where they ate and drank, and they cursed Abimelech.

Noah Webster Bible

And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes , and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

World English Bible

They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

Young's Literal Translation

and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god, and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech.

Context

Gaal Conspires with the Shechemites

²⁶Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him.²⁷And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

Summary

This verse from the book of Judges describes how the people of Shechem and Beth Millo turned against Abimelek, the son of Gideon, by ambushing travelers on the roads. Their rebellion against Abimelek led to his downfall and eventual defeat. It serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of betrayal and the instability of human alliances when motivated by selfish ambition. The verse highlights the theme of divine justice and retribution, showing that God ultimately holds individuals accountable for their actions.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And Gaal the son of Ebed said,.... As they were then making merry, drinking and carousing: who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? who is this Abimelech the Shechemite? or who is he more than Shechem, the old prince of this place, long ago dispossessed of it? the one is no better than the other, nor has a better title to rule and government than the other, that we should serve him; nay, of the two, the descendants of the old Shechem have the best title: is not he the son of Jerubbaal? that pleaded against Baal, and threw down his altar, the god you now serve: and Zebul his officer? has he not set him over you? not content to rule you himself, he has set up another as an officer over you under him, and thus you are like to be governed in a tyrannical manner, and oppressed: serve the men of Hamor--for why should we serve him? that is, rather serve them than him; which was speaking very contemptuously of his government, preferring the descendants of Hamor, the old Canaanitish prince, that ruled in this place, to Abimelech; and if Gaal was a descendant of his, he spoke in good earnest, and thought this a proper opportunity to get the government of the city restored to him and his family, since their old religion and idolatry were established among them; and if they had received the one, why not the other?