# Judges 9.23 **Book:** [Judges](/codex/judges/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 21. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. 22. And Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. > > **23. And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:** > > 24. that the violence done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. 25. And the men of Shechem set liers-in-wait for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. (Judges 9:21-25, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 21. Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. 22. Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. > > **23. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,** > > 24. that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25. The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them, and Abimelech was told about it. (Judges 9:21-25, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 21. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. 22. When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, > > **23. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:** > > 24. That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. aided: Heb. strengthened his hands to kill 25. And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. (Judges 9:21-25, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 21. And Jotham hasteth, and fleeth, and goeth to Beer, and dwelleth there, from the face of Abimelech his brother. 22. And Abimelech is prince over Israel three years, > > **23. and God sendeth an evil spirit between Abimelech and the masters of Shechem, and the masters of Shechem deal treacherously with Abimelech,** > > 24. for the coming in of the violence [to] the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, and of their blood to place [it] on Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and on the masters of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. 25. And the masters of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the hills, and rob every one who passeth over by them in the way, and it is declared to Abimelech. (Judges 9:21-25, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **People:** - [Saul](/codex/saul/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.