Judges 9; Judges 10; Luke 5:17-39

1 Abimelech was the son of Jerub-Baal. He went to his mother's brothers in Shechem. He spoke to them and to all of the members of his mother's family group. He said,

2 "Speak to all of the citizens of Shechem. Tell them, 'You can have all 70 of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you. Or you can have just one man rule over you. Which would you rather have?' Remember, I'm your own flesh and blood."

3 The brothers told all of that to the citizens of Shechem. Then the people decided to follow Abimelech. They said, "He's related to us."

4 They gave him 28 ounces of silver. They had taken it from the temple of the god Baal-Berith. Abimelech used it to hire some men. They were wild. They weren't good for anything. They became his followers.

5 Abimelech went to his father's home in Ophrah. There on a big rock he murdered his 70 brothers. All of them were the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham escaped by hiding. He was Jerub-Baal's youngest son.

6 All of the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo came together. They gathered at the stone pillar that was beside the large tree in Shechem. They wanted to crown Abimelech as their king.

7 Jotham was told about it. So he climbed up on top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted down to them, "Citizens of Shechem! Listen to me! Then God will listen to you.

8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to an olive tree, 'Be our king.'

9 "But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my olive oil? It's used to honor gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?'

10 "Next, the trees spoke to a fig tree. They said, 'Come and be our king.'

11 "But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit? It's so good and sweet. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?'

12 "Then the trees spoke to a vine. They said, 'Come and be our king.'

13 "But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine? It cheers up gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?'

14 "Finally, all of the trees spoke to a bush that had thorns. They said, 'Come and be our king.'

15 "The bush spoke to the trees. It said, 'Do you really want to anoint me as king over you? If you do, come and rest in my shade. But if you don't, I will destroy you! Fire will come out of me and burn up the cedar trees of Lebanon!'

16 "Did you act in an honest way when you made Abimelech your king? Did you really do the right thing? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you given him the honor he's worthy of?

17 "Remember that my father fought for you. He put his life in danger for you. He saved you from the power of Midian.

18 But today you have turned against my father's family. You have murdered his 70 sons on a big rock. Abimelech is only the son of my father's female slave. But you have made him king over the citizens of Shechem. You have done that because he's related to you.

19 "Have you citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo acted in an honest way toward Jerub-Baal? Have you done the right thing to his family today? If you have, may you be happy with Abimelech! And may he be happy with you!

20 But if you haven't, let fire come out from Abimelech and burn you up! And let fire come out from you and burn Abimelech up!"

21 Then Jotham ran away. He escaped to Beer. He lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

22 Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years.

23 Then God sent an evil spirit to cause trouble between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They turned against Abimelech. They decided not to follow him anymore.

24 God made that happen because of what Abimelech had done to Jerub-Baal's 70 sons. He had spilled their blood. God wanted to pay back their brother Abimelech for doing that. He also wanted to pay back the citizens of Shechem. They had helped Abimelech murder his brothers.

25 The citizens of Shechem opposed Abimelech. So they hid some men on top of the hills. They wanted them to attack and rob everyone who passed by. Abimelech was told about it.

26 Gaal and his relatives moved into Shechem. He was the son of Ebed. The citizens of Shechem put their trust in Gaal.

27 The people of Shechem went out into the fields. They gathered the grapes. They pressed the juice out of them by stomping on them. Then they held a feast in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they called down curses on Abimelech.

28 Then Gaal, the son of Ebed, spoke up. "Who is Abimelech?" he said. "And who is Shechem? Why should we be under Abimelech's rule? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son? Isn't Zebul his helper? It would be better to serve the men of Hamor. He was the father of Shechem. So why should we serve Abimelech?

29 I wish these people were under my command. Then I would get rid of him. I would say to him, 'Call out your whole army!' "

30 Zebul was the governor of Shechem. He heard about what Gaal, the son of Ebed, had said. So he burned with anger.

31 Zebul sent messengers to Abimelech secretly. They said, "Gaal, the son of Ebed, has come to Shechem. His relatives have come with him. They are stirring up the city against you.

32 So come with your men during the night. Hide in the fields and wait.

33 In the morning at sunrise, attack the city. Gaal and his men will come out against you. Then do what you can."

34 So Abimelech and all of his troops started out at night. They went into their hiding places near Shechem. Abimelech had separated them into four companies.

35 Gaal, the son of Ebed, had already gone out. He was standing at the entrance of the city gate. He had arrived there just as Abimelech and his troops came out of their hiding places.

36 Gaal saw them. He said to Zebul, "Look! People are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" Zebul replied, "You are wrong. Those aren't people. They are just the shadows of the mountains."

37 But Gaal spoke up again. He said, "Look! People are coming down from the center of the land. Another company is coming from the direction of the fortune tellers' tree."

38 Then Zebul said to Gaal, "Where is your big talk now? You said, 'Who is Abimelech? Why should we be under his rule?' Aren't these the people you looked down on? Go out and fight against them!"

39 So Gaal led the citizens out of Shechem. They fought against Abimelech.

40 He chased Gaal from the field of battle. Many men were wounded as they ran away. Abimelech chased them all the way to the entrance of the city gate.

41 He stayed in Arumah. Zebul drove Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem.

42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to work in the fields. Abimelech was told about it.

43 So he gathered his men together. He separated them into three companies. Then he hid them in the fields and told them to wait. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he got up to attack them.

44 Abimelech and the men who were with him ran forward. They placed themselves at the entrance of the city gate. Then the other two companies rushed over to the people who were in the fields. There they struck them down.

45 Abimelech kept up his attack against the city all day long. He didn't stop until he had captured it. Then he killed its people. He destroyed the city. He scattered salt on it to make sure that nothing would be able to grow there.

46 The citizens who were in the tower of Shechem heard about what was happening. So they went to the safest place in the temple of the god El-Berith.

47 Abimelech heard that they had gathered together there.

48 He and all of his men went up Mount Zalmon. He got an ax and cut off some branches. He carried them on his shoulders. He ordered the men who were with him to do the same thing. "Quick!" he said. "Do what you have seen me do!"

49 So all of the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the place where the people had gone for safety. Then they set the place on fire with the people inside. There were about 1,000 men and women in the tower of Shechem. All of them died.

50 Next, Abimelech went to Thebez. He surrounded it. Then he attacked it and captured it.

51 But inside the city there was a strong tower. All of the people in the city ran to it for safety. All of the men and women went into it. They locked themselves in. They climbed up on the roof of the tower.

52 Abimelech went to the tower and attacked it. He approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire.

53 But a woman dropped a large millstone on him. It broke his head open.

54 He quickly called out to the man who was carrying his armor. He said, "Pull out your sword and kill me. Then people can't say, 'A woman killed him.' " So his servant stuck his sword through him. And Abimelech died.

55 When the people of Israel saw he was dead, they went home.

56 That's how God paid Abimelech back for the evil thing he had done to his father. He had murdered his 70 brothers.

57 God also made the men of Shechem pay for all of the evil things they had done. The curse of Jotham came down on them. He was the son of Jerub-Baal.

1 Tola rose up to save Israel. That happened after the time of Abimelech. Tola was from the tribe of Issachar. He was the son of Puah, who was the son of Dodo. Tola lived in Shamir. It's in the hill country of Ephraim.

2 Tola led Israel for 23 years. After he died, his body was buried in Shamir.

3 Jair became the leader after Tola. Jair was from the land of Gilead. He led Israel for 22 years.

4 He had 30 sons. They rode on 30 donkeys. They controlled 30 towns in Gilead. Those towns are called Havvoth Jair to this very day.

5 After Jair died, his body was buried in Kamon.

6 Once again the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served the gods that were named after Baal. They served the goddesses that were named after Ashtoreth. They worshiped the gods of Aram and Sidon. They served the gods of Moab and Ammon. They also worshiped the gods of the Philistines. The people of Israel deserted the Lord. They didn't serve him anymore.

7 So the LORD's anger burned against them. He handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

8 That year they broke Israel's power completely. They treated the people of Israel badly for 18 years. Those people lived east of the Jordan River. They lived in Gilead. That was the land of the Amorites.

9 The Ammonites also went across the Jordan. They crossed over to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the people of Ephraim. Israel was suffering terribly.

10 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said, "We have sinned against you. We have deserted our God. We have served the gods that are named after Baal."

11 The LORD replied, "The Egyptians and Amorites beat you down. So did the Ammonites and Philistines.

12 And so did the Amalekites and the people of Sidon and Maon. Each time you cried out to me for help. And I saved you from their power.

13 "But you have deserted me. You have served other gods. So I will not save you anymore.

14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you get into trouble!"

15 But the people of Israel replied to the Lord. They said, "We have sinned. Do to us what you think is best. But please save us now."

16 Then they got rid of the strange gods that were among them. They served the Lord. And he couldn't stand to see Israel suffer anymore.

17 The Ammonites were called together to fight. They camped in the land of Gilead. Then the men of Israel gathered together. They camped at the city of Mizpah.

18 The leaders of Gilead spoke to each other. They said, "Who will lead the attack against the Ammonites? That man will be the ruler of all of the people who live in Gilead."

17 One day Jesus was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. They heard that the Lord had given Jesus the power to heal the sick.

18 Some men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. They tried to take him into the house to place him in front of Jesus.

19 They could not find a way to do this because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. Then they lowered the man on his mat through the opening in the roof tiles. They lowered him into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20 When Jesus saw that they had faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to think, "Who is this fellow who says such an evil thing? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

23 Is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven'? Or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he spoke to the man who could not walk. "I tell you," he said, "get up. Take your mat and go home."

25 Right away, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mat and went home praising God.

26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with wonder. They said, "We have seen unusual things today."

27 After this, Jesus left the house. He saw a tax collector sitting at the tax booth. The man's name was Levi. "Follow me," Jesus said to him.

28 Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Then Levi gave a huge dinner for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of the law complained to Jesus' disciples. They said, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

31 Jesus answered them, "Those who are healthy don't need a doctor. Sick people do.

32 I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to turn away from their sins."

33 Some of the people who were there said to Jesus, "John's disciples often pray and go without eating. So do the disciples of the Pharisees. But yours go on eating and drinking."

34 Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the groom go without eating while he is with them?

35 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. In those days they will fast."

36 Then Jesus gave them an example. He said, "People don't tear a patch from new clothes and sew it on old clothes. If they do, they will tear the new clothes. Also, the patch from the new clothes will not match the old clothes.

37 People don't pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will burst the skins. The wine will run out, and the wineskins will be destroyed.

38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.

39 After people drink old wine, they don't want the new. They say, 'The old wine is better.' "