Judges 9:16

16 "Now then," Jotham continued, "were you really honest and sincere when you made Abimelech king? Did you respect Gideon's memory and treat his family properly, as his actions deserved?

Judges 9:16 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 9:16

Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye
have made Abimelech king
If they had done this conscientiously, and in the uprightness of their hearts, to take such a base man, and a murderer, and make him their king, which Jotham doubted, and put it in this manner to them, that they might consider of it themselves:

if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal, and his house;
if they could think so, which surely they could not, when they reflected upon the murder of his family they had consented to:

and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
to his memory, and to his family, according to the merit of his works which he had performed on their account, next mentioned.

Judges 9:16 In-Context

14 So then all the trees said to the thorn bush, "You come and be our king.'

15 The thorn bush answered, "If you really want to make me your king, then come and take shelter in my shade. If you don't, fire will blaze out of my thorny branches and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.'

16 "Now then," Jotham continued, "were you really honest and sincere when you made Abimelech king? Did you respect Gideon's memory and treat his family properly, as his actions deserved?

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

18 But today you turned against my father's family. You killed his sons - seventy men on a single stone - and just because Abimelech, his son by his servant woman, is your relative, you have made him king of Shechem.