^9:27They went out to the field, harvested their grapes,⁵⁴ squeezed out the juice,⁵⁵ and celebrated. They came to the temple⁵⁶ of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. ^9:28Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed?⁵⁷ Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech?⁵⁸^9:29If only these men⁵⁹ were under my command,⁶⁰ I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech,⁶¹ “Muster⁶² your army and come out for battle!”⁶³

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Footnotes

54 Heb “vineyards.”
55 Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110–14.
56 Heb “house.”
57 Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”
58 Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 Heb “people.”
60 Heb “in my hand.” If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27–29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.
61 Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [], ). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech …’ ”
62 Heb “Make numerous.”
63 The words “for battle” are interpretive.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek. Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelek, and why should we Shechemites be subject to him? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his deputy? Serve the family of Hamor, Shechem’s father! Why should we serve Abimelek? If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelek, ‘Call out your whole army!’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech. Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn’t Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech? If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”

NLTNew Living Translation

During the annual harvest festival at Shechem, held in the temple of the local god, the wine flowed freely, and everyone began cursing Abimelech. “Who is Abimelech?” Gaal shouted. “He’s not a true son of Shechem, so why should we be his servants? He’s merely the son of Gideon, and this Zebul is merely his deputy. Serve the true sons of Hamor, the founder of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech? If I were in charge here, I would get rid of Abimelech. I would say to him, ‘Get some soldiers, and come out and fight!’ ”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

They went out into the field and harvested their vineyards and trod them, and they held a festival. And they went into the temple of their god, and they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul his chief officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him? If only this people were in my command! Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said, ‘Increase your army and come out!’ ”

KJV 1900King James 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. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

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