Judges 9 · Verse 38

Judges 9:38

Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.
Judges 9:38, King James Version

Judges 9:38 in other translations

BSB“Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”
WEBThen Zebul said to him, “Now where is your mouth, that you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Isn’t this the people that you have despised? Please go out now and fight with them.”
ASVThen said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, that thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
YLTAnd Zebul saith unto him, ‘Where is now thy mouth, in that thou sayest, Who is Abimelech that we serve him? is not this the people against which thou hast kicked? go out, I pray thee now, and fight against it.'
DARBYThen said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight against them.
BBEThen Zebul said to him, Now where is your loud talk when you said, Who is Abimelech that we are to be his servants? Is this not the people whom you were rating so low? Go out now, and make war on them.
WebsterThen said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, with which thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? are not these the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

What does Judges 9:38 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 9:28-45

28-45. would to God this people were under my hand--He seems to have been a boastful, impudent, and cowardly person, totally unfit to be a leader in a revolutionary crisis. The consequence was that he allowed himself to be drawn into an ambush, was defeated, the city of Shechem destroyed and strewn with salt. The people took refuge in the stronghold, which was set on fire, and all in it perished.

Read the full comment on Judges 9:28-45 →

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 9:30-49

Abimelech intended to punish the Schechemites for slighting him now, but God punished them for their serving him formerly in the murder of Gideon's sons. When God uses men as instruments in his hand to do his work, he means one thing, and they another. That, which they hoped would have been for their welfare, proved a snare and a trap, as those will certainly find, who run to idols for shelter; such will prove a…

Read the full comment on Judges 9:30-49 →

Judges 9:38 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֵלָ֜יו'e.Lavto himH413
זְבֻ֗לze.VulZebulH2083
אַיֵּ֨ה'ai.Yehwhere?H346
אֵפ֥וֹא'e.Fo'thenH645
פִ֙יךָ֙fi.kha[is] mouth yourH6310
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherO [you] whoH834
תֹּאמַ֔רto.Maryou saidH559
מִ֥יmiwho?H4310
אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ'a.vi.Me.lekh[is] AbimelechH40
כִּ֣יkithatH3588
נַעַבְדֶ֑נּוּna.'av.De.nuwe will serve himH5647
הֲלֹ֨אha.Lo'¿ notH3808
זֶ֤הzeh[is] thisH2088
הָעָם֙ha.'Amthe peopleH5971
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
מָאַ֣סְתָּהma.'As.tahyou rejectedH3988
בּ֔וֹbo<in> <the> it
צֵא\־tze'-go outH3318
נָ֥אna'pleaseH4994
עַתָּ֖ה'a.TahnowH6258
וְהִלָּ֥חֶםve.hi.La.chemand fightH3898
בּֽוֹ\׃\ \סboagainst <the> him

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 9:38

  • Judges 9:28-29

    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.

  • Jeremiah 2:28

    But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

  • 2 Kings 14:8-14

    Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth–shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. …

  • 2 Samuel 2:26-27

    Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28,29; 2Sa 2:26,27; 2Ki 14:8-14; Jer 2:28

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 9:37

    And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.

  • Judges 9:38

    Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

  • Judges 9:39

    And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

Read all of Judges 9

Judges 9:38 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y Zebul le respondió: ¿Dónde está ahora aquel tu hablar, diciendo: Quién es Abimelech para que le sirvamos? ¿No es este el pueblo que tenías en poco? Sal pues ahora, y pelea con él.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Zebul lui dit: Où est maintenant ta bouche, toi qui disais: Qui est Abimélec, que nous le servions? N’est-ce pas là le peuple que tu as méprisé? Sors maintenant, je te prie, et combats contre lui.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da sprach Sebul zu ihm: Wo ist nun dein Maul, da du sprachest: Wer ist Abimelech, daß wir ihm dienen sollten? Ist das nicht das Volk, welches du verachtet hast? Ziehe doch jetzt aus und streite wider ihn!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Cui dixit Zebul: Ubi est nunc os tuum, quo loquebaris: Quis est Abimelech ut serviamus ei? nonne hic populus est, quem despiciebas? egredere, et pugna contra eum.