Judges 9 · Verse 7

Judges 9:7

And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
Judges 9:7, King James Version

Judges 9:7 in other translations

BSBWhen this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.
WEBWhen they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice, cried out, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
ASVAnd when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
YLTand they declare it to Jotham, and he goeth and standeth on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifteth up his voice, and calleth, and saith to them, ‘Hearken unto me, O masters of Shechem, and God doth hearken unto you:
DARBYAnd they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.
BBENow Jotham, on hearing of it, went to the top of Mount Gerizim, and crying out with a loud voice said to them, Give ear to me, you townsmen of Shechem, so that God may give ear to you.
WebsterAnd when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.

What does Judges 9:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Jud 9:7-21. Jotham by a Parable Reproaches Them.

7. he ... stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice--The spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable [Jud 9:8-15] drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. The top of Gerizim is not so high in the rear of the town, as it is nearer to the plain. With a little exertion of voice, he could easily have been heard by the people of the city; for the hill so overhangs the valley, that a person from the side or summit would have no difficulty in speaking to listeners at the base. Modern history records a case, in which soldiers on the hill shouted to the people in the city and endeavored to instigate them to an insurrection. There is something about the elastic atmosphere of an Eastern clime which causes it to transmit sound with wonderful celerity and distinctness [Hackett].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Stood in the top of Mount Gerizim - Gerizim and Ebal were mounts very near to each other; the former lying to the north, the latter to the south, and at the foot of them Shechem. But see some remarks on the extent of the human voice in some hilly countries in the following extract from a late traveler in the East: - "The great extent to which the sound of the voice is conveyed may be mentioned. Some persons have thought this a proof of the extreme rarity of the atmosphere. A similar observation is made by Captain Parry in his Voyage of Discovery to the Polar Regions in 1819-20, where he states that in the depth of winter the sound of the men's voices was heard at a much greater distance than usual. This phenomenon is constantly observed on the Neilgherries. I have heard the natives, especially in the morning and evening, when the air was still, carry on conversation from one hill to another, and that apparently without any extraordinary effort. They do not shout in the manner that strangers think necessary in order to be heard at so great a distance, but utter every syllable as distinctly as if they were conversing face to face. When listening to them, I have often been reminded of those passages in holy writ where it is recorded that Jotham addressed the ungrateful men of Shechem from Mount Gerizim, that David cried 'from the top of a hill afar off' to Abner and to the people that lay about their master Saul, and that Abner addressed Joab from the top of a hill." - Letters on the Climate, Inhabitants, Productions, etc., etc., of the Neilgherries, or Blue Mountains of Coimbatoor, South India, by James Hough, of Madras: 1829. That God may hearken unto you - It appears that Jotham received this message from God, and that he spoke on this occasion by Divine inspiration.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 9:7-21
There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King. Those who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. All these fruit-trees gave much the same reason for their refusal to be promoted over the trees; or, as the margin reads it, to go up and down for the trees. To rule, involves a man in a great deal both of toil and care. Those who are preferred to public trust and power, must forego all private interests and advantages, for the good of others. And those advanced to honour and dignity, are in great danger of losing their fruitfulness. For which reason, they that desire to do good, are afraid of being too great. Jotham compares Abimelech to the bramble or thistle, a worthless plant, whose end is to be burned. Such a one was Abimelech.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Judges 9:7 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.

וַיַּגִּ֣דוּvai.ya.Gi.duand people toldH5046
לְיוֹתָ֗םle.yo.Tamto JothamH3147
וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙vai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙vai.ya.'a.Modand he stoodH5975
בְּרֹ֣אשׁbe.Roshon [the] top ofH7218
הַר\־har-[the] mountain ofH2022
גְּרִזִ֔יםge.ri.ZimGerizimH1630
וַיִּשָּׂ֥אvai.yi.Sa'and he lifted upH5375
קוֹל֖וֹko.Lovoice hisH6963
וַיִּקְרָ֑אvai.yik.Ra'and he called outH7121
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לָהֶ֗םla.Hemto <the> them
שִׁמְע֤וּshim.'UlistenH8085
אֵלַי֙'e.Laito meH413
בַּעֲלֵ֣יba.'a.LeiO citizens ofH1167
שְׁכֶ֔םshe.KhemShechemH7927
וְיִשְׁמַ֥עve.yish.Ma'so he may listenH8085
אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם'a.lei.Khemto youH413
אֱלֹהִֽים\׃'E.lo.HimGodH430

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

Cross references for Judges 9:7

  • Deuteronomy 11:29

    And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

  • Isaiah 1:15

    And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

  • Deuteronomy 27:12

    These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

  • Proverbs 28:9

    He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

  • John 4:20

    Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

  • Psalms 50:15-21

    And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. …

  • Proverbs 1:28-29

    Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

  • Joshua 8:33

    And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

  • Proverbs 21:13

    Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

  • Matthew 18:26-34

    The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. …

  • Psalms 18:40-41

    Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.

  • James 2:13

    For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
mount Gerizim.
De 11:29; 27:12; Jos 8:33; Joh 4:20
Hearken.
Ps 18:40,41; 50:15-21; Pr 1:28,29; 21:13; 28:9; Isa 1:15; 58:6-10
Mt 18:26-34; Jas 2:13

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

Context

  • Judges 9:6

    And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.

  • Judges 9:7

    And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

  • Judges 9:8

    The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

Read all of Judges 9

Judges 9:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y como se lo dijesen á Jotham, fué y púsose en la cumbre del monte de Gerizim, y alzando su voz clamó, y díjoles: Oidme, varones de Sichêm; que Dios os oiga.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et on le rapporta à Jotham. Et il s’en alla, et se tint sur le sommet de la montagne de Garizim; et il éleva sa voix et cria, et leur dit: Écoutez-moi, hommes de Sichem, et Dieu vous écoutera!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und man berichtete es Jotham. Da ging er hin und stellte sich auf den Gipfel des Berges Gerisim, und er erhob seine Stimme und rief und sprach zu ihnen: Höret auf mich, Bürger von Sichem, so wird Gott auf euch hören!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quod cum nuntiatum esset Joatham, ivit, et stetit in vertice montis Garizim: elevataque voce, clamavit, et dixit: Audite me, viri Sichem; ita audiat vos Deus.