Judges 9:37
New International Version
But Gaal spoke up again: “Look, people are coming down from the central hill, and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners’ tree.”

New Living Translation
But again Gaal said, “No, people are coming down from the hills. And another group is coming down the road past the Diviners’ Oak.”

English Standard Version
Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.”

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
So Gaal spoke again and said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the Diviners’ Terebinth Tree.”

New American Standard Bible
And Gaal spoke yet again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one unit is coming by way of the diviners’ oak.”

NASB 1995
Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the diviners’ oak.”

NASB 1977
And Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the diviners’ oak.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Yet Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the soothsayers’ oak.”

Amplified Bible
Gaal spoke again and said, “Look! People are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one company is coming by way of the sorcerers’ oak tree.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, troops are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, people are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

American Standard Version
And Gaal spake again and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company cometh by the way of the oak of Meonenim.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Gael added and said to Zabal: “Behold, the people are coming down from the center of the land and one division came from the road of the Place of the Oak of Meunin!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Gaal continued to speak and said, Behold, a people comes down westward from the part bordering on the middle of the land, and another company comes by the way of Helon Maonenim.

Contemporary English Version
"But Zebul, look over there," Gaal said. "There's a crowd coming down from the sacred mountain, and another group is coming along the road from the tree where people talk with the spirits of the dead."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Again Gaal said: Behold there cometh people down from the middle of the land, and one troop cometh by the way that looketh towards the oak.

English Revised Version
And Gaal spake again and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company cometh by the way of the oak of Meonenim.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Gaal spoke again, "No, there are troops coming down from Tabbur Haares. One company is coming along the road by the Fortunetellers' Tree."

Good News Translation
Gaal said again, "Look! There are men coming down the crest of the mountain and one group is coming along the road from the oak tree of the fortunetellers!"

International Standard Version
Gaal spoke up again to say, "Look! People are coming down from the highest part of the land, and there's a company approaching from the diviner's oak tree."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Gaal spoke again and said: 'See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company cometh by the way of Elon-meonenim.'

Literal Standard Version
And Gaal adds yet to speak and says, “Behold, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and another detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.”

Majority Standard Bible
Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.”

New American Bible
But Gaal went on to say, “Soldiers are coming down from the region of Tabbur-haarez, and one company is coming by way of Elon-meonenim.”

NET Bible
Gaal again said, "Look, men are coming down from the very center of the land. A unit is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners."

New Revised Standard Version
Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”

New Heart English Bible
Gaal spoke again and said, "Look, there are people coming down by the central part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the Diviners' Oak."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Gaal spoke again, and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.

World English Bible
Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Gaal addeth yet to speak, and saith, 'Lo, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and another detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Fall of Shechem
36When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!” But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.” 37Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.” 38“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!”…

Cross References
Judges 9:36
When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the mountains!" But Zebul replied, "The shadows of the mountains look like men to you."

Judges 9:38
"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!"

Ezekiel 38:12
in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.'


Treasury of Scripture

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

middle.

Deuteronomy 18:14
For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

Jump to Previous
Addeth Band Center Company Diviners Highest Middle Oak Oak-Tree Part Plain Seers Soothsayers Speak Tree Way
Jump to Next
Addeth Band Center Company Diviners Highest Middle Oak Oak-Tree Part Plain Seers Soothsayers Speak Tree Way
Judges 9
1. Abimelech by conspiracy with the Shechemites, and murder of his brothers, is made king
7. Jotham by a parable rebukes them, and foretells their ruin
22. Gaal conspires with the Shechemites against him
30. Zebul reveals it
34. Abimelech overcomes them, and sows the city with salt
46. He burns the hold of the god Berith
50. At Thebez he is slain by a piece of a millstone
56. Jotham's curse is fulfilled.














(37) By the middle of the land.--Literally, by the navel of the land. Probably the expression means some gently-swelling hill, but it perplexed the translators. The Chaldee renders it "the strength," and the Svriac "the fortification of the land." In Ezekiel 38:12 it is rendered "in the midst of the land." The LXX. here have the strangely blundering addition, "by sea."

Another company.--Literally, one head (Vulg., cuneus unus).

By the plain of Meonenim.--Rather, from the way to the Enchanters' Terebinth (LXX., "of the oak of those that look away;" Vulg., "which looks toward the oak;" Luther, more correctly, "zur Zaubereiche"). Meonen in Leviticus 19:28 is rendered "enchantment," and means especially the kind of "enchantment" which affects the eye (the "evil eye," &c.), and therefore implies the use of amulets, &c. Hence, though the terebinth is nowhere else mentioned by this particular name, it is at least a probable conjecture that it may be the ancient tree under which Jacob's family had buried their idolatrous amulets (Genesis 35:4).

Verse 37. - Gaal spake again, etc. Of course, as the men got nearer, it was impossible to mistake them for anything but men. Gaal could see two bands distinctly, one coming down the hill-side, the other marching by the road of the soothsayers' oak. The middle of the land. The word rendered middle only occurs again in Ezekiel 38:12, "the midst of the land," A.V. It is so rendered from the notion of the old interpreters that it was connected with a word meaning "the navel." It is usually explained now to mean the height. There may have been some particular height in the ridge called Tabbur ha-aretz. The plain of Meonenim. Rather, the oak (or terebinth tree) of the soothsayers, some large terebinth or turpentine tree under which the soothsayers used to take their auguries. Dean Stanley would identify it with the oak of the pillar in ver. 6, where see note.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then Gaal
גַּעַל֮ (ga·‘al)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1603: Gaal -- probably a Canaanite

spoke up
לְדַבֵּר֒ (lə·ḏab·bêr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

again,
וַיֹּ֨סֶף (way·yō·sep̄)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3254: To add, augment

“Look,
הִנֵּה־ (hin·nêh-)
Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

people
עָם֙ (‘ām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

are coming down
יֽוֹרְדִ֔ים (yō·wr·ḏîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

from
מֵעִ֖ם (mê·‘im)
Preposition-m
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

the center
טַבּ֣וּר (ṭab·būr)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2872: Accumulated, a summit

of the land,
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

and one
אֶחָ֣ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

company
וְרֹאשׁ־ (wə·rōš-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

is coming
בָּ֔א (bā)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

by way of
מִדֶּ֖רֶךְ (mid·de·reḵ)
Preposition-m | Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action

the Diviners’
מְעוֹנְנִֽים׃ (mə·‘ō·wn·nîm)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 6049: To act covertly, practise magic

Oak.”
אֵל֥וֹן (’ê·lō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 436: An oak, other strong tree


Links
Judges 9:37 NIV
Judges 9:37 NLT
Judges 9:37 ESV
Judges 9:37 NASB
Judges 9:37 KJV

Judges 9:37 BibleApps.com
Judges 9:37 Biblia Paralela
Judges 9:37 Chinese Bible
Judges 9:37 French Bible
Judges 9:37 Catholic Bible

OT History: Judges 9:37 Gaal spoke again and said Behold there (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 9:36
Top of Page
Top of Page