(for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
Parallel translations
- KJV (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
- BSB for my father fought for you and risked his life to deliver you from the hand of Midian,
- NKJV for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
- NASB for my father fought for you, and risked his life and saved you from the hand of Midian;
- NLT For he fought for you and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jotham recalls how Gideon his father fought and risked his life to deliver them from Midian.
Overview
He reminds Shechem of the great good his father did at personal risk. Their treatment of Gideon's house is measured against this sacrificial service. The contrast magnifies the ingratitude and injustice of supporting Abimelech.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Rom 5:8But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Esth 4:16“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
- Judg 7:1–25Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod. Midian’s camp was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
- Judg 8:4–10Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
- Rom 16:4who for my life, laid down their own necks; to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles.
- Rev 12:11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 9:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.