Judges 9:53
New International Version
a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

New Living Translation
a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

English Standard Version
And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

Berean Standard Bible
But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

King James Bible
And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.

New King James Version
But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

New American Standard Bible
But a woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

NASB 1995
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

NASB 1977
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

Legacy Standard Bible
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and she smashed his skull.

Amplified Bible
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone [down] on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

Christian Standard Bible
But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.

American Standard Version
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and brake his skull.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And a woman cast one piece of upper millstone of a mill on the head of Abimelek, and it broke his head

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.

Contemporary English Version
when a woman on the roof dropped a large rock on his head and cracked his skull.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.

English Revised Version
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and brake his skull.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then a woman threw a small millstone that hit Abimelech on the head and cracked his skull.

Good News Translation
But a woman threw a millstone down on his head and fractured his skull.

International Standard Version
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone down on Abimelech's head, fracturing his skull.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.

Literal Standard Version
and a certain woman casts a piece of a millstone on the head of Abimelech, and breaks his skull,

Majority Standard Bible
But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

New American Bible
a certain woman cast the upper part of a millstone down on Abimelech’s head, and it fractured his skull.

NET Bible
a woman threw an upper millstone down on his head and shattered his skull.

New Revised Standard Version
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull.

New Heart English Bible
A certain woman threw down an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.

Webster's Bible Translation
And a certain woman cast a piece of of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.

World English Bible
A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and broke his skull.

Young's Literal Translation
and a certain woman doth cast a piece of a rider on the head of Abimelech, and breaketh his skull,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Abimelech's Punishment
52When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire. 53But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. 54He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So Abimelech’s armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died.…

Cross References
Judges 9:52
When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

2 Samuel 11:21
Who was the one to strike Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If so, then you are to say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.'"


Treasury of Scripture

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone on Abimelech's head, and all to broke his skull.

woman

Judges 9:15,20
And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon…

2 Samuel 11:21
Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

2 Samuel 20:21
The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

and all to.

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Abimelech Abimelech's Abim'elech's Bone Brake Breaketh Broke Cast Cracked Cracking Crushed Crushing Dropped Head Millstone Piece Rider Skull Stone Threw Upper Used
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Abimelech Abimelech's Abim'elech's Bone Brake Breaketh Broke Cast Cracked Cracking Crushed Crushing Dropped Head Millstone Piece Rider Skull Stone Threw Upper Used
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.














(53) A piece of a millstone.--The word for millstone is receb, literally, runner, i.e., the upper millstone, or lapis vector, which is whirled round and round over the stationary lower one, sheceb (Deuteronomy 24:6).

And all to brake his skull.--This is a mere printer's error for all-to or al-to, i.e., utterly, and it has led to the further misreading of "brake." Others think that it should be printed "all to-brake," where the to is intensive like the German ge--as in Chaucer's "All is to-broken thilke regioun" (Knight's Tale, 2,579). But in Latimer we find "they love, and all-to love him" (see Bible Word-book, ? 5). The meaning of the verb is "smashed" or "shattered" (LXX., suneklase; Vulg., confregit; Luther, zerbrach). The death of Pyrrhus by a tile flung down by a woman as he rode into the town of Argos is an historic parallel (Pausan. 1:13). The ringleader of an attack on the Jews, who had taken refuge in York Castle in 1190, was similarly killed.

His armour.--Celim, literally, implements. (Comp. Judges 18:11; Genesis 27:3.)

Verse 53. - A millstone. The word here used means the upper millstone, which rides as it were, or moves, over the fixed nether stone. All to brake his skull. This obsolete English phrase has been the subject of a recent controversy. In the older English of Chaucer and his immediate successors such compounds as to-break, to-burst, etc. were very common, and were frequently preceded by the adverb all. Hence, some English scholars would read the phrase here, and all to-brake his skull. It is, however, certain that before the time when the A.V. was made the compounds to-break, to-burst, etc. had become entirely obsolete, and the compound all-to had come into use. The right way, therefore, in which to read the present phrase is, and all-to brake his skull, i.e. smashed it, dashed it in pieces. The prefix all-to gives intensity to the verb.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But a
אַחַ֛ת (’a·ḥaṯ)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

woman
אִשָּׁ֥ה (’iš·šāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

dropped
וַתַּשְׁלֵ֞ךְ (wat·taš·lêḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7993: To throw out, down, away

an upper
פֶּ֥לַח (pe·laḥ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6400: Cleavage, a millstone

millstone
רֶ֖כֶב (re·ḵeḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393: A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstone

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Abimelech’s
אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ (’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 40: Abimelech -- 'father is king', a Philistine name, also an Israelite name

head,
רֹ֣אשׁ (rōš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7218: The head

crushing
וַתָּ֖רִץ (wat·tā·riṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7533: To crack in pieces

his skull.
גֻּלְגָּלְתּֽוֹ׃ (gul·gā·lə·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1538: A skull, head, poll (of persons)


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OT History: Judges 9:53 A certain woman cast an upper millstone (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 9:52
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