Judges 9:57 (KJV)

What does Judges 9:57 mean?

Judges 9:57 says that God repaid the people of Shechem for their wrongdoing, and the curse spoken by Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal, came upon them. This verse sums up how the evil actions of Shechem’s people led to their own downfall, fulfilling a warning given earlier in the story.

Judges 9:57 comes at the end of the story of Abimelech and the people of Shechem. Jotham, who was the only surviving son of Jerubbaal (another name for Gideon), had warned the people with a curse after they supported Abimelech’s violent rise to power. The verse explains that the troubles and destruction Shechem faced were not random, but were seen as God’s response to their choices, bringing Jotham’s curse to pass.

The Hebrew behind Judges 9:57

• "evil" (רָעָה, ra‘ah): This word means harm, wickedness, or trouble. The verse stresses that the harm done by the people of Shechem came back on them, highlighting a sense of moral justice.
• "render" (שׁוּב, shuv): This verb means to return or repay. It emphasizes that God actively brought the consequences of their actions back onto their own heads, not just letting events unfold by chance.
• "curse" (קְלָלָה, qelalah): This word means a spoken judgment or condemnation. The curse here refers specifically to Jotham’s earlier warning, showing that his words were not empty but had real effect.

Why Judges 9:57 matters

• Judges 9:57 clarifies that the downfall of Shechem was not just political or accidental, but was understood as a direct result of their own evil actions and God’s justice.
• The verse ties the story together by showing that Jotham’s curse, spoken earlier in the chapter, was fulfilled exactly as he warned, reinforcing the theme of accountability.
• By naming both the people of Shechem and Jotham, the verse connects the ending back to the beginning of the story, helping the reader see the full arc of cause and effect in the narrative.