Having interrupted his first condition-consequence statement (verse 9.17-18), Jotham now comes back to it with another condition and the consequence.

If you then have acted in good faith and honor with Jerubbaal and with his house this day: This conditional clause is an almost exact repetition of the phrases found in verse 9.16 (see comments there). For this day, see verse 9.18. This clause is very ironic, since it is clear that Jotham does not believe the condition to be true. For him, neither Abimelech nor the people of Shechem treated Gideon and his family fairly. To express this, we might say “If you think you have acted today in complete good faith with Jerubbaal and his family” or “If you are so sure you treated Jerubbaal and his family fairly today.”

Then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: This is the consequence of the three conditions in verse 9.16, as well as the one here. Jotham is, in fact, being very ironic, since he thinks the opposite of what he is saying. For him the worthless people of Shechem deserve a worthless king. There are two parallel lines here, emphasizing the irony as follows:

Rejoice in Abimelech,
and let him also rejoice in you.

Revised Standard Version supplies the connector then, which is not in the Hebrew text. In English a condition-consequence relationship is signaled by the words if and then, so this addition is justified. The Hebrew verb for rejoice appears twice in these two clauses, first as a plural imperative, and then as a singular jussive (let him … rejoice). The imperative is addressed to the people of Shechem, and the jussive to Abimelech. Rejoice may be rendered “be happy” (Good News Translation), “be joyful,” “be pleased,” or “be satisfied.” The pronoun you refers to the people of Shechem who have decided to make Abimelech their king. Jotham expresses a new idea here: while the people may not be satisfied with Abimelech as leader, it is also possible that he will not be satisfied with their behavior. To express the two-sided nature of the relationship, we might say “then may you and Abimelech be happy with each other.” Translators should try to maintain the ironic tone expressed here. Contemporary English Version, for example, says “then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other very happy.” Another possible model is “then I hope you people and Abimelech are satisfied with each other.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• So, if you think that you have been completely honorable in your dealings with Jerubbaal and his family, then go ahead, enjoy Abimelech and I hope he enjoys you!

• If you are sure you have treated Gideon and his family as you should, then I hope you are satisfied with Abimelech’s leadership, and he is satisfied with you!

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .