9:29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to {k} Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
(k) Braggingly, as though he had been present, or to his captain Zebul.
9:29 My hand - That is, under my command; I wish you would unanimously submit to me, as your captain and governor; for he found them divided; and some of them hearkening after Abimelech, whom they had lately rejected, according to the levity of the popular humour. I would remove - As you have driven him out of your city, I would drive him out of your country. He said - He sent this message or challenge to him. Increase thine army - I desire not to surprise thee at any disadvantage; strengthen thyself as much as thou canst, and come out into the open field, that thou and I may decide it by our arms.
9:22-29 Abimelech is seated in the throne his father refused. But how long does this glory last? Stay but three years, and see the bramble withered and burned. The prosperity of the wicked is short and fickle. The Shechemites are plagued by no other hand than Abimelech's. They raised him unjustly to the throne; they first feel the weight of his sceptre.
