Judges 9
9
1 Now Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem, to his maternal brothers, and he spoke to them, and to all the relatives of the house of his maternal grandfather, saying:
2 "Speak to all the men of Shechem: Which is better for you: that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, should rule over you, or that one man should rule over you? And consider also that I am your bone and your flesh."
3 And his maternal brothers spoke about him to all the men of Shechem, all these words, and they inclined their hearts after Abimelech, saying, "He is our brother."
4 And they gave to him the weight of seventy silver coins from the shrine of Baal-berith. With this, he hired for himself indigent and wandering men, and they followed him.
5 And he went to his father's house in Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone. And there remained only Joatham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, and he was in hiding.
6 Then all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the families of the city of Millo, and they went and appointed Abimelech as king, beside the oak that stood at Shechem.
7 When this had been reported to Jotham, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim. And lifting up his voice, he cried out and said: "Listen to me, men of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
8 The trees went to anoint a king over themselves. And they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.'
9 And it responded, 'How could I abandon my fatness, which both gods and men make use of, and depart to be promoted among the trees?'
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and accept royal power over us.'
11 And it responded to them, 'How could I abandon my sweetness, and my very sweet fruits, and depart to be promoted among the other trees?'
12 And the trees said to the vine, 'Come and reign over us.'
13 And it responded to them, 'How could I abandon my wine, which gives joy to God and men, and be promoted among the other trees?'
14 And all the trees said to the bramble, 'Come and reign over us.'
15 And it responded to them: 'If truly you would appoint me as king, come and rest under my shadow. But if you are not willing, let fire go forth from the bramble, and let it devour the cedars of Lebanon.' "
16 So now, if you are upright and without sin in appointing Abimelech as a king over you, and if you have acted well with Jerubbaal, and with his house, and if you have repaid, in turn, the benefits of him who fought on your behalf,
17 and who gave his life to dangers, so that he might rescue you from the hand of Midian,
18 though you now have risen up against my father's house, and have killed his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have appointed Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, as a king over the inhabitants of Shechem, since he is your brother,
19 if therefore you are upright and have acted without fault with Jerubbaal and his house, then you should rejoice on this day in Abimelech, and he should rejoice in you.
20 But if you have acted perversely, may fire go forth from him and consume the inhabitants of Shechem and the town of Millo. And may fire go forth from the men of Shechem and from the town of Millo, and devour Abimelech."
21 And when he had said these things, he fled and went away to Beer. And he lived in that place, out of fear of Abimelech, his brother.
22 And so Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years.
23 And the Lord put a very grievous spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Shechem, who began to detest him,
24 and to place blame for the crime of the killing of the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, and for the shedding of their blood, upon Abimelech, their brother, and upon the rest of the leaders of the Shechemites, who assisted him.
25 And they stationed an ambush against him at the summit of the mountains. And while they were waiting for his arrival, they committed robberies, taking spoils from those passing by. And this was reported to Abimelech.
26 Now Gaal, the son of Ebed, went with his brothers, and crossed over to Shechem. And the inhabitants of Shechem, uplifted by his arrival,
27 departed into the fields, laying waste to the vineyards, and trampling the grapes. And while singing and dancing, they entered into the shrine of their god. And while feasting and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal, the son of Ebed, cried out: "Who is Abimelech, and what is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, who has appointed Zebul, his servant, as ruler over the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem? Why then should we serve him?
29 I wish that someone would set this people under my hand, so that I might take away Abimelech from their midst." And it was told to Abimelech, "Gather the multitude of an army, and approach."
30 For Zebul, the ruler of the city, upon hearing the words of Gaal, the son of Ebed, became very angry.
31 And he sent messengers secretly to Abimelech, saying: "Behold, Gaal, the son of Ebed, has arrived at Shechem with his brothers, and he has set the city against you.
32 And so, rise up in the night, with the people who are with you, and lie hidden in the field.
33 And at first light in the morning, as the sun is rising, rush upon the city. And when he goes out against you, with his people, do to him what you are able to do."
34 And so Abimelech rose up, with all his army, by night, and he set ambushes near Shechem in four places.
35 And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out, and he stood at the entrance to the gate of the city. Then Abimelech rose up, and all the army with him, from the places of the ambushes.
36 And when Gaal had seen the people, he said to Zebul, "Behold, a multitude is descending from the mountains." And he responded to him, "You are seeing the shadows of the mountains, as if they were the heads of men, and so you are being deceived by this error."
37 Again, Gaal said, "Behold, a people is descending from the middle of the land, and one company is arriving by the way that looks towards the oak."
38 And Zebul said to him: "Where is your mouth now, with which you said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Is this not the people that you were despising? Go out and fight against him."
39 Therefore, Gaal went out, with the people of Shechem watching, and he fought against Abimelech,
40 who pursued him, fleeing, and drove him into the city. And many were cut down on his side, even to the gate of the city.
41 And Abimelech made camp at Arumah. But Zebul expelled Gaal and his companions from the city, and he would not permit them to remain in it.
42 Therefore, on the following day, the people departed into the field. And when this had been reported to Abimelech,
43 he took his army, and divided it into three companies, and he placed ambushes in the fields. And seeing that the people had departed from the city, he rose up and rushed upon them,
44 along with his own company, assaulting and besieging the city. But the two other companies pursued the enemies scattered in the field.
45 Now Abimelech assaulted the city all that day. And he seized it, and he killed its inhabitants, and he destroyed it, so much so that he scattered salt in it.
46 And when those living in the tower of Shechem had heard about this, they entered the temple of their god, Berith, where they had formed a covenant with him. And it was because of this, that the place had taken its name. And it was greatly fortified.
47 Abimelech, also hearing that the men of the tower of Shechem had joined together,
48 ascended to mount Zalmon, with all his people. And taking an axe, he cut down the branch of a tree. And laying it on his shoulder, and carrying it, he said to his companions, "What you see me do, you must do quickly."
49 And so, eagerly cutting down branches from the trees, they followed their leader. And surrounding the fortified place, they set it on fire. And so it happened that, by smoke and fire, one thousand persons died, men and women together, the occupants of the tower of Shechem.
50 Then Abimelech, setting out from there, arrived at the town of Thebez, which he surrounded and besieged with his army.
51 Now there was, in the midst of the city, a high tower, to which men and women were fleeing together, with all the leaders of the city. And, having very strongly sealed the gate, they were standing on the roof of the tower to defend themselves.
52 And Abimelech, drawing near the tower, fought valiantly. And approaching the gate, he strove to set it on fire.
53 And behold, one woman, throwing a fragment of a millstone from above, struck the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.
54 And he quickly called to his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and strike me, otherwise it may be said that I was slain by a woman." And, doing as he was ordered, he killed him.
55 And when he was dead, all those of Israel who were with him returned to their homes.
56 And so did God repay the evil that Abimelech had done against his father by killing his seventy brothers.
57 The Shechemites also were given retribution for what they had done, and the curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal, fell upon them.
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Judges 9
9
Abimelech
1Gideon's son Abimelech went to the town of Shechem, where all his mother's relatives lived, and told them 2to ask the men of Shechem, “Which would you prefer? To be governed by all seventy of Gideon's sons or by just one man? Remember that Abimelech is your own flesh and blood.” 3His mother's relatives talked to the men of Shechem about this for him, and the men of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech because he was their relative. 4They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-of-the-Covenant, and with this money he hired a bunch of worthless scoundrels to join him. 5He went to his father's house at Ophrah, and there on the top of a single stone he killed his seventy brothers, Gideon's sons. But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, hid and was not killed. 6Then all the men of Shechem and Bethmillo got together and went to the sacred oak tree at Shechem, where they made Abimelech king.
7When Jotham heard about this, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, and God may listen to you! 8Once upon a time the trees got together to choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ 9The olive tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my oil, which is used to honour gods and human beings.’ 10Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king.’ 11But the fig tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my good sweet fruit.’ 12So the trees then said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king.’ 13But the vine answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my wine, that makes gods and human beings happy.’ 14So then all the trees said to the thorn bush, ‘You come and be our king.’ 15The thorn bush answered, ‘If you really want to make me your king, then come and take shelter in my shade. If you don't, fire will blaze out of my thorny branches and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.’
16“Now then,” Jotham continued, “were you really honest and sincere when you made Abimelech king? Did you respect Gideon's memory and treat his family properly, as his actions deserved? 17Remember that my father fought for you. He risked his life to save you from the Midianites. 18But today you turned against my father's family. You killed his sons — seventy men on a single stone — and just because Abimelech, his son by his servant woman, is your relative, you have made him king of Shechem. 19Now then, if what you did today to Gideon and his family was sincere and honest, then be happy with Abimelech and let him be happy with you. 20But if not, may fire blaze out from Abimelech and burn up the men of Shechem and Bethmillo. May fire blaze out from the men of Shechem and Bethmillo and burn Abimelech up.” 21Then because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech, Jotham ran away and went to live at Beer.
22Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23Then God made Abimelech and the men of Shechem hostile to each other, and they rebelled against him. 24This happened so that Abimelech and the men of Shechem, who encouraged him to murder Gideon's seventy sons, would pay for their crime. 25The men of Shechem put men in ambush against Abimelech on the mountain tops, and they robbed everyone who passed their way. Abimelech was told about this.
26Then Gaal son of Ebed came to Shechem with his brothers, and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27They all went out into their vineyards and picked the grapes, made wine from them, and held a festival. They went into the temple of their god, where they ate and drank and spoke scornfully of Abimelech. 28Gaal said, “What kind of men are we in Shechem? Why are we serving Abimelech? Who is he, anyway? The son of Gideon! And Zebul takes orders from him, but why should we serve him? Be loyal to your ancestor Hamor, who founded your clan! 29I wish I were leading this people! I would get rid of Abimelech! I would say#9.29 One ancient translation I would say; Hebrew He said. to him, ‘Reinforce your army, come on out and fight!’ ”
30Zebul, the ruler of the city, became angry when he heard what Gaal had said. 31He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah#9.31 Probable text Arumah; Hebrew unclear. to say, “Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem, and they are not going to let you into the city. 32Now then, you and your men should move by night and hide in the fields. 33Get up tomorrow morning at sunrise and make a sudden attack on the city. Then when Gaal and his men come out against you, hit them as hard as you can!”
34So Abimelech and all his men made their move at night and hid outside Shechem in four groups. 35When Abimelech and his men saw Gaal come out and stand at the city gate, they got up from their hiding places. 36Gaal saw them and said to Zebul, “Look! There are men coming down from the mountain tops!”
“Those are not men,” Zebul answered. “They are just shadows on the mountains.”
37Gaal said again, “Look! There are men coming down the crest of the mountain and one group is coming along the road from the oak tree of the fortune tellers!”
38Then Zebul said to him, “Where is all your big talk now? You were the one who asked why we should serve this man Abimelech. These are the men you were treating so scornfully. Go on out now and fight them.” 39Gaal led the men of Shechem out and fought Abimelech. 40Gaal fled, and Abimelech pursued him. Many were wounded, even at the city gate. 41Abimelech lived in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem, so that they could no longer live there.
42The next day Abimelech found out that the people of Shechem were planning to go out into the fields, 43so he took his men, divided them into three groups, and hid in the fields, waiting. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he came out of hiding to kill them. 44While Abimelech and his group hurried forward to guard the city gate, the other two companies attacked the people in the fields and killed them all. 45The fighting continued all day long. Abimelech captured the city, killed its people, tore it down, and covered the ground with salt.
46When all the leading men in the fort at Shechem heard about this, they sought safety in the stronghold of the temple of Baal-of-the-Covenant. 47Abimelech was told that they had gathered there, 48so he went up to Mount Zalmon with his men. There he took an axe, cut a branch off a tree, and put it on his shoulder. He told his men to be quick and do the same thing. 49So every man cut off a branch of a tree; then they followed Abimelech and piled the wood up against the stronghold. They set it on fire, with the people inside, and all the people of the fort died — about a thousand men and women.
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, surrounded that city, and captured it. 51There was a strong tower there, and every man and woman in the city, including the leaders, ran to it. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof. 52When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he went up to the door to set the tower on fire. 53#2 Sam 11.21But a woman threw a millstone down on his head and fractured his skull. 54Then he quickly called the young man who was carrying his weapons and ordered, “Draw your sword and kill me. I don't want it said that a woman killed me.” So the young man ran him through, and he died. 55When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
56In this way God paid Abimelech back for the crime that he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57God also made the men of Shechem suffer for their wickedness, just as Jotham, Gideon's son, said they would when he cursed them.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.