Abimelek
1Abimelek was the son of Jerub-Baal. He went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem. He spoke to them and to all the members of his mother’s family group. He said, 2“Speak to all the citizens of Shechem. Tell them, ‘You can have all 70 of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you. Or you can have just one man rule over you. Which would you rather have?’ Remember, I’m your own flesh and blood.”
3The brothers told all of that to the citizens of Shechem. Then the people decided to follow Abimelek. They said, “He’s related to us.” 4They gave him 28 ounces of silver. They had taken it from the temple of the god named Baal-Berith. Abimelek used it to hire some men. They were wild and weren’t good for anything. They became his followers. 5Abimelek went to his father’s home in Ophrah. There on a big rock he murdered his 70 brothers. All of them were the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham escaped by hiding. He was Jerub-Baal’s youngest son. 6All the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo came together. They gathered at the stone pillar that was beside the large tree in Shechem. They wanted to crown Abimelek as their king.
7Jotham was told about it. So he climbed up on top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted down to them, “Citizens of Shechem! Listen to me! Then God will listen to you. 8One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to an olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
9“But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my olive oil? It’s used to honor gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’
10“Next, the trees said to a fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
11“But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit? It’s so good and sweet. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’
12“Then the trees said to a vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
13“But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine? It cheers up gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’
14“Finally, all the trees spoke to a bush that had thorns. They said, ‘Come and be our king.’
15“The bush asked the trees, ‘Do you really want to anoint me as king over you? If you do, come and rest in my shade. But if you don’t, I will destroy you! Fire will come out of me and burn up the cedar trees of Lebanon!’
16“Did you act in an honest way when you made Abimelek your king? Did you really do the right thing? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you given him the honor he’s worthy of? 17Remember that my father fought for you. He put his life in danger for you. He saved you from the power of Midian. 18But today you have turned against my father’s family. You have murdered his 70 sons on a big rock. Abimelek is only the son of my father’s female slave. But you have made him king over the citizens of Shechem. You have done that because he’s related to you. 19Have you citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo acted in an honest way toward Jerub-Baal? Have you done the right thing to his family today? If you have, may you be happy with Abimelek! And may he be happy with you! 20But if you haven’t, let fire come out from Abimelek and burn you up! And let fire come out from you and burn Abimelek up!”
21Then Jotham ran away. He escaped to a town named Beer. He lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek.
22Abimelek ruled over Israel for three years. 23Then God stirred up trouble between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem. So they turned against Abimelek. They decided not to follow him anymore. 24God made that happen because of what Abimelek had done to Jerub-Baal’s 70 sons. He had spilled their blood. God wanted to punish their brother Abimelek for doing that. He also wanted to punish the citizens of Shechem. They had helped Abimelek murder his brothers. 25The citizens of Shechem didn’t want Abimelek to be their ruler anymore. So they hid some men on top of the hills. They wanted them to attack and rob everyone who passed by. Abimelek was told about it.
26Gaal and his relatives moved into Shechem. Gaal was the son of Ebed. The citizens of Shechem put their trust in Gaal. 27The people of Shechem went out into the fields. They gathered the grapes. They pressed the juice out of them by stomping on them. Then they held a feast in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek. 28Then Gaal, the son of Ebed, said, “Who is Abimelek? And who is Shechem? Why should we citizens of Shechem be under Abimelek’s rule? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son? Isn’t Zebul his helper? It would be better to serve the family of Hamor. He was the father of Shechem. So why should we serve Abimelek? 29I wish these people were under my command. Then I would get rid of Abimelek. I would say to him, ‘Call out your whole army!’ ”
30Zebul was the governor of Shechem. He heard about what Gaal, the son of Ebed, had said. So he was very angry. 31Zebul secretly sent messengers to Abimelek. They said, “Gaal, the son of Ebed, has come to Shechem. His relatives have come with him. They are stirring up the city against you. 32So come with your men during the night. Hide in the fields and wait. 33In the morning at sunrise, attack the city. Gaal and his men will come out against you. Then take that opportunity to attack them.”
34So Abimelek and all his troops started out at night. They went into their hiding places near Shechem. Abimelek had separated them into four fighting groups. 35Gaal, the son of Ebed, had already gone out. He was standing at the entrance of the city gate. He had arrived there just as Abimelek and his troops came out of their hiding places.
36Gaal saw them. He said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the tops of the mountains!”
Zebul replied, “You are wrong. Those aren’t people. They are just the shadows of the mountains.”
37But Gaal spoke up again. He said, “Look! People are coming down from the central hill. Another group is coming from the direction of the fortune tellers’ tree.”
38Then Zebul said to Gaal, “Where is your big talk now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelek? Why should we be under his rule?’ Aren’t these the people you made fun of? Go out and fight against them!”
39So Gaal led the citizens out of Shechem. They fought against Abimelek. 40He chased Gaal from the field of battle. Abimelek chased them all the way to the entrance of the city gate. Many men were killed as they ran away. 41Abimelek stayed in Arumah. And Zebul drove Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem.
42The next day the people of Shechem went out to work in the fields. Abimelek was told about it. 43So he gathered his men together. He separated them into three fighting groups. Then he hid them in the fields and told them to wait. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he got up to attack them. 44Abimelek and the men with him ran forward. They placed themselves at the entrance of the city gate. Then the other two groups attacked the people in the fields. There they struck them down. 45Abimelek kept up his attack against the city all day long. He didn’t stop until he had captured it. Then he killed its people. He destroyed the city. He scattered salt on it to make sure that nothing would be able to grow there.
46The citizens in the tower of Shechem heard about what was happening. So they went to the safest place in the temple of the god named El-Berith. 47Abimelek heard that they had gathered together there. 48He and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He got an ax and cut off some branches. He carried them on his shoulders. He ordered the men with him to do the same thing. “Quick!” he said. “Do what you have seen me do!” 49So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelek. They piled them against the place where the people had gone for safety. Then they set the place on fire with the people still inside. There were about 1,000 men and women in the tower of Shechem. All of them died.
50Next, Abimelek went to Thebez. He surrounded it. Then he attacked it and captured it. 51But inside the city there was a strong tower. All the people in the city had run to it for safety. All the men and women had gone into it. They had locked themselves in. They had climbed up on the roof of the tower. 52Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. He approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire. 53But a woman dropped a large millstone on him. It broke his head open.
54He quickly called out to the man carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword and kill me. Then people can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his servant stuck his sword through him. And Abimelek died. 55When the Israelites saw he was dead, they went home.
56That’s how God punished Abimelek for the evil thing he had done to his father. He had murdered his 70 brothers. 57God also made the people of Shechem pay for all the evil things they had done. The curse of Jotham came down on them. He was the son of Jerub-Baal.
亚比米勒做王
1耶路·巴力的儿子亚比米勒去示剑的舅舅家，对外祖父全家说： 2“请你们去问示剑人，耶路·巴力的七十个儿子统治他们好呢，还是一个人统治他们好呢？别忘记我是你们的骨肉至亲。” 3他们便将他的话转告示剑人。示剑人因为亚比米勒是他们的亲戚，都拥护他， 4从巴力·比利土的庙里拿了七十块银子给他。他用这些钱收买了一班无赖做随从。 5他前往俄弗拉，来到他父亲家，在一块磐石上杀死了他七十个同父异母的兄弟，只有耶路·巴力的小儿子约坦躲了起来，幸免于难。 6示剑和米罗的人都聚集到示剑石柱旁的橡树下，拥立亚比米勒为王。
7约坦听见这消息，便上到基利心山顶，高喊：“示剑人啊，你们要听我说，这样上帝也会听你们说。 8从前，树木要选一个王，它们对橄榄树说，‘你来做我们的王。’ 9橄榄树说，‘我怎能因为贪图凌驾于众树之上而停止出产用来尊崇神与人的橄榄油呢？’ 10树木对无花果树说，‘你来做我们的王。’ 11无花果树说，‘我怎能因为贪图凌驾于众树之上而停止出产甜美的果子呢？’ 12于是，树木对葡萄树说，‘你来做我们的王。’ 13葡萄树说，‘我怎能因为贪图凌驾于众树之上而停止出产令神明和世人都快乐的美酒呢？’ 14最后，所有的树木都对荆棘说，‘你来做我们的王。’ 15荆棘回答说，‘倘若你们诚心立我为你们的王，就投靠在我的荫下吧；不然，愿火从荆棘中冒出来吞噬黎巴嫩的香柏树。’
16“现在你们立亚比米勒为王，光明正大吗？你们有没有善待耶路·巴力和他一家？有没有按他的功绩对待他？ 17你们想想，从前我父亲为你们出生入死，从米甸人手中拯救你们。 18现在你们却背叛我父亲家，在一块磐石上杀死他七十个儿子。因为他婢女的儿子亚比米勒是你们的亲戚，你们就立亚比米勒为王。 19倘若你们光明正大地对待了耶路·巴力一家，愿你们给亚比米勒带来快乐，也愿亚比米勒给你们带来快乐。 20否则，愿亚比米勒烧灭你们示剑人和米罗人，也愿你们示剑人和米罗人烧灭亚比米勒。” 21约坦因惧怕他的兄弟亚比米勒，就逃往比珥居住。
亚比米勒毁灭示剑
22亚比米勒治理以色列三年后， 23上帝派遣一个邪灵挑起亚比米勒和示剑人之间的争端，示剑人用诡诈的手段对待亚比米勒。 24这是要惩罚亚比米勒和帮他残杀耶路·巴力七十个儿子的示剑人。 25示剑人在山顶设下埋伏，等候亚比米勒，他们抢劫所有过路的行人。有人把这事告诉了亚比米勒。
26以别的儿子迦勒和他的弟兄来到示剑，示剑人都信任他们。 27示剑人出城到田间采摘葡萄，踩榨葡萄汁，然后在他们的神庙中欢宴，尽情吃喝，咒诅亚比米勒。 28以别的儿子迦勒说：“亚比米勒是谁？我们示剑人是谁，竟要服侍他？他不就是耶路·巴力的儿子吗？他的帮手不就是西布勒吗？我们为什么要服侍他？你们要服侍示剑人祖先哈抹的后代。 29要是这百姓归我领导就好了！我会除掉亚比米勒，我会挑战他召集全军来战9:29 “我会挑战他召集全军来战”参考七十士译本；希伯来文为“他对亚比米勒说：‘召集你的全军来战吧！’”。”
30示剑城的官长西布勒听见以别的儿子迦勒的话，勃然大怒， 31暗中派人对亚比米勒说：“以别的儿子迦勒和他的弟兄已经到了示剑，正在煽动全城反对你。 32请你晚上带着部下埋伏在田间， 33清晨日出时攻城。迦勒带着部下出来应战时，你便可以见机行事。”
34于是，亚比米勒带领军队夜间出发，兵分四路埋伏在示剑城外。 35早晨，以别的儿子迦勒出来站在城门口时，亚比米勒带领部下从埋伏的地方冲了出来。 36迦勒看见他们，便对西布勒说：“看！有人正从山顶下来。”西布勒说：“你把山影看成人了吧。” 37迦勒说：“看！有人正从山上下来，还有一队人正从占卜橡树那边的路上奔来。” 38西布勒说：“你的豪气哪里去了？你曾说，‘亚比米勒是谁，我们竟要服侍他？’这些不就是你讥笑的人吗？出去迎战吧！” 39于是，迦勒率领示剑人出城迎战亚比米勒。 40迦勒败逃，亚比米勒紧追不舍，沿途有许多人受伤倒在地上，一直到城门口。 41之后，亚比米勒住在亚鲁玛，西布勒把迦勒和他的弟兄逐出示剑。
42第二天，示剑人出城来到田间。亚比米勒得知后， 43把部下兵分三队，埋伏在田间，等城里的人出来时，伏击他们。 44亚比米勒率领一队人冲到示剑的城门口，截断示剑人的退路，其他两队击杀田间的示剑人。 45亚比米勒鏖战一天，攻陷了示剑城，杀了城内的居民，把整座城夷为平地，还撒上了盐。
46示剑楼的人听到风声，躲进了巴力·比利土神庙的内堂。 47亚比米勒得知后， 48便领兵上撒门山用斧头砍下树枝，扛在肩上，并命令部下赶紧照做。 49他们都砍下一根树枝，跟着亚比米勒把树枝堆在神庙内堂的四周，放火烧死了里面所有的人，男女约一千人。
50随后，亚比米勒去围攻提备斯，占领了该城。 51全城的人都逃进城中一座坚固的城楼内，锁上大门，爬上楼顶。 52亚比米勒攻打城楼，走到城楼门口正准备放火时， 53有个妇人扔下一块磨石，砸烂了他的头。 54亚比米勒连忙对为他拿兵器的年轻人说：“拔刀杀了我吧，免得人们说，‘一位妇人杀了他。’”于是，那年轻人刺死了他。 55以色列人见亚比米勒已死，便各自回家了。 56上帝就这样使亚比米勒得到了报应，因为他残杀了自己的七十个兄弟， 57也让示剑人因自己的一切恶行而得到了报应。耶路·巴力的儿子约坦的咒诅临到了他们。
