שופטים 9
| וילך אבימלך בן ירבעל שכמה אל אחי אמו וידבר אליהם ואל כל משפחת בית אבי אמו לאמר׃ | 1 |
Gideon’s son Abimelech went to [talk with] his mother’s brothers in Shechem [city]. He said to them and to all his mother’s relatives,
| דברו נא באזני כל בעלי שכם מה טוב לכם המשל בכם שבעים איש כל בני ירבעל אם משל בכם איש אחד וזכרתם כי עצמכם ובשרכם אני׃ | 2 |
“Ask all the leaders of your city: ‘Do you [think it would be] good for all 70 of Gideon’s sons to rule over you? Or would it be better to have only one of his sons, [me], to rule over you?’ And do not forget that I am your relative! [MTY]”
| וידברו אחי אמו עליו באזני כל בעלי שכם את כל הדברים האלה ויט לבם אחרי אבימלך כי אמרו אחינו הוא׃ | 3 |
So Abimelech’s mother’s brothers spoke to all the leaders of Shechem about what Abimelech had said. They said to each other, “We should allow Abimelech to rule over us, because he is our relative.”
| ויתנו לו שבעים כסף מבית בעל ברית וישכר בהם אבימלך אנשים ריקים ופחזים וילכו אחריו׃ | 4 |
So the leaders of Shechem took from the temple of [their god] Baal-Berith (almost 2 pounds/0.8 kg.) of silver and gave it to Abimelech. With that silver he paid some worthless troublemakers to help him, and they went with Abimelech wherever he went.
| ויבא בית אביו עפרתה ויהרג את אחיו בני ירבעל שבעים איש על אבן אחת ויותר יותם בן ירבעל הקטן כי נחבא׃ | 5 |
They went to Ophrah, his father’s town, and murdered 69 of his 70 brothers, the sons of his father Gideon. They killed all those men on one huge rock. But Gideon’s youngest son Jotham hid [from Abimelech and his men], and he escaped.
| ויאספו כל בעלי שכם וכל בית מלוא וילכו וימליכו את אבימלך למלך עם אלון מצב אשר בשכם׃ | 6 |
Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered under the big sacred tree in Shechem. There they appointed Abimelech to be their leader.
| ויגדו ליותם וילך ויעמד בראש הר גרזים וישא קולו ויקרא ויאמר להם שמעו אלי בעלי שכם וישמע אליכם אלהים׃ | 7 |
When Jotham heard about that, he climbed up Gerizim Mountain. He stood at the top of the mountain and shouted to the people [down below], “You leaders of Shechem, listen to me, in order that God will listen to you!
| הלוך הלכו העצים למשח עליהם מלך ויאמרו לזית מלוכה עלינו׃ | 8 |
One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over all of them. So they said to the olive tree, ‘You be our king!’
| ויאמר להם הזית החדלתי את דשני אשר בי יכבדו אלהים ואנשים והלכתי לנוע על העצים׃ | 9 |
“But the olive tree said, ‘No! [I will not be your king] Men and gods enjoy the oil from my fruit. I will not [RHQ] stop producing [olives from which we make] that oil, in order to rule over you other trees!’
| ויאמרו העצים לתאנה לכי את מלכי עלינו׃ | 10 |
“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’
| ותאמר להם התאנה החדלתי את מתקי ואת תנובתי הטובה והלכתי לנוע על העצים׃ | 11 |
“But the fig tree replied, ‘No! I do not want to [RHQ] stop producing my good sweet fruit, and rule over you other trees!’
| ויאמרו העצים לגפן לכי את מלוכי עלינו׃ | 12 |
“Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and be our king!’
| ותאמר להם הגפן החדלתי את תירושי המשמח אלהים ואנשים והלכתי לנוע על העצים׃ | 13 |
“But the grapevine replied, ‘No! [I will not be your king] The new wine [that is made from my grapes] causes people and gods [who drink it] to become very happy. I do not want to stop producing grapes and rule over you other trees!’ [RHQ]
| ויאמרו כל העצים אל האטד לך אתה מלך עלינו׃ | 14 |
“Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king!’
| ויאמר האטד אל העצים אם באמת אתם משחים אתי למלך עליכם באו חסו בצלי ואם אין תצא אש מן האטד ותאכל את ארזי הלבנון׃ | 15 |
“The thornbush replied, ‘If you truly want to appoint me to be your king, come into the shade of my [tiny branches]. But if you do not want to do that, I hope/desire that fire will come out from me and burn up all the huge cedar trees in Lebanon [country]!’”
| ועתה אם באמת ובתמים עשיתם ותמליכו את אבימלך ואם טובה עשיתם עם ירבעל ועם ביתו ואם כגמול ידיו עשיתם לו׃ | 16 |
“[After] Jotham [finished telling them this parable, he] said, “So now [I ask you], were you being completely honest and sincere when you appointed Abimelech to be your king [RHQ]? And have you treated Gideon and his family [RHQ] fairly? Have you rewarded Gideon by honoring him as he deserved [because of all the good things he did for you]? No!
| אשר נלחם אבי עליכם וישלך את נפשו מנגד ויצל אתכם מיד מדין׃ | 17 |
“[Do not forget that] my father fought a battle for you, and he was willing to die for you [if that had been necessary], to save you from the Midian people-group.
| ואתם קמתם על בית אבי היום ותהרגו את בניו שבעים איש על אבן אחת ותמליכו את אבימלך בן אמתו על בעלי שכם כי אחיכם הוא׃ | 18 |
But now you have rebelled against my father’s family, and you have killed 69 of his sons on one huge rock. And you have appointed Abimelech—who is the son of my father’s slave girl, [not the son of his wife]—to be the king who will rule you people of Shechem. You have done that only because he is one of your relatives!
| ואם באמת ובתמים עשיתם עם ירבעל ועם ביתו היום הזה שמחו באבימלך וישמח גם הוא בכם׃ | 19 |
So, if today you have truly acted fairly and sincerely toward Gideon and his family, I hope/desire that he will cause you to be happy and that you will cause him to be happy.
| ואם אין תצא אש מאבימלך ותאכל את בעלי שכם ואת בית מלוא ותצא אש מבעלי שכם ומבית מלוא ותאכל את אבימלך׃ | 20 |
But if what you did was not right, I wish/desire that Abimelech will burn up all of you leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo with fire! And I also hope/desire that the leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo will cause fire to burn up Abimelech!”
| וינס יותם ויברח וילך בארה וישב שם מפני אבימלך אחיו׃ | 21 |
[After] Jotham [finished saying that, he] escaped from them and ran away to Beer [town]. He stayed there because he was afraid that his brother Abimelech [would try to kill him].
| וישר אבימלך על ישראל שלש שנים׃ | 22 |
Abimelech [became the leader of all the people of Israel. He] ruled them for three years.
| וישלח אלהים רוח רעה בין אבימלך ובין בעלי שכם ויבגדו בעלי שכם באבימלך׃ | 23 |
Then God sent an evil spirit [to cause trouble] between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, with the result that the leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech.
| לבוא חמס שבעים בני ירבעל ודמם לשום על אבימלך אחיהם אשר הרג אותם ועל בעלי שכם אשר חזקו את ידיו להרג את אחיו׃ | 24 |
The leaders of Shechem had previously helped Abimelech to kill 69 of Gideon’s sons, who were his brothers. So now God sent the evil spirit to punish all of them.
| וישימו לו בעלי שכם מארבים על ראשי ההרים ויגזלו את כל אשר יעבר עליהם בדרך ויגד לאבימלך׃ | 25 |
The leaders of Shechem (set an ambush/sent men to hide) on the hilltops to ambush Abimelech. Those men robbed everyone who passed by. But someone told Abimelech about it, [so he did not go near them].
| ויבא געל בן עבד ואחיו ויעברו בשכם ויבטחו בו בעלי שכם׃ | 26 |
There was a man named Gaal, the son of Ebed, who moved into Shechem [city], along with his brothers. Soon the leaders of Shechem started to trust him.
| ויצאו השדה ויבצרו את כרמיהם וידרכו ויעשו הלולים ויבאו בית אלהיהם ויאכלו וישתו ויקללו את אבימלך׃ | 27 |
They went out [of the city] to their vineyards and picked some grapes. They pressed the grapes [to make juice, and then they made wine]. Then they had a feast in the temple of their god, and they ate [a lot of food] and drank [a lot of wine]. Then they cursed Abimelech.
| ויאמר געל בן עבד מי אבימלך ומי שכם כי נעבדנו הלא בן ירבעל וזבל פקידו עבדו את אנשי חמור אבי שכם ומדוע נעבדנו אנחנו׃ | 28 |
Gaal said, “(Why should [we allow] Abimelech to rule over us?/We should not allow Abimelech to rule over us!) [RHQ] He is only one of Gideon’s sons [so he really does not belong to us] [RHQ]! And he appointed Zebul, the governor of our city, to be his deputy! We should (serve/be loyal to) [one of the descendants of] Hamor, [the founder of our city], and let him be our leader, not Abimelech [RHQ]!
| ומי יתן את העם הזה בידי ואסירה את אבימלך ויאמר לאבימלך רבה צבאך וצאה׃ | 29 |
If you would appoint me to be your leader, I would get rid of Abimelech. I would say to him, ‘Get your army ready, [and then come to fight us]!’”
| וישמע זבל שר העיר את דברי געל בן עבד ויחר אפו׃ | 30 |
When someone told Zebul what Gaal said, he was very angry.
| וישלח מלאכים אל אבימלך בתרמה לאמר הנה געל בן עבד ואחיו באים שכמה והנם צרים את העיר עליך׃ | 31 |
He secretly sent some messengers to Abimelech. They told him, “Gaal and his brothers have come here to Shechem, and they are causing [the people of] the city to rebel against you.
| ועתה קום לילה אתה והעם אשר אתך וארב בשדה׃ | 32 |
You and your men should get up during the night and go and hide in the fields outside the city.
| והיה בבקר כזרח השמש תשכים ופשטת על העיר והנה הוא והעם אשר אתו יצאים אליך ועשית לו כאשר תמצא ידך׃ | 33 |
As soon as the sun rises in the morning, get up and attack the city. When Gaal and his men come out to fight against you, you can do to them whatever you want to.”
| ויקם אבימלך וכל העם אשר עמו לילה ויארבו על שכם ארבעה ראשים׃ | 34 |
So Abimelech and all the men who were with him got up during the night. They [divided into] four groups, [and] hid [in the fields] near Shechem.
| ויצא געל בן עבד ויעמד פתח שער העיר ויקם אבימלך והעם אשר אתו מן המארב׃ | 35 |
[The next morning], Gaal went out and stood at the entrance to the city gate. While he was standing there, Abimelech and his soldiers came out of their hiding places [and started walking toward the city].
| וירא געל את העם ויאמר אל זבל הנה עם יורד מראשי ההרים ויאמר אליו זבל את צל ההרים אתה ראה כאנשים׃ | 36 |
When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, “Look! There are people coming down from the hills!” But Zebul said, “You are seeing only the shadows [of trees] on the hills. They [are not people; they] only resemble people.”
| ויסף עוד געל לדבר ויאמר הנה עם יורדים מעם טבור הארץ וראש אחד בא מדרך אלון מעוננים׃ | 37 |
But Gaal [looked] again [and] said, “Look! There are people coming down from the top of the sacred mountain! There is a group of them coming down from where the tree is where people talk with the spirits of dead people!”
| ויאמר אליו זבל איה אפוא פיך אשר תאמר מי אבימלך כי נעבדנו הלא זה העם אשר מאסתה בו צא נא עתה והלחם בו׃ | 38 |
Zebul said to Gaal, “Now (what good is your bragging?/your bragging is worthless!) [MTY, RHQ] You said, ‘(Why should we serve Abimelech/We should not allow Abimelech to rule over us)?’ You made fun of these men. So now go out and fight them!”
| ויצא געל לפני בעלי שכם וילחם באבימלך׃ | 39 |
So Gaal led the men of Shechem outside [the city] to fight Abimelech [and his men].
| וירדפהו אבימלך וינס מפניו ויפלו חללים רבים עד פתח השער׃ | 40 |
Abimelech and his men pursued them, and they killed many of Gaal’s men before they could return [safely] inside the city gate.
| וישב אבימלך בארומה ויגרש זבל את געל ואת אחיו משבת בשכם׃ | 41 |
Abimelech then stayed at Arumah, [about five miles away from Shechem], and Zebul’s men forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.
| ויהי ממחרת ויצא העם השדה ויגדו לאבימלך׃ | 42 |
The next day, the people of Shechem [got ready to leave the city and work] in their fields. When someone told Abimelech about that,
| ויקח את העם ויחצם לשלשה ראשים ויארב בשדה וירא והנה העם יצא מן העיר ויקם עליהם ויכם׃ | 43 |
he divided his men into three groups, and told them to hide in the fields. So they did that. And when they saw the people coming out of the city, they jumped up and attacked them.
| ואבימלך והראשים אשר עמו פשטו ויעמדו פתח שער העיר ושני הראשים פשטו על כל אשר בשדה ויכום׃ | 44 |
Abimelech and the men who were with him ran to the city gate. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and attacked them.
| ואבימלך נלחם בעיר כל היום ההוא וילכד את העיר ואת העם אשר בה הרג ויתץ את העיר ויזרעה מלח׃ | 45 |
Abimelech and his men fought all day. They captured the city and killed all the people. They tore down all the buildings, and then they threw salt over the ruins [in order that nothing would grow there again].
| וישמעו כל בעלי מגדל שכם ויבאו אל צריח בית אל ברית׃ | 46 |
When the leaders who lived in the tower/fortress outside of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid inside the [fortress, which was also a] temple of [their god] El-Berith.
| ויגד לאבימלך כי התקבצו כל בעלי מגדל שכם׃ | 47 |
But someone told Abimelech that all the leaders had gathered there.
| ויעל אבימלך הר צלמון הוא וכל העם אשר אתו ויקח אבימלך את הקרדמות בידו ויכרת שוכת עצים וישאה וישם על שכמו ויאמר אל העם אשר עמו מה ראיתם עשיתי מהרו עשו כמוני׃ | 48 |
So he and all the men who were with him went up Zalmon Mountain [which is near Shechem]. Abimelech cut some branches of trees with an axe, and put them on his shoulders. Then he said to all the men who were with him, “Quickly, do what I have just done!”
| ויכרתו גם כל העם איש שוכה וילכו אחרי אבימלך וישימו על הצריח ויציתו עליהם את הצריח באש וימתו גם כל אנשי מגדל שכם כאלף איש ואשה׃ | 49 |
So his men all cut branches [then carried them down the mountain], following Abimelech. They went to the fortress and piled the branches against its walls. Then they kindled a fire, and the fire burned down the fortress and killed all the people who were inside. So all the people who were inside the fortress—about 1,000 men and women—died.
| וילך אבימלך אל תבץ ויחן בתבץ וילכדה׃ | 50 |
Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebes [city]. They surrounded it and captured it.
| ומגדל עז היה בתוך העיר וינסו שמה כל האנשים והנשים וכל בעלי העיר ויסגרו בעדם ויעלו על גג המגדל׃ | 51 |
But there was a strong tower inside the city. So all the men, women, and leaders of the city ran to the tower. When they were all inside, they locked the door. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower.
| ויבא אבימלך עד המגדל וילחם בו ויגש עד פתח המגדל לשרפו באש׃ | 52 |
Abimelech and his men came to the tower and tried to get in the door, [but they could not]. Then Abimelech prepared to light a fire to burn down the door.
| ותשלך אשה אחת פלח רכב על ראש אבימלך ותרץ את גלגלתו׃ | 53 |
But when Abimelech came near the doorway, a woman [who was on the roof] dropped a big grinding stone on his head, and crushed his skull.
| ויקרא מהרה אל הנער נשא כליו ויאמר לו שלף חרבך ומותתני פן יאמרו לי אשה הרגתהו וידקרהו נערו וימת׃ | 54 |
Abimelech quickly called to the young man who carried Abimelech’s weapons, and said, “Pull out your sword and kill me with it! I do not want people to say ‘It was a woman who killed Abimelech.’” So the young man thrust his sword into Abimelech, and Abimelech died.
| ויראו איש ישראל כי מת אבימלך וילכו איש למקמו׃ | 55 |
When the Israeli soldiers saw that Abimelech was dead, they all returned to their homes.
| וישב אלהים את רעת אבימלך אשר עשה לאביו להרג את שבעים אחיו׃ | 56 |
In that way God punished Abimelech for the evil things that he had done to his father and especially for killing all 69 of his brothers.
| ואת כל רעת אנשי שכם השיב אלהים בראשם ותבא אליהם קללת יותם בן ירבעל׃ | 57 |
God also punished the men of Shechem for the evil things that they had done. And when those things happened, it fulfilled what Gideon’s son Jotham said when he cursed [Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem].
