Iudicum 9
1 Abiit autem Abimelech filius Ierobaal in Sichem ad fratres matris suae, et locutus est ad eos, et ad omnem cognationem domus patris matris suae, dicens:
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,
2 Loquimini ad omnes viros Sichem: Quid vobis est melius, ut dominentur vestri septuaginta viri omnes filii Ierobaal, an ut dominetur unus vir? simulque considerate quod os vestrum, et caro vestra sum.
“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]”
3 Locutique sunt fratres matris eius de eo ad omnes viros Sichem universos sermones istos, et inclinaverunt cor eorum post Abimelech, dicentes: Frater noster est.
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.”
4 Dederuntque illi septuaginta pondo argenti de fano Baalberit. Qui conduxit sibi ex eo viros inopes et vagos, secutique sunt eum.
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.
5 Et venit in domum patris sui in Ephra, et occidit fratres suos filios Ierobaal septuaginta viros, super lapidem unum: remansitque Ioatham filius Ierobaal minimus, et absconditus est.
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.
6 Congregati sunt autem omnes viri Sichem, et universae familiae urbis Mello: abieruntque et constituerunt regem Abimelech iuxta quercum, quae stabat in Sichem.
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.
7 Quod cum nunciatum esset Ioatham, ivit, et stetit in vertice montis Garizim: elevataque voce, clamavit, et dixit: Audite me viri Sichem, ita ut audiat vos Deus.
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!
8 Ierunt ligna, ut ungerent super se regem: dixeruntque olivae: Impera nobis.
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!’
9 Quae respondit: Numquid possum deserere pinguedinem meam, qua et dii utuntur, et homines, et venire ut inter ligna promovear?
“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!’
10 Dixeruntque ligna ad arborem ficum: Veni, et super nos regnum accipe.
“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’
11 Quae respondit eis: Numquid possum deserere dulcedinem meam, fructusque suavissimos, et ire ut inter cetera ligna promovear?
“But the fig tree replied, ‘No! I do not want to [RHQ] stop producing my good sweet fruit, and rule over you other trees!’
12 Locutaque sunt ligna ad vitem: Veni, et impera nobis.
“Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and be our king!’
13 Quae respondit eis: Numquid possum deserere vinum meum, quod laetificat Deum et homines, et inter ligna cetera promoveri?
“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]
14 Dixeruntque omnia ligna ad rhamnum: Veni, et impera super nos.
“Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king!’
15 Quae respondit eis: Si vere me regem vobis constituitis, venite, et sub umbra mea requiescite. si autem non vultis, egrediatur ignis de rhamno, et devoret cedros Libani.
“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]!’”
16 Nunc igitur, si recte, et absque peccato constituistis super vos regem Abimelech, et bene egistis cum Ierobaal, et cum domo eius, et reddidistis vicem beneficiis eius, qui pugnavit pro vobis,
“[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!
17 et animam suam dedit periculis, ut erueret vos de manu Madian,
“[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.
18 qui nunc surrexistis contra domum patris mei, et interfecistis filios eius septuaginta viros super unum lapidem, et constituistis regem Abimelech filium ancillae eius super habitatores Sichem, eo quod frater vester sit:
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!
19 si ergo recte, et absque vitio egistis cum Ierobaal, et domo eius, hodie laetemini in Abimelech, et ille laetetur in vobis.
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.
20 Sin autem perverse: egrediatur ignis ex eo, et consumat habitatores Sichem, et oppidum Mello: egrediaturque ignis de viris Sichem, et de oppido Mello, et devoret Abimelech.
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!”
21 Quae cum dixisset, fugit, et abiit in Bera: habitavitque ibi ob metum Abimelech fratris sui.
[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].
22 Regnavit itaque Abimelech super Israel tribus annis.
Abimelech [became the leader of all the people of Israel. He] ruled them for three years.
23 Misitque Dominus spiritum pessimum inter Abimelech et habitatores Sichem: qui coeperunt eum detestari,
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.
24 et scelus interfectionis septuaginta filiorum Ierobaal, et effusionem sanguinis eorum conferre in Abimelech fratrem suum, et in ceteros Sichimorum principes, qui eum adiuverant.
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.
25 Posueruntque insidias adversus eum in summitate montium: et dum illius praestolabantur adventum, exercebant latrocinia, agentes praedas de praetereuntibus. nunciatumque est Abimelech.
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].
26 Venit autem Gaal filius Obed cum fratribus suis, et transivit in Sichimam. Ad cuius adventum erecti habitatores Sichem,
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.
27 egressi sunt in agros, vastantes vineas, uvasque calcantes: et factis cantantium choris, ingressi sunt fanum dei sui, et inter epulas et pocula maledicebant Abimelech,
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.
28 clamante Gaal filio Obed: Quis est Abimelech, et quae est Sichem, ut serviamus ei? numquid non est filius Ierobaal, et constituit principem Zebul servum suum super viros Emor patris Sichem? Cur ergo serviemus ei?
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]!
29 utinam daret aliquis populum istum sub manu mea, ut auferrem de medio Abimelech. Dictumque est Abimelech: Congrega exercitus multitudinem, et veni.
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]!’”
30 Zebul enim princeps civitatis auditis sermonibus Gaal filii Obed, iratus est valde,
When someone told Zebul what Gaal said, he was very angry.
31 et misit clam ad Abimelech nuncios, dicens: Ecce, Gaal filius Obed venit in Sichimam cum fratribus suis, et oppugnat adversum te civitatem.
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.
32 Surge itaque nocte cum populo, qui tecum est, et latita in agro:
You and your men should get up during the night and go and hide in the fields outside the city.
33 et primo mane oriente sole, irrue super civitatem. illo autem egrediente adversum te cum populo suo, fac ei quod potueris.
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.”
34 Surrexit itaque Abimelech cum omni exercitu suo nocte, et tetendit insidias iuxta Sichimam in quattuor locis.
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.
35 Egressusque est Gaal filius Obed, et stetit in introitu portae civitatis. Surrexit autem Abimelech, et omnis exercitus cum eo de insidiarum loco.
[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].
36 Cumque vidisset populum Gaal, dixit ad Zebul: Ecce de montibus multitudo descendit. Cui ille respondit: Umbras montium vides quasi capita hominum, et hoc errore deciperis.
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.”
37 Rursumque Gaal ait: Ecce populus de umbilico terrae descendit, et unus cuneus venit per viam quae respicit quercum.
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!”
38 Cui dixit Zebul: Ubi est nunc os tuum, quo loquebaris? Quis est Abimelech ut serviamus ei? Nonne hic populus est, quem despiciebas? Egredere, et pugna contra eum.
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!”
39 Abiit ergo Gaal, spectante Sichimorum populo, et pugnavit contra Abimelech,
So Gaal led the men of Shechem outside [the city] to fight Abimelech [and his men].
40 qui persecutus est eum fugientem, et in urbem compulit: cecideruntque ex parte eius plurimi, usque ad portam civitatis:
Abimelech and his men pursued them, and they killed many of Gaal’s men before they could return [safely] inside the city gate.
41 et Abimelech sedit in Ruma: Zebul autem, Gaal, et socios eius expulit de urbe, nec in ea passus est commorari.
Abimelech then stayed at Arumah, [about five miles away from Shechem], and Zebul’s men forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.
42 Sequenti ergo die egressus est populus in campum. Quod cum nunciatum esset Abimelech,
The next day, the people of Shechem [got ready to leave the city and work] in their fields. When someone told Abimelech about that,
43 tulit exercitum suum, et divisit in tres turmas, tendens insidias in agris. Vidensque quod egrederetur populus de civitate, surrexit, et irruit in eos
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.
44 cum cuneo suo, oppugnans, et obsidens civitatem: duae autem turmae palantes per campum adversarios persequebantur.
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.
45 Porro Abimelech omni die illo oppugnabat urbem: quam cepit, interfectis habitatoribus eius, ipsaque destructa, ita ut sal in ea dispergeret.
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].
46 Quod cum audissent qui habitabant in turre Sichimorum, ingressi sunt fanum dei sui Berith, ubi foedus cum eo pepigerant, et ex eo locus nomen acceperat, qui erat munitus valde.
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.
47 Abimelech quoque audiens viros turris Sichimorum pariter conglobatos,
But someone told Abimelech that all the leaders had gathered there.
48 ascendit in montem Selmon cum omni populo suo: et arrepta securi, praecidit arboris ramum, impositumque ferens humero, dixit ad socios: Quod me videtis facere, cito facite.
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!”
49 Igitur certatim ramos de arboribus praecidentes, sequebantur ducem. Qui circumdantes praesidium, succenderunt: atque ita factum est, ut fumo et igne mille homines necarentur, viri pariter et mulieres, habitatorum turris Sichem.
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.
50 Abimelech autem inde proficiscens venit ad oppidum Thebes, quod circumdans obsidebat exercitu.
Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebes [city]. They surrounded it and captured it.
51 Erat autem turris excelsa in media civitate, ad quam confugerant simul viri ac mulieres, et omnes principes civitatis, clausa firmissime ianua, et super turris tectum stantes per propugnacula.
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.
52 Accedensque Abimelech iuxta turrim, pugnabat fortiter: et appropinquans ostio, ignem supponere nitebatur:
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.
53 et ecce una mulier fragmen molae desuper iaciens, illisit capiti Abimelech, et confregit cerebrum eius.
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.
54 Qui vocavit cito armigerum suum, et ait ad eum: Evagina gladium tuum, et percute me: ne forte dicatur quod a femina interfectus sim. Qui iussa perficiens, interfecit eum.
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.
55 Illoque mortuo, omnes qui cum eo erant de Israel, reversi sunt in sedes suas:
When the Israeli soldiers saw that Abimelech was dead, they all returned to their homes.
56 et reddidit Deus malum, quod fecerat Abimelech contra patrem suum, interfectis septuaginta fratribus suis.
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.
57 Sichimitis quoque quod operati erant, retributum est, et venit super eos maledictio Ioatham filii Ierobaal.
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].
