Suci 9
1 Abimelek, sin Jerubaalov, otiđe u Šekem k braći svoje matere i reče njima i svemu rodu kuće svoje majke:
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 “Upitajte sve šekemske građane: što vam je bolje - da nad vama vlada sedamdeset ljudi, svi sinovi Jerubaalovi, ili jedan čovjek? Sjetite se da sam ja od vašeg mesa i vaših kostiju!”
“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 To braća njegove matere prenesoše ostalim šekemskim građanima i njihovo se srce prikloni Abimeleku jer govorahu: “Naš je brat!”
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 I dadoše mu sedamdeset šekela srebra iz hrama Baal-Beritova; time Abimelek unajmi klatež i pustolove koji pođoše za njim.
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 Onda dođe u kuću svoga oca u Ofri i pobi svoju braću, sinove Jerubaalove, sedamdeset ljudi, na jednom kamenu. Izmakao mu je samo Jotam, najmlađi sin Jerubaalov jer se bijaše sakrio.
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 Tada se skupiše svi šekemski građani i sav Bet-Milo te postaviše Abimeleka za kralja kod hrasta koji stoji u Šekemu.
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 Kada su to dojavili Jotamu, ode on, stade na vrh gore Gerizima i povika im na sav glas: “Čujte me, uglednici šekemski, tako vas čuo Bog!
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 Jednom se zaputila stabla da pomažu kralja koji će vladati nad njima. Pa rekoše maslini: 'Budi nam kraljem!'
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 Odgovori im maslina: 'Zar da se svog ulja odreknem što je na čast bozima i ljudima da bih vladala nad drugim drvećem?'
“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 Tad rekoše stabla smokvi: 'Dođi, budi nam kraljem!'
“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’
11 Odgovori im smokva: 'Zar da se odreknem slatkoće i krasnoga ploda svog da bih vladala nad drugim drvećem?'
“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 Tad rekoše stabla lozi: 'Dođi, budi nam kraljem!'
“Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and be our king!’
13 Odgovori im loza: 'Zar da se odreknem vina što veseli bogove i ljude da bih vladala nad drugim drvećem?'
“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 Sva stabla rekoše tad glogu: 'Dođi, budi nam kraljem!'
“Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king!’
15 A glog odgovori stablima: 'Ako me doista hoćete pomazat' za kralja, u sjenu se moju sklonite. Ako nećete, iz gloga će oganj planuti i sažeći cedrove libanonske!'
“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 Sada, jeste li vjerno i čestito učinili kad ste izabrali Abimeleka za kralja? Jeste li se dobro ponijeli prema Jerubaalu i njegovoj kući? Jeste li mu uzvratili za djela što ih za vas učini?
“[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 Moj se otac za vas borio izloživši svoj život te vas izbavio iz ruku Midjanaca,
“[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 a vi danas ustaste protiv kuće moga oca, pobiste njegove sinove, sedamdeset ljudi na istom kamenu, i nad građanima Šekema učiniste kraljem Abimeleka, sina njegove robinje, zato što je vaš brat!
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 Ako ste vjerno i pošteno danas radili prema Jerubaalu i prema njegovoj kući, radujte se s Abimelekom, a on neka se raduje s vama!
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 Ako niste, neka oganj iziđe iz Abimeleka i sažeže građane Šekema i Bet-Mila i neka iziđe oganj iz građana Šekema i Bet-Mila i sažeže Abimeleka!”
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 Onda Jotam pobježe, skloni se i dođe u Beer, i ondje ostade, jer se bojao svoga brata Abimeleka.
[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 Abimelek je vladao nad Izraelom tri godine.
Abimelech [became the leader of all the people of Israel. He] ruled them for three years.
23 Tada Bog posla duh razdora među Abimeleka i šekemske građane i šekemski se građani pobuniše protiv Abimeleka.
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 Bijaše to zato da bi se osvetio zločin počinjen nad sedamdeset Jerubaalovih sinova i da bi njihova krv pala na njihova brata Abimeleka, koji ih ubi, i na građane Šekema, koji mu pomogoše da ubije braću.
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 Hoteći mu napakostiti, šekemski su građani postavili zasjede po vrhovima planina i pljačkali svakoga tko bi prošao mimo njih onim putem. Javiše to Abimeleku.
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 Gaal, sin Ebedov, dođe sa svojom braćom i nastani se u Šekemu; a šekemski se građani pouzdaše u njega.
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 Otišavši u polje, trgali su u svojim vinogradima grožđe i gazili ga, a onda udarili u veselje; ušli su u hram svoga boga, jeli su, pili i proklinjali Abimeleka.
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 A Gaal, Ebedov sin, povika: “Tko je Abimelek da mu služimo? Zar ne bi trebalo da Jerubaalov sin i Zebul, njegov namjesnik, služe ljude Hamora, Šekemova oca? Zašto da mi njemu služimo?
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 O, kad bih imao ovaj narod u svojoj ruci, protjerao bih Abimeleka i rekao mu: 'Pojačaj svoju vojsku i iziđi u boj!'”
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 A kad Zebul, gradski načelnik, doznade što je govorio Gaal, sin Ebedov, razgnjevi se.
When someone told Zebul what Gaal said, he was very angry.
31 Posla glasnike Abimeleku u Arumu i poruči mu: “Evo, Gaal, sin Ebedov, došao u Šekem sa svojom braćom i bune građane protiv tebe.
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 Zato ustani noću, ti i narod što je s tobom, i stani u zasjedu u polju.
You and your men should get up during the night and go and hide in the fields outside the city.
33 A ujutro, kad ograne sunce, digni se i udari na grad. Kada Gaal i njegovi ljudi iziđu preda te, ti učini s njima što ti prilike posavjetuju.”
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 Abimelek usta noću sa svim svojim ljudima i stade u zasjedu oko Šekema u četiri čete.
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 Kada je Gaal, sin Ebedov, izišao pred gradska vrata i zaustavio se, Abimelek i njegovi ljudi ustaše iz zasjede.
[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 Gaal ugleda ljude i reče Zebulu: “Eno silaze ljudi s gorskih vrhova.” “Od sjena gorskih vrhova”, odgovori mu Zebul, “čine ti se ljudi.”
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 Opet progovori Gaal: “Eno silaze ljudi s visa zvana Zemljin pupak, a četa jedna dolazi putem od Čarobnjačkog hrasta.”
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 Tad mu reče Zebul: “Gdje ti je sada jezik? Pa ti si govorio: 'Tko je Abimelek da mu služimo?' Nisu li ondje ljudi koje si prezirao? Iziđi sada i pobij se s Abimelekom.”
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 I Gaal iziđe na čelu šekemskih građana i pobi se s Abimelekom.
So Gaal led the men of Shechem outside [the city] to fight Abimelech [and his men].
40 Abimelek potjera Gaala i on pobježe pred njim; i mnogi njegovi ljudi padoše mrtvi prije nego što su i došli do vrata.
Abimelech and his men pursued them, and they killed many of Gaal’s men before they could return [safely] inside the city gate.
41 Abimelek se tada vrati u Arumu, a Zebul potjera Gaala i njegovu braću i nije im više dao da ostanu u Šekemu.
Abimelech then stayed at Arumah, [about five miles away from Shechem], and Zebul’s men forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.
42 Sutradan je narod izišao u polje i javiše to Abimeleku.
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 On uze svoju vojsku, podijeli je u tri čete i stade u zasjedu u polju. Kad bi vidio gdje ljudi izlaze iz grada, nasrnuo bi na njih i pobio ih.
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 Dok je Abimelek sa svojom četom udarao kod gradskih vrata, druge se dvije čete baciše na one koji bijahu u polju i tako ih pobiše.
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 Čitav je dan Abimelek opsjedao grad. Zauzevši ga, poubija sve stanovništvo, razori grad i posu sol po njemu.
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 Kad su to čuli gospodari Migdal Šekema, uđoše svi u tvrdi prostor hrama El-Berita.
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 Kada je Abimelek doznao da su se svi građani Migdal Šekema ondje sakupili,
But someone told Abimelech that all the leaders had gathered there.
48 popne se na Salmonsku goru sa svom vojskom svojom. Uzevši u ruke sjekiru, odsječe granu od drveta, podiže je i metnu sebi na rame. A ljudima zapovjedi: “Što vidjeste da sam ja učinio, učinite brzo i vi.”
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 I svi ljudi odsjekoše sebi po granu, a onda krenuše za Abimelekom, nabacaše granje na utvrdu i zapališe ga nad onima koji su se ondje nalazili. Tako izgiboše svi žitelji Migdal Šekema, oko tisuću ljudi i žena.
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 Potom Abimelek krenu na Tebes, opsjede ga i osvoji.
Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebes [city]. They surrounded it and captured it.
51 Bijaše ondje usred grada kula kamo su se sklonili svi ljudi i žene i svi uglednici gradski. Zatvorivši za sobom vrata, popeše se kuli na krov.
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 Abimelek dođe do kule i napade je. Dok je prilazio vratima kule da je zapali,
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 neka žena baci mu žrvanj na glavu i razbi mu lubanju.
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 On brzo pozva svoga momka koji mu je nosio oružje i reče mu: “Trgni mač i ubij me da se ne govori o meni: 'Žena ga je ubila.'” Njegov ga momak probode te on umrije.
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 Kad su Izraelci vidjeli da je Abimelek mrtav, svi se vratiše svojim kućama.
When the Israeli soldiers saw that Abimelech was dead, they all returned to their homes.
56 Tako je Bog svalio na Abimeleka zlo koje je on učinio svome ocu pobivši sedamdesetero svoje braće.
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 I sve zlo Šekemaca Bog svali na njihove glave i tako ih stiže kletva Jotama, sina Jerubaalova.
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].
