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chapter 9
1
And
Abimelech the son of Jerobaal went to Sichem to his mother's brethren and spoke
to them, and to all the kindred of his mother's father, saying:
2 Speak to all the men of Sichem: whether is better for
you that seventy men all the sons of Jerobaal should rule over you, or that one
man should rule over you? And withal consider that I am your bone, and your
flesh.
3 And his mother's brethren spoke of him to all the men
of Sichem, all these words, and they inclined their hearts after Abimelech,
saying: He is our brother:
4 And they gave him seventy weight of silver out of the
temple of Baalberith: wherewith he hired to himself men that were needy, and
vagabonds, and they followed him.
5 And he came to his father's house in Ephra, and slew
his brethren the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men, upon one stone: and there
remained only Joatham the youngest son of Jerobaal, who was hidden.
6 And all the men of Sichem were gathered together, and
all the families of the city of Mello: and they went and made Abimelech king,
by the oak that stood in Sichem.
7 This being told to Joatham, he went and stood on the
top of mount Garizim: and lifting up his voice, he cried, and said: Hear me, ye
men of Sichem, so may God hear you.
8 The trees went to anoint a king over them: and they
said to the olive tree: Reign thou over us.
9 And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, which both
gods and men make use of, to come to be promoted among the trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig tree: Come thou and
reign over us.
11 And it answered them: Can I leave my sweetness, and
my delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the other trees?
12 And the trees said to the vine: Come thou and reign
over us.
13 And it answered them: Can I forsake my wine, that
cheereth God and men, and be promoted among the other trees?
14 And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou and
reign over us.
15 And it answered them: If indeed you mean to make me
king, come ye and rest under my shadow: but if you mean it not, let fire come
out from the bramble, and devour the cedars of Libanus.
16 Now therefore if you have done well, and without sin
in appointing Abimelech king over you, and have dealt well with Jerobaal, and
with his house, and have made a suitable return for the benefits of him, who
fought for you,
17 And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from
the hands of Madian,
18 And you are now risen up against my father's house,
and have killed his sons seventy men upon one stone, and have made Abimelech
the son of his handmaid king over the inhabitants of Sichem, because he is your
brother:
19 If therefore you have dealt well, and without fault
with Jerobaal, and his house, rejoice ye this day in Abimelech, and may he
rejoice in you.
20 But if unjustly: let fire come out from him, and
consume the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello: and let fire come out
from the men of Sichem, and from the town of Mello, and devour Abimelech.
21 And when he had said thus he fled, and went into
Bera: and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22 So Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years.
23 And the Lord sent a very evil spirit between
Abimelech and the inhabitants of Sichem: who began to detest him,
24 And to leave the crime of the murder of the seventy
sons of Jerobaal, and the shedding of their blood upon Abimelech their brother,
and upon the rest of the princes of the Sichemites, who aided him.
25 And they set an ambush against him on the top of the
mountains: and while they waited for his coming, they committed robberies,
taking spoils of all that passed by: and it was told Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Obed came with his brethren, and
went over to Sichem. And the inhabitants of Sichem taking courage at his
coming,
27 Went out into the fields, wasting the vineyards, and
treading down the grapes: and singing and dancing they went into the temple of
their god, and in their banquets and cups they cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Obed cried: Who is Abimelech,
and what is Sichem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerobaal,
and hath made Zebul his servant ruler over the men of Emor the father of
Sichem? Why then shall we serve him?
29 Would to God that some man would put this people
under my hand, that I might remove Abimelech out of the way. And it was said to
Abimelech: Gather together the multitude of an army, and come.
30 For Zebul the ruler of the city, hearing the words
of Gaal, the son of Obed, was very angry,
31 And sent messengers privately to Abimelech, saying:
Behold Gaal the son of Obed is come into Sichem with his brethren, and
endeavoureth to set the city against thee.
32 Arise therefore in the night with the people that is
with thee and he hid in the field:
33 And betimes in the morning at sun rising set upon
the city. And when he shall come out against thee with his people, do to him
what thou shalt be able.
34 Abimelech therefore arose with all his army by
night, and laid ambushes near Sichem in four places.
35 And Gaal the son of Obed went out, and stood in the
entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech rose up, and all his army with
him from the places of the ambushes.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul:
Behold a multitude cometh down from the mountains. And he answered him: Thou
seest the shadows of the mountains as if they were the heads of men, and this
is thy mistake.
37 Again Gaal said: Behold there cometh people down from
the middle of the land, and one troop cometh by the way that looketh towards
the oak.
38 And Zebul said to him: Where is now thy mouth
wherewith thou saidst? Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this
the people which thou didst despise? Go out, and fight against him.
39 So Gaal went out in the sight of the people of
Sichem, and fought against Abimelech,
40 Who chased and put him to flight, and drove him to
the city: and many were slain of his people, even to the gate of the city:
41 And Abimelech sat down in Ruma: but Zebul drove
Gaal, and his companions out of the city, and would not suffer them to abide in
it.
42 So the day following the people went out into the
field. And it was told Abimelech.
43 And he took his army, and divided it into three
companies, and laid ambushes in the fields. And seeing that the people came out
of the city, he arose and set upon them,
44 With his own company, assaulting and besieging the
city: whilst the two other companies chased the enemies that were scattered
about the field.
45 And Abimelech assaulted the city all that day: and
took it, and killed the inhabitants thereof, and demolished it, so that he
sowed salt in it.
46 And when they who dwelt in the tower of Sichem had
heard this, they went into the temple of their god Berith where they had made a
covenant with him, and from thence the place had taken its name, and it was
exceeding strong.
47 Abimelech also hearing that the men of the tower of
Sichem were gathered together,
48 Went up into mount Selmon he and all his people with
him: and taking an axe, he cut down the bough of a tree, and laying it on his
shoulder and carrying it, he said to his companions: What you see me do, do you
out of hand.
49 So they cut down boughs from the trees, every man as
fast as he could, and followed their leader. And surrounding the fort they set
it on fire: and so it came to pass that with the smoke and with the fire a
thousand persons were killed, men and women together, of the inhabitants of the
tower of Sichem.
50 Then Abimelech departing from thence came to the
town of Thebes, which he surrounded and besieged with his army.
51 And there was in the midst of the city a high tower,
to which both the men and the women were fled together, and all the princes of
the city, and having shut and strongly barred the gate, they stood upon the
battlements of the tower to defend themselves.
52 And Abimelech coming near the tower, fought stoutly:
and approaching to the gate, endeavoured to set fire to it:
53 And behold a certain woman casting a piece of a
millstone from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and broke his
skull.
54 And he called hastily to his armourbearer, and said
to him: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest it should be said that I was slain by
a woman. He did as he was commanded, and slew him.
55 And when he was dead, all the men of Israel that
were with him, returned to their homes.
56 And God repaid the evil, that Abimelech had done
against his father, killing his seventy brethren.
57 The Sichemites also were rewarded for what they had
done, and the curse of Joatham the son of Jerobaal came upon them.
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