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Judges 9
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
The trees went to anoint a king over them: and they
said to the olive tree: Reign thou over us.
And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, which both
gods and men make use of, to come to be promoted among
the trees?
And the trees said to the fig tree: Come thou and reign
over us.
And it answered them: Can I leave my sweetness, and
my delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the
other trees?
And the trees said to the vine: Come thou and reign
over us.
And it answered them: Can I forsake my wine, that cheereth
God and men, and be promoted among the other trees?
And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou and
reign over us.
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.
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,
And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from
the hands of Madian,
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:
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.
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.
And when he had said thus he fled, and went into Bera:
and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother.
So Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years.
And the Lord sent a very evil spirit between Abimelech
and the inhabitants of Sichem: who began to detest him,
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.
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.
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,
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.
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?
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.
For Zebul the ruler of the city, hearing the words of
Gaal, the son of Obed, was very angry,
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.
Arise therefore in the night with the people that is
with thee and he hid in the field:
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.
Abimelech therefore arose with all his army by night,
and laid ambushes near Sichem in four places.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So Gaal went out in the sight of the people of Sichem,
and fought against Abimelech,
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:
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.
So the day following the people went out into the field.
And it was told Abimelech.
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,
With his own company, assaulting and besieging the city:
whilst the two other companies chased the enemies that
were scattered about the field.
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.
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.
Abimelech also hearing that the men of the tower of
Sichem were gathered together,
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.
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.
Then Abimelech departing from thence came to the town
of Thebes, which he surrounded and besieged with his
army.
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.
And Abimelech coming near the tower, fought stoutly:
and approaching to the gate, endeavoured to set fire
to it:
And behold a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone
from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech,
and broke his skull.
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.
And when he was dead, all the men of Israel that were
with him, returned to their homes.
And God repaid the evil, that Abimelech had done against
his father, killing his seventy brethren.
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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