圣经Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, came to Shechem to see his maternal uncles and said to them and all his maternal family,
Please ask all the people of Shechem, ‘Is it okay for the seventy sons of Jerubbaal to manage you?’? Is it better to manage you all alone? Remember again that I am your flesh and blood.
His mother’s uncles spoke all these words for him to the people of Shechem, and their hearts turned to Abimelech. They said, He was our brother.
So he took seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baalberthu and gave it to Abimelech. Abimelech hired some bandits to follow him.
He went to his father’s house in Ophra and killed seventy of his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on a rock. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, remained because he was hiding.
The people of Shechem and Milo gathered together and went to the pillar by the oak tree in Shechem, and made Abimelech king.
When someone told Jotham about this, he went and stood on the top of the mountain in Kirizim, shouting loudly to the people, saying, O people of Shechem, listen to my words, and God will listen to your words.
When a tree wanted to anoint a tree as king and manage them, they went and said to the olive tree, ‘Please be our king.’.
The olive tree replied, “Will I stop the oil that worships God and respects men, and sway it above the trees?”?
The tree said to the fig tree, “Come and be our king.”.
The fig tree answered, “Will I not let my dwelling bear sweet fruits, and sway them among the trees?”?
The tree said to the vine, “Come and be our king.”.
The vine replied, “Will I stop the new wine that brings joy to God and men, and sway it over the trees?”?
The trees said to the thorns, Come and be our king.
The Thorn replied, “If you sincerely anoint me as king, then cast your trust in my shade.”. Otherwise, may fire come out of the thorns and consume the cedar trees in Lebanon.
Now if you make Abimelech king and treat Jerubbaal and his whole family with honesty and uprightness, this is his reward.
Once upon a time, my father risked his life to fight for you and saved you from the hands of the Midianites.
Now rise up and attack my father’s house, and slay seventy of his sons on a rock, and appoint Abimelech, the son of his maid, as the king of the people of Shechem. He was originally your brother.
If you now treat Jerubbaal and his house with honesty and uprightness, then you may rejoice in Abimelech, and he may rejoice in you.
Otherwise, may fire go out from Abimelech and consume the people of Shechem and Milo; and may fire come out from among the people of Shechem and Milo and consume Abimelech.
Because Jotham was afraid of his brother Abimelech, he fled and came to Beer, where he lived.
Abimelech ruled over the Israelites for three years.
God sent demons between Abimelech and the people of Shechem, and they treated Abimelech with deceit.
This is to bring the harm suffered by the seventy sons of Jerubbaal to their brother Abimelech, and to bring the guilt of shedding their blood to the people of Shechem who helped him kill his brothers.
The people of Shechem set an ambush on the mountaintop, waiting for Abimelech. They will plunder anyone who passes by them. Someone told Abimelech about this matter.
And Caleb the son of Eber and his brothers came to Shechem, and the people of Shechem trusted him.
The people of Shechem went out of the city into the fields, picked grapes, kicked wine, and made a feast. They went into the temple of their God to eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
And Caleb the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech. Who is Shijian. Let us serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t his helper Sibler? You can serve the descendants of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why do we serve Abimelech?
May this people be under my command, and I will remove Abimelech. And Caleb said to Abimelech, Increase your army and come out.
When Zebul, the governor of the city, heard the words of Caleb the son of Ebed, he became angry,
Quietly send someone to Abimelech, saying, Gal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem, inciting the people of the city to attack you.
Now you and your followers wake up tonight and lay an ambush in the field.
When the sun rises in the morning, you get up and venture into the city. When Caleb and his followers came out to attack you, you acted according to their situation.
So Abimelech and all the people who were with him got up at night and divided them into four teams, waiting in ambush for the people of Shechem.
And Caleb the son of Eber went out and stood at the gate of the city. Abimelech and his men rose up from the ambush.
When Caleb saw those people, he said to Zebul, “Look, someone has come down from the top of the mountain.”. Xibule said, “When you see the shadow of the mountain, you think it’s human.”.
And Caleb said, See, someone is coming down from a high place, and another group is coming from the path of the oak tree in Mihonini.
Zebul said to him, “You once said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?'”? Where is your boasting? Isn’t this the people you despise? You go out now and fight them.
So Caleb led the people of Shechem out to fight against Abimelech.
Abimelech chased after Caleb. Caleb fled before him, and many were injured and fell as far as the city gate.
Abimelech lived in Aruma. Zebul drove out Caleb and his brothers, and forbade them to dwell in Shechem.
The next day, the people went out into the field and someone told Abimelech.
He divided his people into three groups and ambushed them in the field. When he saw the Shechem people coming out of the city, he stood up and killed them.
Abimelech and his team rushed forward and stood at the city gate. Those two teams rushed straight into the field and killed everyone.
Abimelech attacked the city all day, took it, killed its inhabitants, demolished it, and sprinkled salt on it.
The people of Shejian Tower heard it and hid in the guard of Baalbertu Temple.
Someone told Abimelech that all the people of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
Abimelech and his men went up Mount Samon. Abimelech took an axe in his hand, cut off a branch, and carried it on his shoulder. He said to the people who followed him, ‘Look at what I have done, hurry up and do the same.’.
So everyone cut off one branch each and followed Abimelech, stacking the branches around the fortress and setting it on fire, resulting in the death of all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women.
Abimelech went to Tibez and camped there, then captured the city.
There is a sturdy building in the city. All the people in the city, regardless of gender, fled into the building, closed the door, and went up to the roof.
Abimelech went to the front of the tower to attack and approached the door, intending to burn it with fire.
A woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and broke his skull.
He quickly called out to the young man who was holding his weapon and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me.”. So that no one may criticize me and say that he was killed by a woman. So the young man pierced him through and he died.
When the Israelites saw that Abimelech had died, they each went back to their own place.
In this way, God avenged Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father, which was to kill seventy brothers.
All the evil of the people of Shechem is avenged by God on their heads. The curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal, has come upon them.
