Abimelexi
1 Gideonni ôa Abimelexi ge ǁîb îs di ǀaokhoena ǃoa Sexems ǁga ǃgû tsî ǁîna ge mîba, 2 în Sexems di aoga dî: “Mâs xa du a ǃgâibahe? Hoa hûdisi ǀgôagu Gideonni digu xa du nî ǂgaeǂguihe tamas ka io ǀguib ǀgôab ǀguib xa du nî ǂgaeǂguihe? Tita a sadu di ǂhunuma ǀaokhoe ǃkhaisa ǁkhāti ǂâis ǃnâ ūhâ re.” 3 On ge ǁîb îs di ǀaokhoena ǁîb ǃaroma Sexems di aogu ǀkha ge ǃhoa, tsî gu ge ǁîga Abimelexa gu nî saosa ge mîǁgui, ǁîn di ǀaokhoeb ge i amaga. 4 ǁÎgu ge ǁîba ǀgui kiloxrammi ǀhaiǀuriba Baal-Beriti di tempela xu ge mā, tsîb ge ǁî-i ǀkha xūtama khoega ge ǃgae, î gu ǁîba sao. 5 Tsîb ge ǁîb îb oms ǃoa Ofras ǁga ǃgû tsî ǁnāpa ǁîb di hûdisi ǃgâsagu, Gideonni ôaga ǀgui ǀuis ai ge ǃgam. Gideonni di ǃgaoǀgôab, Jotammi ǀguib ge gaugausen tsî ge ûiǂoa. 6 O gu ge hoaraga aogu Sexems tsî Betmilos tsîra diga Sexems di aikehais tawa ǀhao tsî Abimelexa gao-aose ge mâi.
7 Nē ǃkhaisab ge ǁnâu, ob ge Jotamma Gerisimǃhommi ai sī mâ tsî ǁîgu ǁga ge ǃhao: “Sexems di aogo ǃgâ te re, ob ge Elob tsîna sago nî ǃgâ ǁkhā. 8 ǀGui ǃnā-e di ge haide gao-ao-e di ǁîdi ǂama nî ǀnauga ge ǀhao. Tsî di ge ǀkherahais ǃoa ‘Sasa sise di gao-ao kai re’ ti ge mî. 9 Os ge ǀkherahaisa ge ǃeream: ‘Saso di gao-ao kai ta nîs karao, o ta ge ti oli-i, elon tsî khoen tsîn ǃgôasiba ra mā-ūhe-i ǀkha nî ǀû.’ 10 O di ge haide ǀnomahais ǃoa ‘Sasa sise ǂama gao-ao kai re’ ti ge mî. 11 Xawes ge ǀnomahaisa ge ǃeream: ‘Saso ǂama ta nî gao-ao kais karao, o ta ge ti ǁkhoaxa, ǂkhon ǂûn ǀkha nî ǀû.’ 12 O di ge haide draibehais ǃoa ‘Sasa sise ǂama hā gao re’ ti ge mî. 13 Xawes ge draibehaisa ge ǃeream: ‘Saso ǂama ta nî mî gao-ao kais karao, o ta ge ti ǂauxûi-i, elon tsî khoen tsîna ra ǃgâiaǂgao kai i ǀkha nî ǀû.’ 14 O di ge hoaraga haide ǁkhūhais ǃoa ‘Sasa sise ǂama hā gao re’ ti ge mî. 15 Os ge ǁkhūhaisa ge ǃeream: ‘Saso di gao-ao kai ta nîsa so ga amase ǂhâbao, o ti sommi ǃnâ hā sâ. ǁNāsa so ga dī tama io, ob ge ǀaes ǁhabuba ti ǁkhūxa ǁnâuga xu ǂoaxa tsî Libanonni di sederhaide nî ǂhubiǂui.’
16 “ǂÂi du ra nēsi ǂhauǃnâ tsî ǂhanu-aise du go dīsa Abimelexa du go gao-aose dīo? Gideonni di ǂâiǂâisensa ǃgôasiba mā tsî ǁîb ǀaokhoena ǂhanuse du go sîsenū, ǁîb di dīgu ǀkhab ǃoaǂui hâ khami? 17 Ti îb ge ǃkhamba du ǃkhaisa ǂâis ǃnâ ūhâ re. ǁÎb di ûibab ge ǃaorosasib ǃnâ ge mâi, sadob Midianǁîna xu nî huiǂuiga. 18 Xawe du ge nētsē ti îb di ǀaokhoen ǃoagu go khâimâ. Sadu ge hûdisi ǀgôagu ǁîb diga ǀgui ǀuis ai ǃgam, tsî ǁîb ǃgās tawab ūhâ ǀgôab Abimelexa, sadu ǀaokhoeb a ǃkhais ǃaroma Sexems di gao-aose go mâi. 19 Nētsē du go Gideonni tsî ǁîb di ǀaokhoen ǀkha dīn nî ǂhauǃnâ tsî ǂhanus kao, o Abimelexi ǀkha ǃgâiaǂgao re; tsî ǁîb tsînab ǁkhāti sadu ǀkha ǂkhî re. 20 ǁNā tamas ka io, ab ǀaes ǁhabuba Abimelexa xu ǂoaxa tsî Sexems tsî Milos tsîra di khoena ǂhubiǂui. Ab ǁkhāti ǀaes ǁhabuba Sexems tsî Milos tsîra di khoena xu ǂoaxa tsî Abimelexa ǂhubiǂui.” 21 ǁÎb di ǃgâsab Abimelexi xab gere ǃao, xui-aob ge Jotamma ǃhū tsî Beers tawa sī ge ǁan.
22 Abimelexi ge ǃnona kuriga Israela ge ǂgaeǂgui. 23 Ob ge Eloba Abimelexi tsî Sexems di aogu tsîn ǁaegu khākhoesiba ge ǂgā tsî gu ge ǁîga ǁîb ǃoagu ge khâikhâisen. 24 Abimelexi tsî Sexems di aogu, ǁîba ge hûdisi ǀgôagu Gideonni diga ǃgam kaigu, ǂkhabadīb âgu ǃaroma nî ǁkharaheses ge nē ǃkhaisa ge ī. 25 Sexems di aogu ge Abimelexa gu nî ǃâuǁgoese khoega ǃhomgu ǂamǃnâ hâ kai. ǁNā khoegu ge ǁnāpa-u ra ǃkharu khoe-i hoa-e xūn â-e gere ūǀhana, tsîb ge Abimelexa ǁnāsa ge ǂanǂanhe.
26 Ebedi di ôab Gaali ge ǁîb di ǃgâsagu ǀkha Sexems tawa ge hā; tsî Sexems aogu ge ǁîba ge ǂgomǃgâ. 27 ǁÎgu hoagu ge ǁîgu ǃhanaga ǃoa ǃgû tsî draibena sī ǃora, ǂauxûi-e ǁîn ǀkha kuru tsî ǁâudība ge ūhâ. ǁÎgu ge ǁîn elob di tempeli ǃnâ ǂgâ, ǂû tsî ā, tsî ǃharaxū rase Abimelexi xa gere ǃhoa. 28 Ob ge Gaala ge mî: “Tarebe khoeǃnôa ge kha Sexems dige? Tare xū-i ǃaroma ge Abimelexa ra ǃoaba? ǁÎba a tari? ǁÎb kom Gideonni ôabao. Sebuli ge ǁîb xa ra mîmāhe, xawe sage tare-i ǃaroma ǁîba nî ǃoaba? Sadu Sexemǁîdu di aboxab Hamora du ǂgomǂgomsase hâba. 29 Nē khoen di ǂgaeǂgui-ao ta ga hâo, o ta ge Abimelexa ga dībē hâ. Tita ge ǁîba ‘Sa toroǂnubisa ǂhomi, îts ǂoaxa tsî hā ǃkham’ ti ga mîba hâ.”
30 ǃĀs di ǂgaeǂgui-aob Sebuli ge Gaali di mîdeb ge ǁnâuo, kaise ge ǁaixa. 31 Tsîb ge Arumas ǃoa Abimelexa ge haisiba: “Ebedi ôab Gaali ge ǃgâsagu âb ǀkha Sexems tawa hā tsî ǃās di khoena sats ǃoagu ra khâikhâiǃnâ. 32 Sats tsî sa aogu tsîgo ǁnâi tsuxuba hā, î go ǁîga ǃaub ǃnâ ǁgoeǃgâ. 33 ǁAri ǃnauǁgoaga khâi î ǃâubasen taman hâ hîa ǃāsa ǁnāǂam. Î go Gaali tsî ǁîb aogu ga sago ǃoagu nî ǃkhamse ǂoaxao, ǁîga ǁkhāts a khami sîsenū.”
34 O gu ge Abimelexi tsî ǁîb di toroǃkhamaogu hoaga tsuxuba ǂoa tsî haka ǃnandi ǃnâ Sexems ǃauga ge gaugausen. 35 Abimelexi tsî ǁîb aogu ge Gaali go ǂoaxa tsî ǃās di dao-ams tawa a mâ ǃkhaisa gu ge mû, o gaugausen gu ge hâ i ǃkhaide xu ge khâimâ. 36 Ob ge Gaala ǁîga mû tsî Sebula ǃoa ge mî: “Kō re, ǁnāgu ge aoga ǃhomgu di ǂaoga xu ra ǁgôaxa.”
Xaweb ge Sebula ge ǃeream: “Khoe tama gu ge; ǃhommi di sommi ge ǁnāba.”
37 ǁKhawab ge Gaala ge mî: “Kō re, ǁnāgu ge khoega ǃhomgu ǁaeguba xu ra hā, tsî ǀnîgu ge aimûǀgaru-aob di aikehais daoba-u ra hā.” 38 Ob ge Sebula ǁîb ǃoa ge mî: “Mâpab sa kai ǃhoaba nēsi hâ? Sa tamatsa tare-i ǃaroma da Abimelexa nî ǃoabasa gere ǂan ǂgao tsao. Nēgu ge ǁnā khoegu ǁîgu xats ge ǃharaxū rase gere ǃhoaga. ǃGû, î ǁîgu ǃoagu sī ǃkham re.” 39 Ob ge Gaala Sexems aoga ai-aiba tsî Abimelexi ǃoagu sī ge ǃkham. 40 Gaali ge ge ǃhū tsîb ge Abimelexa ǁîba ge ǃgôaǃgon. ǂGui khoen ge ǃās di dao-ams tawa ge ǃgamhe. 41 Abimelexi ge Arumas tawa ge ǁan tsî Sebuli ge Gaali tsî ǁîb di ǃgâsaga Sexemsa xu ge doeǁgaǂui tsî gu ǃaruǀî ǁnāpa ge ǁan ǁoa i.
42 Sao ra tsēs aib ge Abimelexa Sexems di khoen ǃaub ǁga ra ǂoa ǂgao ǃkhaisa ge ǂanǂui, 43 ǁnā-amagab ge ǁîb di khoega ū tsî ǃnona ǃnandi ǃnâ ǀgoraǂgā tsî ǃaub ǃnâ ge ǃâuǁgoe kai. Tsîb ge khoen ǃāsa xu ra ǂoaxa ǃkhaisab ge mûo, gaugausenni hâpa xu ǂoaxa tsî ǁîna ge ǃgam. 44 Abimelexi tsî ǁîb ǀkha hâ khoegu ǃās di dao-ams ǁga ǁîsa gu nî ǃûise ra ǃhae, hîa gu ge nau ǀgam ǃnanra di khoega khoena ǃaub ǃnâ ǁnāǂam tsî hoana ge ǃgam. 45 ǃKhammi ge hoaraga tsēsa ge aiǃgû. Tsîb ge Abimelexa ǃāsa dan, ǁîs di khoena ǃgam, ǁîsa khôaǁnâ tsî ǂō-e ǁîs ai ge tsoro.
46 Sexems tawa hâ ǂgō-ommi ǃnâ hâ ǂgaeǂgui-aogu hoagu ge nē ǃkhaisa gu ge ǁnâuo, El-Beriti di tempeli di ǁaposa hâǃkhais ǃnâ ge ǂgâ. 47 Abimelexi ge ǁîn hoan ǁnāpa ǀhao hâ ǃkhaisab ge mîbahe, 48 o ǁîb di khoegu ǀkha Salmonǃhommi ai ge ǂoa. ǁÎb ge ǃōsa ū, haisa xu ǁnâu-e ǁhāǁnâ tsî ǃhōb âb ai ge tani. Tsîb ge ǁîb khoega ge mîmā î gu ǁîgu tsîna ǃhaese ǁnāti dī. 49 Ob ge mâb hoaba ǁnâu-e ge ǁhāǁnâbasen. ǁÎgu ge Abimelexa sao tsî khoen ǂganaga hâ hîa, ǁnâuga ǁaposa hâǃkhais ai sī ǀhaoǀhaoǁgui tsî ge ǂhubi, tsîn ge hoaraga khoena ge ǁō, ǁaubexa ǀguiǀoadisi aogu tsî taradi tsîna.
50 Abimelexi ge ǁnās khaoǃgâ Tebes ǁga ǃgû, ǁîsa ǃnamiǂgā tsî ge ū. 51 ǁNā ǃās ǃnâb ge ǂgō-omma ge mâ i, tsîn ge ǃās di aogu, taradi tsî ǂgaeǂgui-aogu tsîn hoana ǁîb ǃnâ ge ǃkhoeniǂgâ. ǁÎn ge ǁnāpa ǂganamǂgāsen tsî ommi ǂamǃnâb ǁga ge ǂoa. 52 Abimelexi ge ǂgō-ommab nî ǁnāǂamseb ge sī, o dao-amsab nî ǂhubiga ǁîs ǀgūse a sī, 53 os ge ǀgui khoesa ǁkhamiǀuisa ǁîb danas ai aoǁnâ tsî danaǂkhōs âba ge khôaǂkhū. 54 Ob ge Abimelexa ǃhaese ǁîb ǁâtanina ta tani ǂkham khoeba ǂgai tsî ge mîmā: “Sa gôaba ǂgaeǂui îts ǃgam te; tarekhoes xa ta go ǃgamhe ti i nî mîhesa ta ǂgao tama xuige.” Ob ge ǂkham khoeba gôab ǀkha ge ǃkhā bi tsîb ge ge ǁō. 55 Israelǁîn hoaragan ge Abimelexi go ǁō ǃkhaisan ge mûo, omdi ân ǁga ge oa.
56 ǁNātib ge Eloba ǁîb di hûdisi ǃgâsaga ǃgams ǀkhab ge ǁgûb ǃoagu a dī ǂkhabadīb ǂama Abimelexa ge mādawa-am. 57 ǁKhātib ge Eloba Sexems khoen di ǂkhabadība ǁîna ge mādawa-am, Gideonni ôab Jotammi ge ǁînab ge ǀâxare ǁaeb ai mî hâ i khami.
Abimelech Tries To Be King
1 Abimelech the son of Gideon went to Shechem. While there, he met with his mother's relatives 2 and told them to say to the leaders of Shechem, “Do you think it would be good to have all 70 of Gideon's sons ruling us? Wouldn't you rather have just one man be king? Abimelech would make a good king, and he's related to us.”
3 Abimelech's uncles talked it over with the leaders of Shechem who agreed, “Yes, it would be better for one of our relatives to be king.” 4 Then they gave Abimelech 70 pieces of silver from the temple of their god Baal Berith.
Abimelech used the silver to hire a gang of rough soldiers who would do anything for money. 5 Abimelech and his soldiers went to his father's home in Ophrah and brought out Gideon's other sons to a large rock, where they murdered all 70 of them. Gideon's youngest son Jotham hid from the soldiers, but he was the only one who escaped.
6 The leaders of Shechem, including the priests and the military officers, met at the tree next to the sacred rock in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. 7 Jotham heard what they were doing. So he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted down to the people who were there at the meeting:
Leaders of Shechem,
listen to me,
and maybe God
will listen to you.
8 Once the trees searched
for someone to be king;
they asked the olive tree,
“Will you be our king?”
9 But the olive tree replied,
“My oil brings honor
to people and gods.
I won't stop making oil,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
10 Then they asked the fig tree,
“Will you be our king?”
11 But the fig tree replied,
“I won't stop growing
my delicious fruit,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
12 Next they asked the grape vine,
“Will you be our king?”
13 But the grape vine replied,
“My wine brings cheer
to people and gods.
I won't stop making wine,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
14 Finally, they went
to the thornbush and asked,
“Will you be our king?”
15 The thornbush replied,
“If you really want me
to be your king,
then come into my shade
and I will protect you.
But if you're deceiving me,
I'll start a fire
that will spread out and destroy
the cedars of Lebanon.”
After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said:
16-18 My father Gideon risked his life for you when he fought to rescue you from the Midianites. Did you reward Gideon by being kind to his family? No, you did not! You attacked his family and killed all 70 of his sons on that rock.
And was it right to make Abimelech your king? He's merely the son of my father's slave girl. But just because he's your relative, you made him king of Shechem.
19 So, you leaders of Shechem, if you treated Gideon and his family the way you should have, then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other very happy. 20 But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
21 Jotham ran off and went to live in the town of Beer, where he could be safe from his brother Abimelech.
Abimelech Destroys Shechem
22 Abimelech had been a military commander of Israel for three years, 23-24 when God decided to punish him and the leaders of Shechem for killing Gideon's 70 sons.
So God turned the leaders of Shechem against Abimelech. 25 Then they sent some men to hide on the hilltops and watch for Abimelech and his troops, while they sent others to rob everyone that went by on the road. But Abimelech found out what they were doing.
26 One day, Gaal son of Ebed went to live in Shechem. His brothers moved there too, and soon the leaders of Shechem started trusting him.
27 The time came for the grape harvest, and the people of Shechem went into their vineyards and picked the grapes. They gathered the grapes and made wine. Then they went into the temple of their god and threw a big party. There was a lot of eating and drinking, and before long they were cursing Abimelech.
28 Gaal said:
Hamor was the founder of Shechem, and one of his descendants should be our ruler. But Abimelech's father was Gideon, so Abimelech isn't really one of us. He shouldn't be our king, and we shouldn't have to obey him or Zebul, who rules Shechem for him. 29 If I were the ruler of Shechem, I'd get rid of that Abimelech. I'd tell him, “Get yourself an even bigger army, and we will still defeat you.”
30 Zebul was angry when he found out what Gaal had said. 31 And so he sent some messengers to Abimelech. But they had to pretend to be doing something else, or they would not have been allowed to leave Shechem. Zebul told the messengers to say:
Gaal the son of Ebed has come to Shechem along with his brothers, and they have persuaded the people to let Gaal rule Shechem instead of you. 32 This is what I think you should do. Lead your army here during the night and hide in the fields. 33 Get up the next morning at sunrise and rush out of your hiding places to attack the town. Gaal and his followers will come out to fight you, but you will easily defeat them.
34 So one night, Abimelech led his soldiers to Shechem. He divided them into four groups, and they all hid near the town.
35 The next morning, Gaal went out and stood in the opening of the town gate. Abimelech and his soldiers left their hiding places, 36 and Gaal saw them. Zebul was standing there with Gaal, and Gaal remarked, “Zebul, that looks like a crowd of people coming down from the mountaintops.”
“No,” Zebul answered, “it's just the shadows of the mountains. It only looks like people moving.”
37 “But Zebul, look over there,” Gaal said. “There's a crowd coming down from the sacred mountain, and another group is coming along the road from the tree where people talk with the spirits of the dead.”
38 Then Zebul replied, “What good is all of your bragging now? You were the one who said Abimelech shouldn't be the ruler of Shechem. Out there is the army that you made fun of. So go out and fight them!”
39 Gaal and the leaders of Shechem went out and fought Abimelech. 40 Soon the people of Shechem turned and ran back into the town. However, Abimelech and his troops were close behind and killed many of them along the way.
41 Abimelech stayed at Arumah, and Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
42 The next morning, the people of Shechem were getting ready to work in their fields as usual, but someone told Abimelech about it. 43 Abimelech divided his army into three groups and set up an ambush in the fields near Shechem. When the people came out of the town, he and his army rushed out from their hiding places and attacked. 44 Abimelech and the troops with him ran to the town gate and took control of it, while two other groups attacked and killed the people who were in the fields. 45 He and his troops fought in Shechem all day, until they had killed everyone in town. Then he and his men tore down the houses and buildings and scattered salt everywhere.
46 Earlier that day, the leaders of the temple of El Berith at Shechem had heard about the attack. So they went into the temple fortress, 47 but Abimelech found out where they were. 48 He led his troops to Mount Zalmon, where he took an ax and chopped off a tree branch. He lifted the branch onto his shoulder and shouted, “Hurry! Cut off a branch just as I did.”
49 When they all had branches, they followed Abimelech back to Shechem. They piled the branches against the fortress and set them on fire, burning down the fortress and killing about 1,000 men and women.
50 After destroying Shechem, Abimelech went to Thebez. He surrounded the town and captured it. 51 But there was a tall fortress in the middle of the town, and the town leaders and everyone else went inside. Then they barred the gates and went up to the flat roof.
52 Abimelech and his army rushed to the fortress and tried to force their way inside. Abimelech himself was about to set the heavy wooden doors on fire, 53 when a woman on the roof dropped a large rock on his head and cracked his skull. 54 The soldier who carried his weapons was nearby, and Abimelech told him, “Take out your sword and kill me. I don't want people to say that I was killed by a woman!”
So the soldier ran his sword through Abimelech. 55 And when the Israelite soldiers saw that their leader was dead, they went back home.
56 That's how God punished Abimelech for killing his brothers and bringing shame on his father's family. 57 God also punished the people of Shechem for helping Abimelech. Everything happened just as Jotham's curse said it would.
