Judges 9
1 Abimelech, son of Jerub-baal, went to his mother's brothers at Shechem and told them and all his mother's relatives,
Forsothe Abymelech, the sone of Gerobaal, yede in to Sichem to the britheren of his modir; and he spak to hem, and to al the kynrede of `the hows of his modir, and seide,
2 “Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘What's best for you? That seventy men, all of them Jerub-baal's sons, rule over you—or just one man?’ Remember I'm your own flesh and blood!”
Speke ye to alle the men of Sichem, What is betere to you, that seuenti men, alle the sones of Gerobaal, be lordis of you, whether that o man be lord to you? and also biholde, for Y am youre boon, and youre fleisch.
3 His mother's brothers shared his proposal with all the leaders of Shechem, and they decided to follow Abimelech, because they said, “He is our relative.”
And the britheren of his modir spaken of hym alle these wordis to alle the men of Sichem; and bowiden her hertis aftir Abymelech, and seiden, He is oure brother.
4 They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech used the money to hire some arrogant troublemakers as his gang.
And thei yauen to hym seuenti weiytis of siluer of the temple of Baal Berith; and he hiride to hym therof men pore and hauynge no certeyn dwellynge, and thei sueden hym.
5 He went to his father's house in Ophrah, and on one stone killed his seventy half-brothers, the sons of Jerub-baal. But Jotham, Jerub-baal's youngest son, escaped by going into hiding.
And he cam in to `the hows of his fadir in Ephra, and killide hise britheren the sones of Gerobaal, `seuenti men, on o stoon. And Joathan, the leste sone of Gerobaal, lefte, and was hid.
6 Then the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo all assembled by the oak at the pillar in Shechem and made Abimelech their king.
Forsothe alle the men of Sichem, and alle the meynees of the citee of Mello, weren gadirid to gydere, and thei yeden, and maden Abymelech kyng, bysidis the ook that stood in Sichem.
7 When Jotham got to hear this, he went up to the top of Mount Gerizim, and shouted in a loud voice: “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, and God may to listen to you!
And whanne this thing was teld to Joathan, he yede, and stood in the cop of the hil Garisym, and cried with `vois reisid, and seide, Ye men of Sichem, here me, so that God here you.
8 Once upon a time the trees were determined to anoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, ‘You shall be our king.’
Trees yeden to anoynte a kyng on hem; and tho seiden to the olyue tre, Comaunde thou to vs.
9 But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my rich oil that benefits both gods and men just to go and sway to and fro over the trees?’
Whiche answeride, Whether Y may forsake my fatnesse, which bothe Goddis and men vsen, and come, that Y be auaunsid among trees?
10 Then the trees asked the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king.’
And the trees seiden to the fige tree, Come thou, and take the rewme on vs.
11 But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my good sweet fruit just to go and sway to and fro over the trees?’
Which answeride to hem, Whether Y may forsake my swetnesse and swetteste fruytis, and go that Y be auaunsid among othere trees?
12 Then the trees asked the grape vine, ‘You come and be our king.’
Also `the trees spaken to the vyne, Come thou, and comaunde to vs.
13 But the grape vine replied, ‘Should I stop giving my wine that makes both gods and men happy just to go and sway to and fro over the trees?’
Which answeride, Whether Y may forsake my wyn, that gladith God and men, and be auaunsid among othere trees?
14 Then all the trees asked the thorn bush, ‘You come and be our king.’
And alle trees seiden to the ramne, ether theue thorn, Come thou, and be lord on vs.
15 The thorn bush replied to the trees, ‘If you're really sincere about anointing me as your king, come and find shelter in my shade. But if not, may fire flame out of the thorn bush and burn up the cedars of Lebanon!’
Whiche answeride to hem, If ye maken me verili kyng to you, come ye, and reste vndur my schadewe; sotheli, if ye nylen, fier go out of the ramne, and deuoure the cedris of the Liban.
16 Have you acted sincerely and honestly by making Abimelech your king? Have you been acted honorably to Jerub-baal and his family? Have you respected him for all that he accomplished?
Now therfor if riytfuli and without synne `ye han maad Abymelech kyng on you, and ye han do wel with Jerobaal, and with his hows, and ye han yolde while to the benefices of hym,
17 Don't forget how my father fought for you and risked his own life to save you from the Midianites!
that fauyt for you, and yaf his lijf to perelis, that he schulde delyuere you fro the hond of Madian;
18 But you have rebelled against my father's family today. You have killed his seventy sons on one stone and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the leaders of Shechem simply because he's related to you.
and ye han rise now ayens the hows of my fadir, and han slayn hyse sones, seuenti men, on o stoon, and `han maad Abymelech, sone of his handmayde, kyng on the dwelleris of Sichem, for he is youre brother;
19 Have you acted sincerely and honestly toward Jerub-baal and his family today? If so, may you be happy with Abimelech, and may he be happy with too!
therfor if ye han do riytfuli, and with out synne with Gerobaal and his hows, to dai be ye glad in Abymelech, and be he glad in you; but if ye han do weiwardli,
20 But if you haven't, then may fire flame out from Abimelech, and may it burn up the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire flame out from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and burn up Abimelech!”
fier go out `of hym, and waste the dwelleris of Sichem, and the citee of Mello; and fier go out of the men of Sichem, and of the citee of Mello, and deuoure Abymelech.
21 Then Jotham escaped and ran away. He went to Beer and stayed there because of the threat of Abimelech his brother.
And whanne he hadde seide these thingis, he fledde, and yede in to Berara, and dwellide there, for drede of Abymelech, his brother.
22 Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years.
And Abymelech regnede on Israel thre yeer.
23 Then God sent an evil spirit to cause trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. The leaders of Shechem betrayed Abimelech.
And the Lord sente the worste spirit bitwixe Abymelech and the dwelleris of Sichem, whiche bigynnen to holde hym abomynable,
24 This happened because of the murder of the seventy sons of Jerub-baal and that responsibility for their blood be placed on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the leaders of Shechem, who provided the means to kill his brothers.
and to arette the felony of sleyng of seuenti sones of Gerobaal, and the schedyng out of her blood, in to Abymelech her brother, and to othere princes of Sichem, that hadden helpid hym.
25 The leaders of Shechem sent men to the hill passes to lie in wait and attack Abimelech, and, in the meantime, they robbed everyone who passed by on the road. Abimelech found out what was happening.
And thei settiden buyschementis ayens hym in the hiynesse of hillis; and the while thei abideden `the comyng of hym, thei hauntiden theftis, and token preies of men passynge forth; and it was teld to Abymelech.
26 Gaal, son of Ebed, had moved to Shechem with his relatives, and he gained the loyalty of the leaders of Shechem.
Forsothe Gaal, `the sone of Obed, cam with his britheren, and passide in to Siccima; at whos entryng the dwelleris of Sichem weren reisid, and yeden out `in to feeldis,
27 At harvest time they went out into the countryside and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them. They celebrated by having a festival in the temple of their god, where they ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
and wastiden vyneris, and `to-traden grapis; and with cumpeneys of syngeris maad thei entriden in to `the temple of her God, and among metis and drynkis thei cursiden Abymalech, while Gaal,
28 “Who is this Abimelech?” asked Gaal, son of Ebed. “And who is Shechem, that we should have to serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerub-baal, while Zebul is actually the one in charge? You should serve the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we have to serve Abimelech?
the sone of Obed, criede, Who is this Abymelech? And what is Sichem, that we serue hym? Whether he is not the sone of Jerobaal, and made Zebul his seruaunt prince on the men of Emor, fadir of Sichem? Whi therfor schulen we serue hym?
29 If I was the one in charge of you people, I would dispose of Abimelech! I would tell him, ‘Get your army together, and come and fight!’”
`Y wolde, that sum man yaf this puple vndur myn hond, that Y schulde take awei Abimelech fro the myddis. And it was seid to Abymelech, Gadere thou the multitude of oost, and come thou.
30 When Zebul, the governor of the city, got to hear what Gaal was saying, he became very angry.
For whanne the wordis of Gaal, sone of Obed, weren herd, Zebul, the prynce of the citee, was ful wrooth;
31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech to tell him, “Look, Gaal, son of Ebed, and his relatives have arrived in Shechem, and they are stirring up the town to rebel against you.
and he sente priueli messangeris to Abymelech, and seide, Lo! Gaal, sone of Obed, cam in to Siccymam, with hise britheren, and he excitith the citee to fiyte ayens thee;
32 So come at night with your army and hide in the countryside.
therfor rise thou bi niyt with the puple, which is with thee, and be thou hid in the feeld;
33 In the morning as soon as the sun comes up, go and attack the town. When Gaal and his men come out to fight you, you can do whatever you want to them.”
and first in the morewtid, whanne the sunne rysith, falle on the citee; forsothe whanne he goth out with his puple ayens thee, do thou to hym that that thou maist.
34 Abimelech left at night along with his army, and they separated into four companies that lay in wait near Shechem.
Therfor Abymelech roos with al his oost bi nyyt, and settide buyschementis bisidis Siccimam, in foure placis.
35 When Gaal, son of Ebed, went out and stood at the town's entrance gate, Abimelech and his army came out from where they had been hiding.
And Gaal, the sone of Obed, yede out, and stood in the entryng of `the yate of the citee. Forsothe Abymelech and al the oost with hym roos fro the place of buyschementis.
36 Gaal saw the army approaching and said to Zebul, “Look! Some people are coming down from the hilltops!” “That's just shadows made by the hills that look like men,” Zebul replied.
And whanne Gaal hadde seyn the puple, he seide to Zebul, Lo! a multitude cometh doun fro the hillis. To whom he answeride, Thou seest the schadewis of hillis as the `heedis of men, and thou art disseyued bi this errour.
37 “No really, people are coming down from the high ground,” Gaal repeated. “Plus, there's another company coming down the road that passes the diviners' oak tree.”
And eft Gaal seide, Lo! a puple cometh doun fro the myddis of erthe, `that is, fro the hiynesse of hillis, and o cumpeny cometh bi the weie that biholdith the ook.
38 “Where's your big mouth now? You're the one who said, ‘Who is this Abimelech, that we should have to serve him?’” Zebul told him. “Aren't these the people you detested? Go on then—go and fight with them!”
To whom Zebul seide, Where is now thi mouth, bi which thou spekist, Who is Abymelech, that we serue hym? Whether this is not the puple, whom thou dispisidist? Go thou out, and fiyte ayens hym.
39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out of the town and fought with Abimelech.
Therfor Gaal yede, while the puple of Sichen abood; and he fauyt ayens Abymelech.
40 Abimelech attacked, and chased him and his men as they ran away, killing many of them as they tried to get back to the town gate.
Which pursuede Gaal fleynge, and constreynede to go in to the citee; and ful many of his part felde doun `til to the yate of the citee.
41 Abimelech went back to Arumah while Zebul expelled Gaal and his relatives from Shechem.
And Abymelech sat in Ranna; sotheli Zebul puttide Gaal and hise felowis out of the citee, and suffride not to dwelle ther ynne.
42 The following day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and Abimelech was informed about it.
Therfor in the dai suynge the puple yede out in to the feeld; and whanne this thing was teld to Abymelech,
43 He divided his army into three companies and had them lay in ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he attacked and killed them.
he took his oost, and departide `in to thre cumpenyes, and settide buyschementis in the feeldis; and he siy that the puple yede out of the citee, and he roos,
44 Abimelech and his company raced to occupy the town's entrance gate, while the two companies raced to attack everyone in the fields and kill them.
and felde on hem with his cumpeny, and enpugnyde and bisegide the citee. Sothely twei cumpenyes yeden aboute opynli bi the feeld, and pursueden aduersaries.
45 The battle for the town lasted all day but eventually Abimelech captured it. He killed the people, demolished the town, and scattered salt over the ground.
Certis Abymelech fauyt ayens the citee in al that dai, which he took, whanne the dwelleris weren slayn, and that citee was destried, so that he spreynte abrood salt ther ynne.
46 When all the leaders of the tower of Shechem realized what had happened, they took refuge in the strongroom of the temple of El-berith.
And whanne thei, that dwelliden in the tour of Sichem, hadde herd this, thei entriden in to the temple of her god Berith, where thei hadden maad boond of pees with hym; and of that the place took name, which place was ful strong.
47 When Abimelech found out that all the leaders in the tower of Shechem had gathered there,
And Abymelech herde the men of the tour of Sichem gaderid to gidere,
48 he and all the men with him went up Mount Zalmon. Abimelech grabbed hold of an ax and cut a branch from the trees. He lifted it onto his shoulder, and told his men, “Quick! You saw what I did. Do the same!”
and he stiede in to the hil Selmon with al his puple; and with an axe takun he kittide doun a boow of a tre, and he bar it, put on the schuldur, and seide to felowis, Do ye this thing, which ye seen me do.
49 Each of them cut down a branch and followed Abimelech. They placed the branches against the strongroom and set it on fire. So all the people who lived in the tower of Shechem died, around one thousand men and women.
Therfor with strijf thei kittiden doun bowis of the trees, and sueden the duyk; whiche cumpassiden and brenten `the tour; and so it was doon, that with smooke and fier a thousynde of men weren slayn, men togidere and wymmen, of the dwelleris of the tour of Sichem.
50 Then Abimelech went to attack Thebez and captured it.
Forsothe Abymelech wente forth fro thennus, and cam to the citee of Thebes, which he cumpasside, and bisegide with an oost.
51 But there was a strong tower inside the city. All the men and women and the town leaders ran there and barricaded themselves in, and then went up to the roof of the tower.
Forsothe the tour was hiy in the myddis of the citee, to which men togidere and wymmen fledden, and alle the princes of the citee, while the yate was closid stronglieste; and thei stoden on the roof of the tour bi toretis.
52 Abimelech went up to the tower to attack it. But as he came close to the tower's entrance to set it on fire,
And Abymelech cam bisidis the tour, and fauyt strongli, and he neiyede to the dore, and enforside to putte fier vndur; and lo!
53 a woman dropped millstone down on Abimelech's head and cracked his skull open.
o womman castide fro aboue a gobet of a mylnestoon, and hurtlide to `the heed of Abymelech, and brak his brayn.
54 He quickly called the young man who carried his weapons, and ordered him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so they won't say about me that a woman killed him.” So the young man drove his sword through him, and he died.
And he clepide soone his squyer, and seide to hym, Drawe out thi swerd, and sle me, lest perauenture it be seid, that Y am slan of a womman. Which performede `the comaundementis, and `killide Abymelech;
55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all left and went home.
and whanne he was deed, alle men of Israel that weren with hym turneden ayen to her seetis.
56 This is how God paid back Abimelech's crime against his father of murdering his seventy brothers.
And God yeldide to Abymelech the yuel that he dide ayens his fadir, for he killide hise seuenti britheren.
57 He also repaid the people of Shechem for their evil, and the curse of Jotham, son of Jerub-baal, came down upon them.
Also that thing was yoldun to men of Sichem, which thei wrouyten, and the curs of Joathan, sone of Jerobaal, cam on hem.
