Judges 9
1 Gideon’s son Abimelech went to [talk with] his mother’s brothers in Shechem [city]. He said to them and to all his mother’s relatives,
Abimelec, hijo de Jerobaal, se fue a Siquem y habló a los hermanos de su madre, a ellos y a toda la parentela de la casa del padre de su madre, en los siguientes términos:
2 “Ask all the leaders of your city: ‘Do you [think it would be] good for all 70 of Gideon’s sons to rule over you? Or would it be better to have only one of his sons, [me], to rule over you?’ And do not forget that I am your relative! [MTY]”
“Decid, os ruego, al oído de todos los vecinos de Siquem: “¿Qué es mejor para vosotros: el que reinen sobre vosotros setenta hombres, hijos todos ellos de Jerobaal, o que reine sobre vosotros uno solo? Acordaos también de que yo soy hueso vuestro y carne vuestra.”
3 So Abimelech’s mother’s brothers spoke to all the leaders of Shechem about what Abimelech had said. They said to each other, “We should allow Abimelech to rule over us, because he is our relative.”
Repitieron los hermanos de su madre todas estas palabras referentes a él, de modo que las oyeron todos los vecinos de Siquem, y se inclinó el corazón de ellos hacia Abimelec; pues decían: “Es nuestro hermano.”
4 So the leaders of Shechem took from the temple of [their god] Baal-Berith (almost 2 pounds/0.8 kg.) of silver and gave it to Abimelech. With that silver he paid some worthless troublemakers to help him, and they went with Abimelech wherever he went.
Y le dieron setenta siclos de plata del templo de Baal-Berit, con los cuales Abimelec tomó a sueldo hombres ociosos y aventureros que le siguieron.
5 They went to Ophrah, his father’s town, and murdered 69 of his 70 brothers, the sons of his father Gideon. They killed all those men on one huge rock. But Gideon’s youngest son Jotham hid [from Abimelech and his men], and he escaped.
Y llegó a Ofrá, a la casa de su padre, y mató a sus hermanos, los hijos de Jerobaal, setenta hombres, sobre una misma piedra. Solo pudo escapar Joatam, el hijo menor de Jerobaal, porque se escondió.
6 Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered under the big sacred tree in Shechem. There they appointed Abimelech to be their leader.
Entonces se reunieron todos los vecinos de Siquem y todos los de Bet-Meló y fueron a proclamar rey a Abimelec, junto al terebinto del santuario que está en Siquem.
7 When Jotham heard about that, he climbed up Gerizim Mountain. He stood at the top of the mountain and shouted to the people [down below], “You leaders of Shechem, listen to me, in order that God will listen to you!
Habiéndolo oído Joatam, se fue y apostándose en la cumbre del monte Garizim, alzó su voz y les dijo a gritos: “Oídme, señores de Siquem, para que os oiga Dios.
8 One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over all of them. So they said to the olive tree, ‘You be our king!’
Fueron una vez los árboles a ungir un rey que reinase sobre ellos; y dijeron al olivo: «Reina tú sobre nosotros».
9 “But the olive tree said, ‘No! [I will not be your king] Men and gods enjoy the oil from my fruit. I will not [RHQ] stop producing [olives from which we make] that oil, in order to rule over you other trees!’
El olivo les contestó: «¿Puedo acaso yo dejar mi grosura, con la cual se honra a Dios y a los hombres, para ir a mecerme sobre los árboles?»
10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’
Entonces dijeron los árboles a la higuera: «Ven tú y reina sobre nosotros».
11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘No! I do not want to [RHQ] stop producing my good sweet fruit, and rule over you other trees!’
La higuera les respondió: «¿He de dejar acaso mi dulzura y mi excelente fruto, para ir a mecerme sobre los árboles?»
12 “Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and be our king!’
Dijeron, pues, los árboles a la vid: «Ven tú y reina sobre nosotros».
13 “But the grapevine replied, ‘No! [I will not be your king] The new wine [that is made from my grapes] causes people and gods [who drink it] to become very happy. I do not want to stop producing grapes and rule over you other trees!’ [RHQ]
Mas la vid les respondió: «¿He de dejar acaso mi vino que alegra a Dios y a los hombres, para ir a mecerme sobre los árboles?»
14 “Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king!’
Entonces todos los árboles dijeron a la zarza: «Ven tú y reina sobre nosotros».
15 “The thornbush replied, ‘If you truly want to appoint me to be your king, come into the shade of my [tiny branches]. But if you do not want to do that, I hope/desire that fire will come out from me and burn up all the huge cedar trees in Lebanon [country]!’”
Respondió la zarza a los árboles: «Si es que en verdad queréis ungirme rey sobre vosotros, venid y refugiaos bajo mi sombra; y si no, salga fuego de la zarza que devore los cedros del Líbano».
16 “[After] Jotham [finished telling them this parable, he] said, “So now [I ask you], were you being completely honest and sincere when you appointed Abimelech to be your king [RHQ]? And have you treated Gideon and his family [RHQ] fairly? Have you rewarded Gideon by honoring him as he deserved [because of all the good things he did for you]? No!
Ahora, pues, (preguntaos) si habéis obrado fiel y justamente haciendo rey a Abimelec, y si os habéis portado bien con Jerobaal y su casa, y si le habéis tratado como lo merecía la obra de sus manos;
17 “[Do not forget that] my father fought a battle for you, and he was willing to die for you [if that had been necessary], to save you from the Midian people-group.
pues mi padre peleó por vosotros, exponiendo su vida a los mayores peligros, y os libró del poder de Madián;
18 But now you have rebelled against my father’s family, and you have killed 69 of his sons on one huge rock. And you have appointed Abimelech—who is the son of my father’s slave girl, [not the son of his wife]—to be the king who will rule you people of Shechem. You have done that only because he is one of your relatives!
pero vosotros os habéis levantado hoy contra la casa de mi padre; habéis matado a sus hijos, setenta hombres, sobre una misma piedra, y habéis puesto a Abimelec, hijo de una esclava suya, por rey sobre los vecinos de Siquem, por ser él vuestro hermano.
19 So, if today you have truly acted fairly and sincerely toward Gideon and his family, I hope/desire that he will cause you to be happy and that you will cause him to be happy.
Si pues en este día habéis obrado fiel y justamente con Jerobaal y con su casa, complaceos en Abimelec, y complázcase él en vosotros.
20 But if what you did was not right, I wish/desire that Abimelech will burn up all of you leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo with fire! And I also hope/desire that the leaders of Shechem and Beth-Millo will cause fire to burn up Abimelech!”
Pero si no, salga fuego de Abimelec, fuego que devore a los vecinos de Siquem y de Bet-Meló, y salga fuego de los vecinos de Siquem y de Bet-Meló, que devore a Abimelec.”
21 [After] Jotham [finished saying that, he] escaped from them and ran away to Beer [town]. He stayed there because he was afraid that his brother Abimelech [would try to kill him].
Luego Joatam emprendió la huida, y huyendo se fue a Beer donde habitó por temor de su hermano Abimelec.
22 Abimelech [became the leader of all the people of Israel. He] ruled them for three years.
Reinó Abimelec tres años sobre Israel.
23 Then God sent an evil spirit [to cause trouble] between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, with the result that the leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech.
Entonces envió Dios un espíritu maligno entre Abimelec y los vecinos de Siquem, y los vecinos de Siquem se portaron pérfidamente con Abimelec;
24 The leaders of Shechem had previously helped Abimelech to kill 69 of Gideon’s sons, who were his brothers. So now God sent the evil spirit to punish all of them.
para que se vengase el crimen hecho contra los setenta hijos de Jerobaal, y para que su sangre cayese sobre Abimelec su hermano, que los mató, y también sobre los vecinos de Siquem, que le habían ayudado a matar a sus hermanos.
25 The leaders of Shechem (set an ambush/sent men to hide) on the hilltops to ambush Abimelech. Those men robbed everyone who passed by. But someone told Abimelech about it, [so he did not go near them].
Los vecinos de Siquem le pusieron emboscadas sobre las cimas de las montañas, para despojar a cuantos pasaban por el camino junto a ellos. Esto llegó al conocimiento de Abimelec.
26 There was a man named Gaal, the son of Ebed, who moved into Shechem [city], along with his brothers. Soon the leaders of Shechem started to trust him.
Entre tanto llegó Gáal, hijo de Ebed, con sus hermanos, y entraron en Siquem, y los siquemitas pusieron en él su confianza.
27 They went out [of the city] to their vineyards and picked some grapes. They pressed the grapes [to make juice, and then they made wine]. Then they had a feast in the temple of their god, and they ate [a lot of food] and drank [a lot of wine]. Then they cursed Abimelech.
Salieron al campo, vendimiaron sus viñas y pisaron (las uvas), haciendo gran fiesta; luego entraron en la casa de su dios, y mientras comían y bebían, maldecían a Abimelec.
28 Gaal said, “(Why should [we allow] Abimelech to rule over us?/We should not allow Abimelech to rule over us!) [RHQ] He is only one of Gideon’s sons [so he really does not belong to us] [RHQ]! And he appointed Zebul, the governor of our city, to be his deputy! We should (serve/be loyal to) [one of the descendants of] Hamor, [the founder of our city], and let him be our leader, not Abimelech [RHQ]!
Dijo entonces Gáal, hijo de Ebed: “¿Quién es Abimelec, y quién es Siquem, para que le sirvamos? ¿No es el hijo de Jerobaal, y no es Zebul su lugarteniente? Servid a los hombres de Hemor, padre de Siquem. ¿Por qué hemos de servir nosotros (a Abimelec)?
29 If you would appoint me to be your leader, I would get rid of Abimelech. I would say to him, ‘Get your army ready, [and then come to fight us]!’”
¡Ojalá estuviera este pueblo bajo mi mando! Yo expulsaría a Abimelec.” Y envió a decir a Abimelec: “Refuerza tu ejército y sal.”
30 When someone told Zebul what Gaal said, he was very angry.
Cuando Zebul, comandante de la ciudad, oyó las palabras de Gáal, hijo de Ebed, montó en cólera,
31 He secretly sent some messengers to Abimelech. They told him, “Gaal and his brothers have come here to Shechem, and they are causing [the people of] the city to rebel against you.
y enviando secretamente mensajeros a Abimelec le dijo: “Mira que Gáal, hijo de Ebed, y sus hermanos han venido a Siquem, y he aquí que ellos están sublevando la ciudad contra ti.
32 You and your men should get up during the night and go and hide in the fields outside the city.
Levántate de noche, tú y la gente que tienes contigo, y ponte en emboscada en el campo,
33 As soon as the sun rises in the morning, get up and attack the city. When Gaal and his men come out to fight against you, you can do to them whatever you want to.”
y por la mañana, al salir el sol, levántate pronto y cae sobre la ciudad; cuando él y la gente que está con él salgan contra ti, podrás hacer con él según la fuerza de tu mano.
34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him got up during the night. They [divided into] four groups, [and] hid [in the fields] near Shechem.
Abimelec se levantó de noche, él y toda la gente que le acompañaba, y divididos en cuatro compañías se pusieron en emboscada contra Siquem.
35 [The next morning], Gaal went out and stood at the entrance to the city gate. While he was standing there, Abimelech and his soldiers came out of their hiding places [and started walking toward the city].
Y cuando Gáal, Hijo de Ebed, salió y se apostó a la entrada de la puerta de la ciudad, salió Abimelec de la emboscada con la gente que tenía consigo.
36 When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, “Look! There are people coming down from the hills!” But Zebul said, “You are seeing only the shadows [of trees] on the hills. They [are not people; they] only resemble people.”
Viendo Gáal la gente, dijo a Zebul: “He aquí gente que baja de las cimas de los montes.” Zebul le contesto: “Lo que ves es la sombra de los montes, y te parecen hombres.”
37 But Gaal [looked] again [and] said, “Look! There are people coming down from the top of the sacred mountain! There is a group of them coming down from where the tree is where people talk with the spirits of dead people!”
Gáal volvió a hablar, diciendo: “Mira que baja gente del ombligo del país y una compañía viene de la encina de los adivinos.”
38 Zebul said to Gaal, “Now (what good is your bragging?/your bragging is worthless!) [MTY, RHQ] You said, ‘(Why should we serve Abimelech/We should not allow Abimelech to rule over us)?’ You made fun of these men. So now go out and fight them!”
Entonces dijo Zebul: “¿Dónde está ahora tu boca, con que dijiste: Quién es Abimelec, para que le sirvamos? ¿No es esta la gente que despreciaste? Sal, pues, ahora y pelea contra ellos.
39 So Gaal led the men of Shechem outside [the city] to fight Abimelech [and his men].
Salió Gáal, a la vista de los vecinos de Siquem, y dio batalla a Abimelec.
40 Abimelech and his men pursued them, and they killed many of Gaal’s men before they could return [safely] inside the city gate.
Y Abimelec le persiguió, porque, huyó delante de él, y cayeron muchos traspasados hasta la entrada de la puerta.
41 Abimelech then stayed at Arumah, [about five miles away from Shechem], and Zebul’s men forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.
Abimelec permaneció en Arumá; y Zebul expulsó a Gáal y a sus hermanos de modo que no pudieron quedarse en Siquem.
42 The next day, the people of Shechem [got ready to leave the city and work] in their fields. When someone told Abimelech about that,
Al día siguiente salió el pueblo al campo; de lo cual avisado Abimelec,
43 he divided his men into three groups, and told them to hide in the fields. So they did that. And when they saw the people coming out of the city, they jumped up and attacked them.
tomó su gente, la dividió en tres compañías y los puso en emboscada en el campo; y cuando vio que la gente salía de la ciudad, se levantó contra ellos para derrotarlos.
44 Abimelech and the men who were with him ran to the city gate. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and attacked them.
Abimelec y el destacamento que le seguía, avanzaron y se apostaron a la entrada de la puerta de la ciudad, en tanto que las otras dos compañías se lanzaron sobre todos los que estaban en el campo y los destrozaron.
45 Abimelech and his men fought all day. They captured the city and killed all the people. They tore down all the buildings, and then they threw salt over the ruins [in order that nothing would grow there again].
Abimelec asaltó la ciudad todo aquel día, la tomó y mató la gente que había en ella. Después arrasó la ciudad, y la sembró de sal.
46 When the leaders who lived in the tower/fortress outside of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid inside the [fortress, which was also a] temple of [their god] El-Berith.
Al oír esto, todos los hombres de la torre de Siquem se refugiaron en la fortaleza del templo de El-Berit.
47 But someone told Abimelech that all the leaders had gathered there.
Cuando Abimelec supo que allí se habían reunido todos los hombres de la torre de Siquem,
48 So he and all the men who were with him went up Zalmon Mountain [which is near Shechem]. Abimelech cut some branches of trees with an axe, and put them on his shoulders. Then he said to all the men who were with him, “Quickly, do what I have just done!”
subió al monte Salmón, él y toda la gente que le seguía; y tomando un hacha en su mano, cortó la rama de un árbol, la alzó, se la puso al hombro y mandó a la gente que le acompañaba: “Lo que me habéis visto hacer, haced pronto igual que yo.”
49 So his men all cut branches [then carried them down the mountain], following Abimelech. They went to the fortress and piled the branches against its walls. Then they kindled a fire, and the fire burned down the fortress and killed all the people who were inside. So all the people who were inside the fortress—about 1,000 men and women—died.
Y cortó también toda la gente cada cual una rama, y siguiendo tras Abimelec, las colocaron sobre la fortaleza, a la cual pegaron fuego, cubriéndolos con llamas, y así murió también toda la gente de la torre de Siquem, unos mil hombres y mujeres.
50 Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebes [city]. They surrounded it and captured it.
Después marchó Abimelec a Tebes, la asedió y la tomó.
51 But there was a strong tower inside the city. So all the men, women, and leaders of the city ran to the tower. When they were all inside, they locked the door. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower.
Mas había en medio de la ciudad una torre fuerte, adonde se habían refugiado todos los hombres y las mujeres, y todos los vecinos de la ciudad; y cerrando tras sí subieron al terrado de la torre.
52 Abimelech and his men came to the tower and tried to get in the door, [but they could not]. Then Abimelech prepared to light a fire to burn down the door.
Avanzó Abimelec hasta la torre y la asaltó; mas cuando había llegado ya hasta la puerta de la torre para incendiarla,
53 But when Abimelech came near the doorway, a woman [who was on the roof] dropped a big grinding stone on his head, and crushed his skull.
arrojó una mujer la piedra superior de un molino sobre la cabeza de Abimelec, y le rompió el cráneo.
54 Abimelech quickly called to the young man who carried Abimelech’s weapons, and said, “Pull out your sword and kill me with it! I do not want people to say ‘It was a woman who killed Abimelech.’” So the young man thrust his sword into Abimelech, and Abimelech died.
Llamó él en seguida al joven, su escudero, y le dijo: “Saca tu espada y mátame, para que no digan de mí: le mató una mujer.” Le traspasó entonces el joven, y así murió.
55 When the Israeli soldiers saw that Abimelech was dead, they all returned to their homes.
Cuando vieron los hombres de Israel que había muerto Abimelec, se fueron, cada cual a su lugar.
56 In that way God punished Abimelech for the evil things that he had done to his father and especially for killing all 69 of his brothers.
Así retribuyó Dios a Abimelec el mal que había hecho contra su padre matando a sus setenta hermanos.
57 God also punished the men of Shechem for the evil things that they had done. And when those things happened, it fulfilled what Gideon’s son Jotham said when he cursed [Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem].
También sobre la cabeza de los hombres de Siquem hizo Dios caer todo el mal que habían hecho. Así se cumplió en ellos la maldición de Joatam, hijo de Jerobaal.
