Judges 士师记09

9Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan¹,
2"Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."
3When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother."
4They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers².
5He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding.
6Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.
7When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
8One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'
9"But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'
10"Next, the trees said to the fig³ tree, 'Come and be our king.'
11"But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'
12"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'
13"But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'
14"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'
15"The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars⁴ of Lebanon!'
16"Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves-
17and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian
18(but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)-
19if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!
20But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"
21Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
22After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,
23God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously⁵ against Abimelech.
24God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged⁶ on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.
25In opposition⁷ to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush⁸ and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.
26Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him.
27After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.
28Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech?
29If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!' "
30When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry.
31Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you.
32Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields.
33In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."
34So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed⁹ positions near Shechem in four companies.
35Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing¹⁰ at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.
36When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."
37But Gaal spoke¹¹ up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."
38Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed¹²? Go out and fight them!"
39So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech.
40Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight-all the way to the entrance to the gate.
41Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
42The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech.
43So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them.
44Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down.
45All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered¹³ salt over it.
46On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.
47When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there,
48he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!"
49So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.
50Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged¹⁴ it and captured it.
51Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women-all the people of the city-fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.
52Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire,
53a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull¹⁵.
54Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.' " So his servant ran him through, and he died.
55When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.
56Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.
57God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

1 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

4 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

5 treacherously   

背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地

参考例句：

• The mountain road treacherously. 山路蜿蜒曲折。
• But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 他们却如亚当背约，在境内向我行事诡诈。

6 avenged   

v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复

参考例句：

• She avenged her mother's death upon the Nazi soldiers. 她惩处了纳粹士兵以报杀母之仇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Indians avenged the burning of their village on〔upon〕 the settlers. 印第安人因为村庄被焚毁向拓居者们进行报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

9 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

14 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

15 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。