Judges 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
1 Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, went to his mother’s kin in Shechem,(A) and said to them and to the whole clan to which his mother’s family belonged, 2 “Put this question to all the lords of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you: that seventy men, all Jerubbaal’s sons, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ You must remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”(B) 3 When his mother’s kin repeated these words on his behalf to all the lords of Shechem, they set their hearts on Abimelech, thinking, “He is our kin.” 4 They also gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless men and outlaws as his followers. 5 He then went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. Only the youngest son of Jerubbaal, Jotham, escaped, for he was hidden. 6 Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together and made Abimelech king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem.
7 When this was reported to Jotham, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and cried out in a loud voice:
“Hear me, lords of Shechem,
and may God hear you!
8 One day the trees went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us.’
9 But the olive tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my rich oil,
whereby gods and human beings are honored,[a]
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my sweetness
and my sweet fruit,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
12 Then the trees said to the vine,
‘Come you, reign over us.’
13 But the vine answered them,
‘Must I give up my wine
that cheers gods[b] and human beings,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
14 Then all the trees said to the buckthorn,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
15 The buckthorn answered the trees,
‘If you are anointing me in good faith,
to make me king over you,
come, and take refuge in my shadow.
But if not, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’(C)
16 “Now then, if you have acted in good faith and integrity in appointing Abimelech your king, if you have acted with good will toward Jerubbaal and his house, and if you have treated him as he deserved— 17 for my father fought for you at the risk of his life when he delivered you from the power of Midian, 18 but you have risen against my father’s house today and killed his seventy sons upon one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant,(D) king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your kin— 19 if, then, you have acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech and may he in turn rejoice in you! 20 But if not, let fire come forth from Abimelech and devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and let fire come forth from the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham fled and escaped to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech.
22 When Abimelech had ruled Israel for three years, 23 God put an evil spirit(E) between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem broke faith with the house of Abimelech. 24 This was to repay the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal and to avenge their blood upon their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and upon the lords of Shechem, who encouraged him to kill his brothers. 25 The lords of Shechem then set men in ambush for him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed them on the road. It was reported to Abimelech.
26 Now Gaal, son of Ebed, and his kin came, and when they passed through Shechem, the lords of Shechem put their trust in him. 27 They went out into the fields, harvested the grapes from their vineyards, trod them out, and held a festival. Then they went to the temple of their god, where they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. 28 (F)Gaal, son of Ebed, said, “Who is Abimelech? And who is Shechem that we should serve him? Did not the son of Jerubbaal and his lieutenant Zebul serve the men of Hamor, father of Shechem?(G) So why should we serve him? 29 Would that these troops were entrusted to my command! I would depose Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Get a larger army and come out!’”
30 When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard what Gaal, son of Ebed, had said, he was angry 31 and sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah to say, “Gaal, son of Ebed, and his kin have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32 So take action tonight, you and the troops who are with you, and set an ambush in the fields. 33 Promptly at sunrise tomorrow morning, make a raid on the city. When he and the troops who are with him come out against you, deal with him as best you can.”
34 During the night Abimelech went into action with all his soldiers and set up an ambush outside of Shechem in four companies. 35 Gaal, son of Ebed, went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. When Abimelech and his soldiers rose from their place of ambush, 36 Gaal saw the soldiers and said to Zebul, “There are soldiers coming down from the mountaintops!” But Zebul answered him, “It is the shadow of the hills that you see as men.” 37 But Gaal went on to say, “Soldiers are coming down from the region of Tabbur-haarez, and one company is coming by way of Elon-meonenim.” 38 Zebul said to him, “Where now is your boast, when you said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the troops for whom you expressed contempt? Go out now and fight with them.” 39 So Gaal went out at the head of the lords of Shechem to fight against Abimelech; 40 but when Abimelech went after him, he fled from him. Many fell slain right up to the entrance of the gate. 41 Abimelech returned to Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his kin away so that they could no longer remain at Shechem.
42 The next day, the army marched out into the field, and it was reported to Abimelech. 43 He divided the troops he had into three companies, and set up an ambush in the fields. He watched until he saw the army leave the city and then went on the attack against them. 44 Abimelech and the company with him rushed in and stood by the entrance of the city gate, while the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and attacked them. 45 That entire day Abimelech fought against the city. He captured it, killed the people who were in it, and demolished the city itself, sowing it with salt.[c](H)
46 When they heard of this, all the lords of the Migdal-shechem went into the crypt of the temple of El-berith. 47 It was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the Migdal-shechem were gathered together. 48 So he went up Mount Zalmon with all his soldiers, took his ax in his hand, and cut down some brushwood. This he lifted to his shoulder, then said to the troops with him, “Hurry! Do just as you have seen me do.” 49 So all the soldiers likewise cut down brushwood and, following Abimelech, placed it against the crypt. Then they set the crypt on fire over them, so that every one of the people of the Migdal-shechem, about a thousand men and women, perished.
50 Abimelech proceeded to Thebez, encamped, and captured it. 51 Now there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled there, shutting themselves in and going up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came up to the tower and fought against it. When he came close to the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 53 a certain woman cast the upper part of a millstone[d] down on Abimelech’s head, and it fractured his skull.(I) 54 He immediately called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and put me to death so they will not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’”(J) So his attendant ran him through and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all left for their homes.
56 Thus did God repay the evil that Abimelech had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also brought all the wickedness of the people of Shechem back on their heads, for the curse of Jotham, son of Jerubbaal, overtook them.
Footnotes
- 9:9 Whereby gods and human beings are honored: olive oil had a variety of cultic uses (e.g., Lv 2:1, 6, 15; 24:2), and it was also used in the consecration of priests and kings for office (e.g., Ex 30:25, 30; 1 Sm 10:1; 16:13).
- 9:13 Cheers gods: wine was part of a number of types of offerings in the Israelite cult (cf. Ex 29:40; Lv 23:13; Nm 15:7, 10), and it was also used widely in the worship of foreign gods (cf. Dt 32:37–38; Is 65:11).
- 9:45 Sowing it with salt: a severe measure, since it rendered the soil barren and useless.
- 9:53 The upper part of a millstone: a common hand mill consisted of a large flat stone base and a smaller upper stone (cf. Dt 24:6) shaped so that it could be held in the hands and rolled or ground against the lower stone. It is an upper stone that the woman hurls over the wall to kill Abimelech.
Psalm 119:1-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 119[a]
A Prayer to God, the Lawgiver
Aleph
1 Blessed those whose way is blameless,
who walk by the law of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with all their heart.(B)
3 They do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have given them the command
to observe your precepts with care.
5 May my ways be firm
in the observance of your statutes!
6 Then I will not be ashamed
to ponder all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with sincere heart
as I study your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not leave me all alone.
Beth
9 How can the young keep his way without fault?
Only by observing your words.
10 With all my heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 In my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.(C)
13 With my lips I recite
all the judgments you have spoken.
14 I find joy in the way of your testimonies
more than in all riches.
15 I will ponder your precepts
and consider your paths.
16 In your statutes I take delight;
I will never forget your word.
Footnotes
- Psalm 119 This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. Several expected elements do not appear in the Psalm: Mount Sinai with its story of God’s revelation and gift to Israel of instruction and commandments, the Temple and other institutions related to revelation and laws (frequent in other Psalms). The Psalm is fascinated with God’s word directing and guiding human life. The poem is an acrostic; its twenty-two stanzas (of eight verses each) are in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within a stanza begins with the same letter. Each verse contains one word for “instruction.” The translation here given attempts to translate each Hebrew word for “instruction” with the same English word. There are, however, nine words for “instruction,” not eight, so the principle of a different word for “instruction” in each verse cannot be maintained with perfect consistency. The nine words for “instruction” in the translation are: law, statute, commandment, precept, testimony, word, judgment, way, and promise.
James 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Causes of Division.[a] 1 Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions[b] that make war within your members?(A) 2 You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. 3 You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 Adulterers![c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.(B) 5 Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”?[d] 6 But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:(C)
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[e]
7 So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.(D) 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.(E) 9 Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.(F)
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.[f] If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?(G)
Warning Against Presumption.[g] 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— 14 you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.[h] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.(H) 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,[i] we shall live to do this or that.” 16 But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 (I)So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.[j]
Footnotes
- 4:1–12 The concern here is with the origin of conflicts in the Christian community. These are occasioned by love of the world, which means enmity with God (Jas 4:4). Further, the conflicts are bound up with failure to pray properly (cf. Mt 7:7–11; Jn 14:13; 15:7; 16:23), that is, not asking God at all or using God’s kindness only for one’s pleasure (Jas 4:2–3). In contrast, the proper dispositions are submission to God, repentance, humility, and resistance to evil (Jas 4:7–10).
- 4:1–3 Passions: the Greek word here (literally, “pleasures”) does not indicate that pleasure is evil. Rather, as the text points out (Jas 4:2–3), it is the manner in which one deals with needs and desires that determines good or bad. The motivation for any action can be wrong, especially if one does not pray properly but seeks only selfish enjoyment (Jas 4:3).
- 4:4 Adulterers: a common biblical image for the covenant between God and his people is the marriage bond. In this image, breaking the covenant with God is likened to the unfaithfulness of adultery.
- 4:5 The meaning of this saying is difficult because the author of James cites, probably from memory, a passage that is not in any extant manuscript of the Bible. Other translations of the text with a completely different meaning are possible: “The Spirit that he (God) made to dwell in us yearns (for us) jealously,” or, “He (God) yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” If this last translation is correct, the author perhaps had in mind an apocryphal religious text that echoes the idea that God is zealous for his creatures; cf. Ex 20:5; Dt 4:24; Zec 8:2.
- 4:6 The point of this whole argument is that God wants the happiness of all, but that selfishness and pride can make that impossible. We must work with him in humility (Jas 4:10).
- 4:11 Slander of a fellow Christian does not break just one commandment but makes mockery of the authority of law in general and therefore of God.
- 4:13–17 The uncertainty of life (Jas 4:14), its complete dependence on God, and the necessity of submitting to God’s will (Jas 4:15) all help one know and do what is right (Jas 4:17). To disregard this is to live in pride and arrogance (Jas 4:16); failure to do what is right is a sin (Jas 4:17).
- 4:14 Some important Greek manuscripts here have, “You who have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Why, what is your life?”
- 4:15 If the Lord wills it: often in piety referred to as the “conditio Jacobaea,” the condition James says we should employ to qualify all our plans.
- 4:17 It is a sin: those who live arrogantly, forgetting the contingency of life and our dependence on God (Jas 4:13–16), are guilty of sin.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.