Judges 9:4 — compare Bible translations

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Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

9:4 OSHB note: We read the punctuation in L differently from BHQ.

9:4 OSHB note: Marks an anomalous form.

9:4 OSHB note: We read punctuation in L differently from BHS.

9:4 OSHB note: We read the punctuation in L differently from BHQ.

9:4 OSHB note: Marks an anomalous form.

9:4 OSHB note: We read punctuation in L differently from BHS.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἔδωκαν αὐτῷ ἑβδομήκοντα ἀργυρίου ἐξ οἴκου Βααλβερίθ· καὶ ἐμισθώσατο ἑαυτῷ Ἀβιμέλεχ ἄνδρας κενοὺς καὶ δειλοὺς, καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ.
(Kai edōkan autōi hebdomaʸkonta arguriou ex oikou Baʼalberith; kai emisthōsato heautōi Abimeleⱪ andras kenous kai deilous, kai eporeuthaʸsan opisō autou.)

BrTr And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith; and Abimelech hired for himself vain and cowardly men, and they went after him.

ULT Then they gave 70 silver to him from the house of Baal-Berith, and with them Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they went after him.

UST So the leaders of Shechem took about a kilogram of silver from the temple of their god Baal-Berith and gave it to Abimelech. He used that money to hire some wicked and violent men. They did whatever he told them to do.

BSB So they gave him seventy [shekels] of silver[fn] from the temple of Baal -berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

9:4 70 shekels is approximately 1.76 pounds or 797.8 grams of silver.

OEB No OEB JDG 9:4 book available

WEBBE They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and reckless fellows who followed him.

NET They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous men as his followers.

LSV and they give seventy [pieces] of silver out of the house of Ba‘al-Berith to him, and Abimelech hires vain and unstable men with them, and they go after him;

FBV 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.

T4T 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.

LEB And they gave to him seventy pieces of silver from the temple[fn] of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them[fn] worthless and reckless men, and _⌊they followed him_⌋.[fn]

9:4 Or “house”

9:4 That is, the pieces of silver

9:4 Literally “They went after him”

BBE And they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech got the support of a number of uncontrolled and good-for-nothing persons.

Moff No Moff JDG 9:4 book available

JPS And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.

ASV And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.

DRA And they gave him seventy weight of silver out of the temple of Baalberith: wherewith he hired to himself men that were needy, and vagabonds, and they followed him.

YLT and they give to him seventy silverings out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hireth with them men, vain and unstable, and they go after him;

Drby And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton men, and they followed him.

RV And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, which followed him.

SLT And they will give him seventy of silver from the house of Baal of the covenant, and Abimelech will hire with them men empty and vain-glorious, and they will go after him.

Wbstr And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light persons, who followed him.

KJB-1769 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

KJB-1611 And they gaue him threescore and ten pieces of siluer, out of the house of Baal-Berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vaine & light persons, which followed him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And they gaue him threescore and ten peeces of siluer out of the house of Baal Berith, wherwith Abimelech hyred vayne and light persons, which went with hym.
(And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which went with him.)

Gnva And they gaue him seuentie pieces of siluer out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vayne and light fellowes which followed him.
(And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows which followed him.)

Cvdl and gaue him thre score and ten syluerlinges out of ye house of Baal Berith. And wt them Abimelech hyred men that were vagabundes and of light condicions, which folowed him.
(and gave him three score and ten silverlings/silver_coins out of ye/you_all house of Baal Berith. And with them Abimelech hired men that were vagabonds and of light conditions, which followed him.)

Wycl 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.
(And they gave to him seventy weights of silver of the temple of Baal Berith; and he hired to him thereof men poor and having no certain dwelling, and they followed him.)

Luth Und gaben ihm siebenzig Silberlinge aus dem Hause Baal-Beriths. Und Abimelech dingete damit lose, leichtfertige Männer, die ihm nachfolgeten.
(And gave him seventy silver_coins out_of to_him house(n) Baal-berith’s. And Abimelech hired with_it/so_that lose, reckless men, the him succeeded.)

ClVg Dederuntque illi septuaginta pondo argenti de fano Baalberit. Qui conduxit sibi ex eo viros inopes et vagos, secutique sunt eum.
(And_they_gave them seventy by_weight silver from/about temple Baalberit. Who hired to_himself from by_him men helpless and roving, and_followed are him.)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

שִׁבְעִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף

(Some words not found in UHB: and,they_gave to=him/it seventy pieces_of_silver from,the_house_of Baˊal- -berith and,he_hired (is)_in=them ʼAⱱīmelek men worthless and,undisciplined and,they_went after,him )

The author is using the word silver by association to mean silver shekels, a unit of weight. Alternate translation: [70 shekels of silver]

Note 2 topic: translate-bweight

שִׁבְעִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף

A silver shekel weighed about 11 grams, so these 70 shekels weighed a little less than a kilogram, or almost two pounds. In your translation, you could use the ancient measurement and spell the word “shekel” the way it sounds in your language. You could also say “coins” rather than “shekels.” Alternatively, you could use the metric measurement given in the UST or another measurement that your language and culture customarily use, or you could use the ancient measurement in your translation and put a modern measurement in parentheses in the text or in a footnote. Alternate translation: [70 silver shekels] or [70 silver coins]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִ⁠בֵּ֖יתּ בַ֣עַל בְּרִ֑ית

The author is speaking of the temple of Baal-Berith as if it had been a house in which that false god lived. Alternate translation: [from the temple of Baal-Berith]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

אֲנָשִׁ֤ים רֵיקִים֙ וּ⁠פֹ֣חֲזִ֔ים

This phrase expresses a single idea by using two words connected with and. The idea is that because these men were worthless, that is, unprincipled, they were not careful to do what was right and avoid doing what was wrong, that is, they were reckless. So Abimelech could hire them to commit murder, as the next verse describes. Your language may have a comparable expression for people whose consciences do not keep them from doing wrong. Alternate translation: [hardened criminals]

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Abimelech Seizes Power

Judges 9

Virtually every account in the book of Judges paints this formative period in Israel’s history as a very dark, brutal time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The story of Abimelech’s rise to power is no exception. Judges 6-8 recounts the heroic deeds of Gideon, a Manassite from the clan of Abiezer who rescued the Israelites from the Midianites. After Gideon’s victory, he returned to his hometown of Ophrah, and Israel enjoyed peace for the rest of his lifetime. But Gideon also left a legacy of idolatry by him, by his family, and by many Israelites. Gideon had many wives and seventy sons, as well as a concubine in Shechem who gave birth to another son named Abimelech (Judges 8:29-32). It appears that when Abimelech grew up, he settled in Arumah, (Judges 9:31), just outside Manassite territory in the tribal allotment of Ephraim (Joshua 16-17; see “Poster Map of the Tribe of Manasseh (West) and Its Surroundings, circa 1200 B.C.” map). Perhaps this move to non-Manassite territory reflected Abimelech’s lack of a legitimate heritage from his Manassite father. Later, Abimelech visited his relatives in Shechem and convinced them to persuade the leaders of Shechem to make him ruler over the city. To ensure that none of his seventy brothers, who were legitimate heirs to Gideon, challenged his authority, Abimelech went to Ophrah and killed all but one of them. The only brother to escape was Jotham, the youngest, and he went to the top of Mount Gerizim and warned them against betraying Gideon by making Abimelech king. Then he fled to the town of Beer, perhaps the same as Beeroth near the town of Gibeon. After three years, however, the leaders of Shechem began to grow dissatisfied with Abimelech as their king, and a man named Gaal offered to rule in place of him. Abimelech’s ally Zebul, who was one of the leaders of Shechem, went to Arumah and told Abimelech what Gaal was planning to do. So Gideon and his men split up into four groups and secretly surrounded the city at night. Then they attacked Gaal’s men, and Gaal’s men retreated into Shechem. Zebul drove them back out into the fields, and Abimelech’s men defeated them and captured the city. Some of the leaders of Shechem fled into the temple of El-berith (or Baal-berith), but Abimelech and his men cut down branches from Mount Zalmon (likely Mount Ebal just north of Shechem) and set fire to the temple, killing about 1000 people inside. Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebez and attacked the city. Many of the citizens took refuge inside a strong tower in the town, and Abimelech prepared to set fire to the entrance. But a woman on the roof dropped a millstone on his head, crushing his skull, so Abimelech commanded his armor bearer to kill him.

Parallel HERO 9:4

Abimelech Seizes Power