“ After him, another king will take his place. Many people will hate him. He will not be honored as a king should be. He will lead an army into the kingdom when its people feel secure. He will make clever plans to capture it.

“必有一个卑鄙的人兴起接续为王，人未曾将国的尊荣给他，他却趁人坦然无备的时候，用谄媚的话得国。

“后来，有一个卑鄙的人兴起接续他的王位，人未曾将国的尊荣给他，他却趁人无备的时候前来，用诡诈夺取政权。

“后来，有一个卑鄙的人兴起接续他的王位，人未曾将国的尊荣给他，他却趁人无备的时候前来，用诡诈夺取政权。

“接着继位的是一个卑鄙的人。他无权继位，却乘人不备用奸计夺取王位。

必另有一个卑鄙的人兴起来代替他；虽然人未曾把王国的尊荣给这人，这人却乘人不备的时候来到，用奉承的话夺得了王国。

“此后必有一个卑鄙的人兴起坐上王位；他没有被赐予王权的尊荣，却在人安稳无备的时候来到，以奸滑的手段抓取了王权。

「必有一個卑鄙的人興起接續為王，人未曾將國的尊榮給他，他卻趁人坦然無備的時候，用諂媚的話得國。

「後來，有一個卑鄙的人興起接續他的王位，人未曾將國的尊榮給他，他卻趁人無備的時候前來，用詭詐奪取政權。

「後來，有一個卑鄙的人興起接續他的王位，人未曾將國的尊榮給他，他卻趁人無備的時候前來，用詭詐奪取政權。

「接著繼位的是一個卑鄙的人。他無權繼位，卻乘人不備用奸計奪取王位。

必另有一個卑鄙的人興起來代替他；雖然人未曾把王國的尊榮給這人，這人卻乘人不備的時候來到，用奉承的話奪得了王國。

『必有一個卑鄙的人立起來接替他的位子；君王的威榮未曾給了他，他卻趁人坦然無備時用圓滑手段取得了國。

「此後必有一個卑鄙的人興起坐上王位；他沒有被賜予王權的尊榮，卻在人安穩無備的時候來到，以奸猾的手段抓取了王權。

嗣其位者、為卑陋之夫、國位之榮、原不宜得、乃乘宴安之際、以諂諛而得國、

又繼位者、所行卑賤、不宜踐位、乃因時值承平、以諂諛而得國、

繼其位者卑陋之人、原不當得國榮、乘人不備之時、用狡譎之計獲國、

“ He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.

In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

“ The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue.

“ In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

And in his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the majesty of kingship has not been conferred; but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

“ In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

“ Then there will arise in his place a despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.

“ In his place a contemptible person will stand up, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom; but he will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

He will tell lies in order to succeed. He will think he is more important than anyone else. When people feel safe, he will destroy many of them. He will stand up against the greatest Prince of all. Then he will be destroyed. But he will not be killed by human beings.

When that happens, they will receive a little help. Many who are not honest will join them.

“ Toward the end of their rule, those who refuse to obey God will become completely evil. Then another king will appear. He will have a scary- looking face. He will be a master at making clever plans.

His talk is as smooth as butter. But he has war in his heart. His words flow like olive oil. But they are like swords ready for battle.

Nineveh, the Lord has given an order concerning you. He has said,“ You will not have any children to carry on your name. I will destroy the wooden and metal statues that are in the temple of your gods. I will get your grave ready for you. You are worthless.”

“ The next king after him will send someone out to collect taxes. The taxes will help maintain the glory of his kingdom. But in a few years the king will be destroyed. It will not happen because someone becomes angry with him or kills him in battle.

He will pretend to praise those who have broken the covenant. He will lead them to do what is evil. But the people who know their God will firmly oppose him.

“ Someone from her family line will take her place. He will attack the army of the next king of Syria. Then he will enter his fort. He will fight against that army and win.

Proud and sinful people walk around openly when the evil they do is praised by the human race.

Foolish people won’t be considered noble anymore. Those who are worthless won’t be highly respected.

I told Eli I would punish his family forever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them.

Abimelek was the son of Jerub- Baal. He went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem. He spoke to them and to all the members of his mother’s family group. He said,“ Speak to all the citizens of Shechem. Tell them,‘ You can have all 70 of Jerub- Baal’s sons rule over you. Or you can have just one man rule over you. Which would you rather have?’ Remember, I’m your own flesh and blood.”The brothers told all of that to the citizens of Shechem. Then the people decided to follow Abimelek. They said,“ He’s related to us.”They gave him 28 ounces of silver. They had taken it from the temple of the god named Baal- Berith. Abimelek used it to hire some men. They were wild and weren’t good for anything. They became his followers.Abimelek went to his father’s home in Ophrah. There on a big rock he murdered his 70 brothers. All of them were the sons of Jerub- Baal. But Jotham escaped by hiding. He was Jerub- Baal’s youngest son.All the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo came together. They gathered at the stone pillar that was beside the large tree in Shechem. They wanted to crown Abimelek as their king.Jotham was told about it. So he climbed up on top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted down to them,“ Citizens of Shechem! Listen to me! Then God will listen to you.One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to an olive tree,‘ Be our king.’“ But the olive tree answered,‘ Should I give up my olive oil? It’s used to honor gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’“ Next, the trees said to a fig tree,‘ Come and be our king.’“ But the fig tree replied,‘ Should I give up my fruit? It’s so good and sweet. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’“ Then the trees said to a vine,‘ Come and be our king.’“ But the vine answered,‘ Should I give up my wine? It cheers up gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’“ Finally, all the trees spoke to a bush that had thorns. They said,‘ Come and be our king.’“ The bush asked the trees,‘ Do you really want to anoint me as king over you? If you do, come and rest in my shade. But if you don’t, I will destroy you! Fire will come out of me and burn up the cedar trees of Lebanon!’“ Did you act in an honest way when you made Abimelek your king? Did you really do the right thing? Have you been fair to Jerub- Baal and his family? Have you given him the honor he’s worthy of?Remember that my father fought for you. He put his life in danger for you. He saved you from the power of Midian.But today you have turned against my father’s family. You have murdered his 70 sons on a big rock. Abimelek is only the son of my father’s female slave. But you have made him king over the citizens of Shechem. You have done that because he’s related to you.Have you citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo acted in an honest way toward Jerub- Baal? Have you done the right thing to his family today? If you have, may you be happy with Abimelek! And may he be happy with you!But if you haven’t, let fire come out from Abimelek and burn you up! And let fire come out from you and burn Abimelek up!”

He would get up early. He would stand by the side of the road that led to the city gate. Sometimes a person would come with a case for the king to decide. Then Absalom would call out to him,“ What town are you from?” He would answer,“ I’m from one of the tribes of Israel.”Absalom would say,“ Look, your claims are based on the law. So you have every right to make them. But the king doesn’t have anyone here who can listen to your case.”Absalom would continue,“ I wish I were appointed judge in the land! Then anyone who has a case or a claim could come to me. I would make sure they are treated fairly.”Sometimes people would approach Absalom and bow down to him. Then he would reach out his hand. He would take hold of them and kiss them.Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to the king with their cases or claims. That’s why the hearts of the people were turned toward him.

They hate evil people. But they honor those who have respect for the Lord. They keep their promises even when it hurts. They do not change their mind.

“ I thought about the horns. Then I saw another horn. It was a little one. It grew up among the other horns. Three of the first horns were pulled up by their roots to make room for it. The little horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being. Its mouth was always bragging.

Out of one of the four horns came another horn. It was small at first but became more and more powerful. It grew to the south and to the east and toward the beautiful land of Israel.