1Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s brothers, and spoke to them and to all the clan of his mother’s father’s house, saying,
2“Speak, please, in the ears of all the lords of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ And remember that I am your own bone and your flesh.”
3So his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem, and their heart inclined after Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
4And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, and with them Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
5Then he came to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; but Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, was left, for he had hidden himself.
6Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo gathered together and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that is at Shechem.
7When they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and raised his voice and called out, and he said to them: “Listen to me, lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you.”
8The trees once went to anoint a king over themselves, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
9But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which gods and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?’
10Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us.’
11But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over the trees?’
12Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us.’
13But the vine said to them, ‘Should I give up my new wine, which cheers gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?’
14Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us.’
15And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come, take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
16Now then, if you acted in truth and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and if you dealt with him according to the deserving of his hands—
17for my father fought for you and threw away his life for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian,
18but you have risen up against my father’s house this day and killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother—
19if then you have acted in truth and integrity toward Jerubbaal and toward his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
20But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.
21Then Jotham fled and ran away and went to Beer, and he stayed there because of Abimelech his brother.
22Abimelech held sway over Israel for three years.
23And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and upon the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
25And the lords of Shechem set ambushers against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road, and it was told to Abimelech.
26Now Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers, and they passed over into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem put their trust in him.
27They went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them and held a festival, and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
28And Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem! Why should we serve him?”
29“If only this people were in my hand, then I would remove Abimelech!” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”
30When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, his anger burned.
31He sent messengers to Abimelech in Tormah, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem, and behold, they are stirring up the city against you.
32Now then, rise up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.
33And in the morning, as the sun rises, rise early and rush upon the city; and behold, when he and the people with him come out against you, you shall do to him whatever your hand finds to do.”
34So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose up by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
35Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and the people with him rose up from the ambush.
36When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
37Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the navel of the land, and one column is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”
38Then Zebul said to him, “Where now is your big mouth, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people you despised? Go out now and fight against them!”
39So Gaal went out at the head of the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelech.
40But Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate.
41Then Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers from remaining in Shechem.
42On the next day the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43So he took his people and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the field. When he looked, behold, the people were coming out of the city, so he rose up against them and struck them down.
44Abimelech and the companies that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate, while the two other companies rushed upon all who were in the field and struck them down.
45Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
46When all the citizens of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they went into the stronghold of the house of El-Berith.
47It was told Abimelech that all the citizens of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
48So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. Abimelech took the axes in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, lifted it up, and put it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do the same as I have done!”
49So all the people likewise cut down each his bundle, and they went after Abimelech and put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and captured it.
51But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women and all the citizens of the city fled there; they shut themselves in and went up onto the roof of the tower.
52Abimelech came up to the tower and fought against it, and he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.
53But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.
54Then he called quickly to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his young man ran him through, and he died.
55When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went each to his own place.
56Thus God repaid the evil of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers.
57And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
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