1Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2Please speak in the ears of all the lords of Shechem: Which is better for you, for all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal to rule over you, or for one to rule over you? Remember that I am your own flesh and bone. 3And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem; and their heart was inclined after Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother. 4And they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, who went after him. 5And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he had hidden himself. 6And all the lords of Shechem gathered together, all the house of Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree that was situated at Shechem. 7Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you! 8The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, Reign over us! 9But the olive tree said to them, Should I cease from my fatness, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over the trees? 10Then the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us! 11But the fig tree said to them, Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over the trees? 12Then the trees said to the vine, You come and reign over us! 13But the vine said to them, Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway over the trees? 14Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign over us! 15And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and seek refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon! 16Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the dealings of his hands; 17for my father fought for you, cast aside his own soul, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother; 19if then you have dealt in truth and integrity towards Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the lords of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come from the lords of Shechem and from the house of Millo and devour Abimelech! 21And Jotham fled and escaped; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, away from the face of Abimelech his brother. 22After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, 23God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24that the wrong done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled 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 an ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was reported to Abimelech. 26Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the lords of Shechem trusted him. 27And they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and rejoiced. And they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. 28And Gaal the 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; but why should we serve him? 29Would therefore that this people were given into my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, Increase your army and come out! 30And when Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned. 31And he sent messengers to Abimelech deceitfully, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they are fortifying the city against you. 32Now therefore, rise up by night, you and the people with you, and lie in wait in the field. 33And it shall be in the morning as the sun rises, that you shall rise up early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people with him come out against you, you shall do to them as your hand shall find to do. 34So Abimelech and all the people with him rose by night, and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. 35When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people with him rose up from the ambush. 36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains! But Zebul said to him, You are seeing the shadows of the mountains as if they were men. 37And Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, people are coming down from the midst of the land, and another company is coming from the plain by way of the fortunetellers. 38Then Zebul said to him, Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Are not these the people whom you have despised? Go out now and fight with them. 39So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; and many fell wounded, to the entrance of the gate. 41Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so as to not dwell in Shechem. 42And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they reported to Abimelech. 43And he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field, watching. And behold, the people were coming out of the city; and he rose up against them and struck them. 44And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and struck them. 45And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he broke down the city and sowed it with salt. 46And when all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard it, they entered the underground chambers of the house of the god Berith. 47And it was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem had gathered together. 48And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people with him, What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done. 49So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. 50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it. 51But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women, all the lords of the city, fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up to the top of the tower. 52So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53And a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54And he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, Draw your sword and kill me, that they not say of me, A woman killed him. So his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place. 56Thus God repaid the wickedness 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 upon their own heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.