King James Version

1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brothers and spoke to them and to all the family of his mother's house, saying, 2 Speak now in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem: What is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember, I am your flesh and bone. 3 And the brothers of his mother spoke to all the lords of Shechem all these words, and their hearts turned after Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." 4 And they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they went after him. 5 And he went to my father's house in Ophrah and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men on one stone, but Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal, remained because he had hidden. 6 And all the lords of Shechem and all the house of Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech king by the oak that was in Shechem. 7 And they told Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and he lifted his voice and called out and said to them, "Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, and may God listen to you." 8 The trees went to anoint a king over themselves, and they said to the olive tree, "Reign over us." 9 And he said to them, "The olive tree, I have ceased my fatness, which in me they will honor God and men, and I will go to shake upon the trees." 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, "Come, reign over us." 11 And she said to them, "I have ceased my sweetness and my good fruit, and I will go to wander upon the trees." 12 And the trees said to the vine, "Come, reign over us." 13 And the vine said to them, "I have ceased to give my wine, which cheers God and men, and I shall go to sway over the trees." 14 And all the trees said to the bramble, "You come, reign over us." 15 And the bramble said to the trees, "If indeed you are anointing me king over you, come, take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon." 16 And now, if you have acted in truth and integrity and have made Abimelech king, and if you have done well with Jerubbaal and with his house, and if you have paid back my hands to him, 17 Which your father fought against and threw his soul in front of him and saved you from the hand of Midian. 18 And you have risen against the house of my father today, and you have killed my seventy sons on one stone, and you have made Abimelech the son of his servant king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother. 19 And if you have truly acted with integrity towards Jerubbaal and his house today, rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 And if there is no fire, a fire shall come from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and the house of Millo; and fire shall come from the lords of Shechem and from the house of Millo and consume Abimelech. 21 And Jotham fled and ran away and went to Beer and dwelt there from the face of Abimelech his brother. 22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. 24 To come to attack seventy sons of Jerubbaal and to place their blood upon Abimelech their brother whom they killed and upon the lords of Shechem who supported his hand to kill his brothers. 25 And they set ambushers for him on the mountain tops, and they seized all that passed over them on the way, and it was told to Abimelech. 26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came, and his brothers, and they passed through Shechem, and they trusted in him, in the lords of Shechem. 27 And they went out to the field and gathered their vineyards, and they prepared and made feasts, and they came to the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. 28 And Ga'al 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 Zebul is his officer? Why then should we serve him?" 29 And who will give this people into my hand, and I will remove Abimelech? And he said to Abimelech, "Your army is great and has gone out." 30 And Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech in Gerar to say, "Behold, a son of a servant and his brothers are coming against you, and they are besieging the city against you." 32 And now arise at night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field. 33 And it shall be in the morning, when the sun rises, you shall rise and spread out over the city, and behold, he and the people who are with him are coming out to you, and you shall do to him as you find your hand. 34 And Abimelech arose, and all the people who were with him that night, and they lay in wait for Shechem with four heads. 35 And Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate, and Abimelech rose up and the people who were with him from the ambush. 36 And Ga'al saw the people, and he said to Zebul, "Behold, a people is coming down from the tops of the mountains." And Zebul said to him, "You see the shadow of the mountains; those are men." 37 And Joseph added again to speak and said, "Behold, a people are descending from the midst of the heart of the land, and one head came from the way of the oak of the mourners." 38 And he said to me, "Zebul, where is your mouth that you say, 'Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him'? Is this not the people that you have despised? Go now, and fight against them." 39 And Gael went out before the lords of Shechem and fought against Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled from his face, and many fell slain at the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers from sitting in Shechem. 42 And it will be the next day, and the people of the field went out and told Abimelech. 43 And he took the people and divided them into three heads and he lay in wait in the field and he saw, and behold, the people were coming out of the city, and he rose up against them and struck them. 44 And Abimelech and the leaders who were with him advanced, and they stood at the entrance of the city gate, and the two leaders attacked all that was in the field, and they struck them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day and captured the city and the people who were in it he killed and he razed the city and sowed it with salt. 46 And all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, and they came to the stronghold of the house of El-Berith. 47 And it was told to Abimelech that all the lords of Shechem had gathered together. 48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him, and Abimelech took the axes in his hand and cut down a branch of trees and lifted it and laid it on his shoulder, and he said to the people who were with him, "What have you seen that I have done? Hurry and do like me." 49 And all the people, every man of the tower, also cut off and went after Abimelech, and they put fire on the tower, and all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. 50 And Abimelech went to Tebez and he camped against Tebez and took it. 51 And the tower of strength was in the midst of the city, and all the men and the women and all the inhabitants of the city fled there and they closed themselves in it, and they went up on the roof of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and he approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 And a woman threw a piece of a millstone upon the head of Abimelech and she crushed his skull. 54 And he quickly called the young man who carried his weapons and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, and each man went to his place. 56 And God set the evil of Abimelech against his father to kill his seventy brothers. 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned upon their heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.