¹⁸ he issued this command: “Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.

⁶⁶ So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

A Vision of God at the Altar

9 Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said,

²² Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me.”

⁴⁶ When the leading citizens who lived in the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid in the temple of Baal-berith.^{[a] 47} Someone reported to Abimelech that the citizens had gathered in the temple, ⁴⁸ so he led his forces to Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and chopped some branches from a tree, then put them on his shoulder. “Quick, do as I have done!” he told his men. ⁴⁹ So each of them cut down some branches, following Abimelech’s example. They piled the branches against the walls of the temple and set them on fire. So all the people who had lived in the tower of Shechem died—about 1,000 men and women.