³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ^(A)‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”

²⁸ And Gaal the son of Ebed said, ^(A)“Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of ^(B)Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? ²⁹ Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say^[a] to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

^8 (A)Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash^[a] the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, ^(B)let us look one another in the face.” ⁹ And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, ^(C)“A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed ^(D)struck down Edom, ^(E)and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah ^(F)faced one another in battle at ^(G)Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, ^(H)and every man fled to his home. ¹³ And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,^[b] from ^(I)the Ephraim Gate to ^(J)the Corner Gate. ¹⁴ And he seized ^(K)all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?” ²⁷ And Joab said, “As God lives, if ^(A)you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.”