Judges 9:42-57

Holman Christian Standard Bible

⁴² The next day when the people went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech. ⁴³ He took the people, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down. ⁴⁵ So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber^[a] of the temple of El-berith.^{[b] 47} Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem had gathered together. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech and all the people who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the people who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.” ⁴⁹ Each person also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire around the people, and all the people in the Tower of Shechem died—about 1,000 men and women.

⁵⁰ Abimelech went to Thebez,^(A) camped against it, and captured it. ⁵¹ There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire. ⁵³ But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull. ⁵⁴ He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶ In this way, God turned back on Abimelech the evil that he had done against his father, by killing his 70 brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came on them.^(B)