⁴² Now it happened the next day, that the people went out to the field, and it was told to Abimelech. ⁴³ So he took ^[a]his people and divided them into three ^[b]companies and lay in wait in the field; then he looked, and behold, the people were coming out from the city. So he arose against them and struck them down. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the ^[c]company who was with him rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the city gate; but the other two ^[d]companies rushed upon all who were in the field and struck them down. ⁴⁵ So Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people who were in it; then he ^(A)tore the city down and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ Then all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard of it, and they entered the inner chamber of the ^[e]temple of ^(B)El-berith. ⁴⁷ And it was told to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech went up to Mount ^(C)Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took ^[f]an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees and lifted it and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do ^[g]likewise.” ⁴⁹ And all the people also cut down each one his branch and followed Abimelech and put them on the inner chamber and set the inner chamber on fire over those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem also died, about one thousand men and women.

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the lords of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower. ⁵² So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ But ^(D)a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and she smashed his skull. ⁵⁴ Then ^(E)he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and put me to death, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So ^[h]the young man pierced him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ Then the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, so each went away to his ^[i]home. ⁵⁶ Thus ^(F)God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their own heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came ^[j]upon them.