Judges 9:42-57
New English Translation
42 The next day the Shechemites[a] came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it,[b] 43 he took his men[c] and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city,[d] he attacked and struck them down.[e] 44 Abimelech and his units[f] attacked and blocked[g] the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down. 45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled[h] the city and spread salt over it.[i]
46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem[j] heard the news, they went to the stronghold[k] of the temple of El Berith.[l] 47 Abimelech heard[m] that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place.[n] 48 He and all his men[o] went up on Mount Zalmon. He[p] took an ax[q] in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it[r] on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!”[s] 49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches[t] against the stronghold and set fire to it.[u] All the people[v] of the Tower of Shechem died—about 1,000 men and women.
50 Abimelech moved on[w] to Thebez; he besieged and captured it.[x] 51 There was a fortified[y] tower[z] in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 53 a woman threw an upper millstone[aa] down on his[ab] head and shattered his skull. 54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons,[ac] “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say,[ad] ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.[ae]
56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half brothers.[af] 57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub Baal fell[ag] on them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 9:42 tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 9:42 tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”
- Judges 9:43 tn Heb “his people.”
- Judges 9:43 tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”
- Judges 9:43 tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”
- Judges 9:44 tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”
- Judges 9:44 tn Heb “stood [at].”
- Judges 9:45 tn Or “destroyed.”
- Judges 9:45 tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”sn The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any future habitation. The practice is referred to outside the Bible as well. For example, one of the curses in the Aramaic Sefire treaty states concerning Arpad: “May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again!” See J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire (BibOr), 15, 53. Deut 29:23, Jer 17:6, and Zeph 2:9 associate salt flats or salty regions with infertility and divine judgment.
- Judges 9:46 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
- Judges 9:46 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
- Judges 9:46 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
- Judges 9:47 tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”
- Judges 9:47 tn Heb “were assembled.”
- Judges 9:48 tn Heb “his people.”
- Judges 9:48 tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.
- Judges 9:48 tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.
- Judges 9:48 tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”
- Judges 9:48 tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”
- Judges 9:49 tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Judges 9:49 tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”
- Judges 9:49 tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.
- Judges 9:50 tn Or “went.”
- Judges 9:50 tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”
- Judges 9:51 tn Or “strong.”
- Judges 9:51 tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.
- Judges 9:53 sn A hand mill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg). See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 268; C. F. Burney, Judges, 288.
- Judges 9:53 tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.
- Judges 9:54 tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Judges 9:54 tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Judges 9:55 tn Heb “each to his own place.”
- Judges 9:56 tn Heb “seventy brothers.”
- Judges 9:57 tn Heb “came.”
Judges 9:42-57
Common English Bible
42 The next day, the men of Shechem went out into the fields. When it was reported to Abimelech, 43 he took his men, divided them into three companies, and set an ambush in the fields. As soon as he saw the men coming from the city, he sprang upon them and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his company charged forward and took a position at the entrance of the city’s gate, while the other two companies charged at all those in the fields and attacked them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He captured the city and killed its people. Then he leveled the city and scattered salt over it.
46 When all the leaders in the Tower of Shechem heard about this, they entered the side rooms in the El-berith temple. 47 It was reported to Abimelech that all the leaders from the Tower of Shechem had gathered in one place. 48 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him went up on Mount Zalmon. He grabbed an ax, cut off a bundle of branches, and hoisted them onto his shoulder. Then he ordered the men who were with him, “Hurry up and do what you’ve seen me do!” 49 Each one of the men cut off a bundle as well and followed Abimelech. They piled them up against the side rooms and set fire to the side rooms above them. So all the people in the Tower of Shechem died too, about one thousand men and women.
50 Then Abimelech moved on to Thebez, set up camp against it, and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the city. All the men and women and all the city’s leaders had fled there, shut themselves inside, and climbed to the tower’s roof. 52 Abimelech came to the tower to storm it. But when he approached the tower’s entrance to set it on fire, 53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. 54 He quickly cried out to the servant who carried his armor, “Draw your sword and kill me. Don’t let it be said of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant stabbed him, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
56 Thus God paid back Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also paid back the people of Shechem for their evil. The curse of Jotham, Jerubbaal’s son, had come upon them.
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