8 And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.

² And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?

³ Into your hands hath God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word.

⁴ And Gideon came to the Jordan, [and] passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.

⁵ And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

⁶ And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army?

⁷ And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars.

⁸ And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹ And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

¹¹ And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease.

¹² And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the camp.

¹³ And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres.

¹⁴ And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.

¹⁵ And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?

¹⁶ And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

¹⁷ And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

¹⁸ Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.

¹⁹ And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. [As] Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

²⁰ And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels' necks.

²² And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.

²³ And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you.

²⁴ And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

²⁵ And they said, We will willingly give [them]. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty.

²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred [shekels] of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.

²⁷ And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

²⁸ And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹ And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.

³⁰ Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives.

³¹ And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech.

³² And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

³³ And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their god.

³⁴ And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side.

³⁵ And they shewed no kindness to the house of Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.

9 And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

² Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh.

³ And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem all these words. And their heart inclined after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

⁴ And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton men, and they followed him.

⁵ And he came to his father's house, to Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons upon one stone; but there remained Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal; for he had hid himself.

⁶ And all the citizens of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the memorial-oak that is in Shechem.

⁷ And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.

⁸ The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us.

⁹ And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us.

¹¹ But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?

¹² Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.

¹³ And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

¹⁴ Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us.

¹⁵ And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁶ Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and sincerely in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and if ye have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;

¹⁷ —for my father fought for you, and endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

¹⁸ but ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your brother;

¹⁹ —if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;

²⁰ but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

²¹ And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, because of Abimelech his brother.

²² And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

²³ And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

²⁴ that the violence [done] to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who had strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.

²⁵ And the citizens of Shechem set liers in wait for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them. And it was told Abimelech.

²⁶ And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem put confidence in him.

²⁷ And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made rejoicings, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸ And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is he not the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem! and why should *we* serve him?

²⁹ Oh! would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

³⁰ And Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled;

³¹ and he sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem, and behold, they shut up the city against thee;

³² and now, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in ambush in the fields.

³³ And it shall be in the morning when the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and fall upon the city; and behold, he and the people that is with him shall come out against thee, and thou shalt do with him as thou shalt find occasion.

³⁴ And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵ And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. Then Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, out of the ambush.

³⁶ And Gaal saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men.

³⁷ And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and one company is coming along by the way of the Magician's oak.

³⁸ Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight against them.

³⁹ And Gaal went out before the citizens of Shechem, and fought against Abimelech.

⁴⁰ And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, as far as the entrance of the gate.

⁴¹ And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they might not dwell in Shechem.

⁴² And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.

⁴³ And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in ambush in the field. And he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.

⁴⁴ And Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and two of the companies ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew them.

⁴⁵ And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and broke down the city, and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [that], and they entered into the stronghold of the house of the god Berith.

⁴⁷ And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem had gathered together.

⁴⁸ Then Abimelech went up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that was with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, do as I have done.

⁴⁹ And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and they followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and burned the hold with fire upon them. And all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰ And Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

⁵¹ But there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and thither fled all the men and women, all the citizens of the city; and they shut it behind them, and went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵² And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire;

⁵³ and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull.

⁵⁴ Then he called hastily to the young man that carried his armour, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they say not of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

⁵⁵ And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went every man to his place.

⁵⁶ And God rendered back the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in slaying his seventy brethren.

⁵⁷ And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render back upon their heads; and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.