Then Abimelech son of Gideon went to Shechem, where all his mother's relatives lived. And he sent them to the men of Shechem, saying, What do you want?
Do you want to be ruled by 70 of Gideon's sons or will only one man rule over you? Remember that I am your blood relative. "
His mother's relatives told this to the men of Shechem. They agreed to follow Abimelech because he was a relative. They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, and with this money he hired worthless and cruel people to follow him. And he went to the house of his father to Ophrah, and slew 70 of his brethren on one stone.
But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, hid himself so that he would not be killed. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and came to the place of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they made Abimelech king there.
When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and cried out to them, "Listen to me, you inhabitants of Shechem, and may God listen!
Then the trees went forth to choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree,
"We are kings."
The olive tree said to them,
"Shall I leave my oil, which I used to honor gods and men, to rule over you?"
Then the trees said to the fig tree,
But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, that I may rule over you?
So the trees said unto the vine, Come and reign over us.
But the vine said unto them, Cast ye away.
Am I the wine that makes gods and men rejoice, that they may reign over you? '
Then all the trees said to the thornbush,' Come and reign over us. '
"The thornbush said," If you really want to make me king, come here you and take refuge in my shadow. If you do not, fire will come out of the thornbush to consume the cedars of Lebanon. '"And Jotham said, Is it right now that you have made Abimelech king?
Did you treat Gideon and his household well and do what was right for him?
Remember that my father fought for you. He risked his life to save you from the Midianites. But today you have rebelled against my father's house.
You killed 70 of his sons on one stone, and you made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king in Shechem, because he was your relative.
If ye have dealt truly and sincerely with Gideon, and with his house this day, then rejoice ye with Abimelech, and let him also rejoice with you:
But if not, fire will come out of Abimelech and burn up the men of Shechem and Beth -millo. Let fire come out of Shechem and Beth -millo to burn Abimelech. "
Then Jotham fled, and dwelt at Beer: for he was afraid of Abimelech his brother.
Abimelech reigned over Israel three years.
Then God put war between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and they rebelled against Abimelech.
And it came to pass, that Abimelech, and the men of Shechem, which had conspired against him, to slay the seventy sons of Gideon, were to be punished for their sin.
And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for Abimelech on the top of the hill, and they robbed all that came along that way by them. And Abimelech knew it.
Then Gaal the son of Ebed went with his brothers to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
And they went out into the fields, and planted vineyards, and made wine, and went over to feast. They went into the temple of their god and ate and drank and mocked Abimelech.
And Gaal said, Who is Abimelech, and who are we, that we should serve him?
Was not Abimelech the son of Gideon? And did not Zebul his servant serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem?
Now, why should we serve him?
I want to be the leader of this people.
I will kill Abimelech! I will tell him, 'Increase your army and come out and let us fight!' "
Zebul the ruler of the city was angry when he heard what Gaal had said.
And he sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah, saying, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be in Shechem, and will not let thee go into the city.
Now you and your men must go out at night and hide in the field.
Tomorrow when Gaal and his men come out against you, fight against them as much as you can. "
So Abimelech and all his men went by night. They split into four groups and hid outside Shechem.
Then Gaal went out and stood in the gate of the city. And Abimelech and his men came out of the hiding place.
When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look! There are people coming down the mountain! " Zebul replied,
"They are just shadows on the mountain, not people."
Gala said again, "Look! Here are people coming down the path and a group is coming here from the sacred duty of the priests!
Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your boasting? You said, 'Why should we serve Abimelech?' These are the people you are mocking. Come on, go out and fight them. "
And Gaal took all the people out of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. Then Gaal ran, and Abimelech chased him. Many were injured, even at the city gate. And Abimelech returned unto Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the men of Shechem went out into the field: and Abimelech heard of it.
He took his men and divided them into three groups. Then they hid in the field and lay in wait. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he went out of his hiding place and killed them. And Abimelech and all the people that were with him hurried, and guarded the city gate. The two groups attacked the people in the field and killed them all. And Abimelech fought against the people of the city all that day.
He captured the city and killed the people. Then he demolished the city and poured salt on the ground.
When all the leaders of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they went to the tower of the temple of Baal Berith. And it was told Abimelech, that they should gather themselves together.
So he and his men went up Mount Zalmon. And he took an ax, he cut branches from the tree, bound it and carried it. He commanded his men and made them do what he did.
So each of them cut down a branch from the tree. Then they did as Abimelech had done, and they gathered them into the tower and set them on fire. And all the people who were in the tower died. There were about 1,000 men and women. Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
There was a strong tower there, and all the men and women of the city and the leaders fled to it. They locked it and they went to the roof.
Abimelech came and attacked the tower. He approached its door to set the tower on fire but a woman threw a millstone at him and broke his skull.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; for I will not that any man should say that I have slain a woman.
So the young man stabbed him and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home. So God punished Abimelech for the sin he had committed against his father, for he had killed 70 of his brothers.
God also afflicted the men of Shechem for their wickedness, as Jotham the son of Gideon had said, when he cursed them..