Judges:9

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Now Abim 'elech the son of Jerubba 'al went to Shechem to his mother 's kinsmen and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother 's family , * "Say in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem , `Which is better for you , that all seventy of the sons of Jerubba 'al rule over you , or that one rule over you ?' Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh ." * And his mother 's kinsmen spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the men of Shechem ; and their hearts inclined to follow Abim 'elech , for they said , "He is our brother ." * And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Ba 'al-be 'rith with which Abim 'elech hired worthless and reckless fellows , who followed him . * And he went to his father 's house at Ophrah , and slew his brothers the sons of Jerubba 'al , seventy men , upon one stone ; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubba 'al was left , for he hid himself . * And all the citizens of Shechem came together , and all Beth-millo , and they went and made Abim 'elech king , by the oak of the pillar at Shechem . * When it was told to Jotham , he went and stood on the top of Mount Ger 'izim , and cried aloud and said to them , "Listen to me , you men of Shechem , that God may listen to you . * The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them ; and they said to the olive tree , `Reign over us .' * But the olive tree said to them , `Shall I leave my fatness , by which gods and men are honored , and go to sway over the trees ?' * And the trees said to the fig tree , `Come you , and reign over us .' * But the fig tree said to them , `Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit , and go to sway over the trees ?' * And the trees said to the vine , `Come you , and reign over us .' * But the vine said to them , `Shall I leave my wine which cheers gods and men , and go to sway over the trees ?' * Then all the trees said to the bramble , `Come you , and reign over us .' * And the bramble said to the trees , `If in good faith you are anointing me king over you , then come and take refuge in my shade ; but if not , let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon .' * "Now therefore , if you acted in good faith and honor when you made Abim 'elech king , and if you have dealt well with Jerubba 'al and his house , and have done to him as his deeds deserved -- * for my father fought for you , and risked his life , and rescued you from the hand of Mid 'ian ; * and you have risen up against my father 's house this day , and have slain his sons , seventy men on one stone , and have made Abim 'elech , the son of his maidservant , king over the citizens of Shechem , because he is your kinsman -- * if you then have acted in good faith and honor with Jerubba 'al and with his house this day , then rejoice in Abim 'elech , and let him also rejoice in you ; * but if not , let fire come out from Abim 'elech , and devour the citizens of Shechem , and Beth-millo ; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem , and from Beth-millo , and devour Abim 'elech ." * And Jotham ran away and fled , and went to Beer and dwelt there , for fear of Abim 'elech his brother . * Abim 'elech ruled over Israel three years . * And God sent an evil spirit between Abim 'elech and the men of Shechem ; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abim 'elech ; * that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubba 'al might come and their blood be laid upon Abim 'elech their brother , who slew them , and upon the men of Shechem , who strengthened his hands to slay his brothers . * And the men of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountain tops , and they robbed all who passed by them along that way ; and it was told Abim 'elech . * And Ga 'al the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his kinsmen ; and the men of Shechem put confidence in him . * And they went out into the field , and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them , and held festival , and went into the house of their god , and ate and drank and reviled Abim 'elech . * And Ga 'al the son of Ebed said , "Who is Abim 'elech , and who are we of Shechem , that we should serve him ? Did not the son of Jerubba 'al and Zebul his officer serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem ? Why then should we serve him ? * Would that this people were under my hand ! then I would remove Abim 'elech . I would say to Abim 'elech , `Increase your army , and come out .'" * When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Ga 'al the son of Ebed , his anger was kindled . * And he sent messengers to Abim 'elech at Aru 'mah , saying , "Behold , Ga 'al the son of Ebed and his kinsmen have come to Shechem , and they are stirring up the city against you . * Now therefore , go by night , you and the men that are with you , and lie in wait in the fields . * Then in the morning , as soon as the sun is up , rise early and rush upon the city ; and when he and the men that are with him come out against you , you may do to them as occasion offers ." * And Abim 'elech and all the men that were with him rose up by night , and laid wait against Shechem in four companies . * And Ga 'al the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city ; and Abim 'elech and the men that were with him rose from the ambush . * And when Ga 'al saw the men , he said to Zebul , "Look , men are coming down from the mountain tops !" And Zebul said to him , "You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men ." * Ga 'al spoke again and said , "Look , men are coming down from the center of the land , and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners ' Oak ." * Then Zebul said to him , "Where is your mouth now , you who said , `Who is Abim 'elech , that we should serve him ?' Are not these the men whom you despised ? Go out now and fight with them ." * And Ga 'al went out at the head of the men of Shechem , and fought with Abim 'elech . * And Abim 'elech chased him , and he fled before him ; and many fell wounded , up to the entrance of the gate . * And Abim 'elech dwelt at Aru 'mah ; and Zebul drove out Ga 'al and his kinsmen , so that they could not live on at Shechem . * On the following day the men went out into the fields . And Abim 'elech was told . * He took his men and divided them into three companies , and laid wait in the fields ; and he looked and saw the men coming out of the city , and he rose against them and slew them . * Abim 'elech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city , while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and slew them . * And Abim 'elech fought against the city all that day ; he took the city , and killed the people that were in it ; and he razed the city and sowed it with salt . * When all the people of the Tower of Shechem heard of it , they entered the stronghold of the house of El-be 'rith . * Abim 'elech was told that all the people of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together . * And Abim 'elech went up to Mount Zalmon , he and all the men that were with him ; and Abim 'elech took an axe in his hand , and cut down a bundle of brushwood , and took it up and laid it on his shoulder . And he said to the men that were with him , "What you have seen me do , make haste to do , as I have done ." * So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abim 'elech put it against the stronghold , and they set the stronghold on fire over them , so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died , about a thousand men and women . * Then Abim 'elech went to Thebez , and encamped against Thebez , and took it . * But there was a strong tower within the city , and all the people of the city fled to it , all the men and women , and shut themselves in ; and they went to the roof of the tower . * And Abim 'elech came to the tower , and fought against it , and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire . * And a certain woman threw an upper millstone upon Abim 'elech 's head , and crushed his skull . * Then he called hastily to the young man his armor-bearer , and said to him , "Draw your sword and kill me , lest men say of me , `A woman killed him .'" And his young man thrust him through , and he died . * And when the men of Israel saw that Abim 'elech was dead , they departed every man to his home . * Thus God requited the crime of Abim 'elech , which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers ; * and God also made all the wickedness of the men of Shechem fall back upon their heads , and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubba 'al .

---