1And Abimelek son of NeduBaal went on to Shekeem, to the brothers of his mother, and said to them and to the whole family of the house of the father of his mother 2He said before all the Lords of Shekeem: “What is better to you, that seventy men, the sons of NeduBayl shall rule over you, or that one man will rule over you? And remember that I am your bones and your flesh” 3And the brothers of his mother spoke all these words about him before all of the Lords of Shekeem, and their heart was inclined after Abimelek, and they were saying: “He is our brother” 4And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal Qima, and Abimelek hired worthless and lewd men with them, and they went after him 5And he entered the house of his father at Uphra and he killed his brothers, the sons of NaduBayl, seventy men, on one rock, and Yutham, son of NeduBayl, the youngest, was left, because he was hidden 6And all the Lords of Shekeem assembled and all the people of Bayth Melu, and they went and they appointed Abimelek that he would be King over them, at the side of the Oak of Matspya that is in Shekim

7And they showed Yutham and he went up and stood on the top of the Mount of Garzim and he lifted up his voice and said: “Hear me, Lords of Shekeem, that God will hear you! 8The trees were going and went that they would anoint a King over them, saying to the olive tree: ‘Reign over us’ 9The olive tree said to them: ‘I am not leaving my oil in me that is honored of gods and men, and would I go to be an abomination for the trees?’ 10The trees said to the fig tree: ‘Come, you reign over us!’ 11The fig tree said to them: ‘I will not leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and shall I go to be an abomination for the trees?’ 12The trees said to the vine: ‘You come reign over us!’ 13The vine said to them: ‘I will not leave my fruit that cheers the heart of gods and men, and am I going to be an abomination for the trees?’ 14And all the trees said to a bramble: “You reign over us!” 15The bramble said to the trees: ‘If in truth you anoint me that I would reign over you, come be sheltered in my shade, and if not, fire will go out from the brambles and will devour the cedars that are in Lebanon’

16And now if in righteousness and in the truth you have acted and you have crowned Abimelek and if you have done good with NeduBayl and with his house, or you have rewarded him according to the work of his hands 17Because my father fought for your persons and he put his life on the front lines, and he saved you from the hand of Midian 18And you are risen over the house of my father today and you have murdered his sons, seventy men on one rock, and you set King Abimelek, son of his Handmaid, over the Lords of Shekeem because he is your brother 19And if in righteousness and in truth you have acted with him of the house of NeduBayl and with his household today, rejoice with Abimelek, also he will rejoice with you 20And if not, fire will go out from Abimelek and it will devour the Lords of Shekeem and the Lords of Melu, and fire shall go out from among the Lords of Shekeem and the Lords of Melu and it shall consume Abimelek” 21And Yutham fled and he escaped and he went to Debir and dwelt there, where Abimelek was dwelling from former time

22And Abimelek was authorized over Israel three years 23And God sent an evil spirit upon Abimelek and upon the Lords of Shekeem, and the Masters of Shekeem were treacherous toward Abimelek 24Because the evil of the seventy sons of NaduBayl would come, to lay their blood on Abimelek their brother who killed them and upon the Lords of Shekeem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers 25And they set an ambush for him, an ambush on the top of the mountain, and they seized everyone who passed by them in the road, and it was told Abimelek

26And Gael son of Aphar and his brothers, and he passed by in Shekim and the Lords of Shekeem trusted him 27And they went out to the field and they picked their vines and they trod grapes and made a banquet and they entered the house of their gods, and they ate and they drank and they reviled Abimelek 28And Gael son of Aphar said: “Who is Abimelek and who is Shekeem that we would serve him? Is he not son of NeduBaal? And Zabal, who changed his commandment, served the men of Khamor, the father of Shekeem, why would we serve him? 29But who has delivered this people into my hands, and I would remove Abimelek?” And he said to Abimelek, “Increase your army and come out!”

30And Zabal the Ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal, son of Aphar, and his anger was provoked 31And he sent Messengers to Abimelek by treachery and said: “Behold, Gaal son of Aphar and his brothers came to Shekeem, and behold, they surround the city against you! 32Now arise in the night, you and the people that are with you, and lie in wait in the field 33And in the morning when the sun has risen, arise and walk to the city, and behold he and the people that are with him are going out to you. Do to them according to the ability in your hands”

34And Abimelek arose in the night, and all the people that were with him, and they laid ambush against Shekeem in four divisions 35And Gael, son of Aphar, went out and stood in the entrance of the door of the city, and Abimelek arose and people with him from the ambush 36And Gael saw the people and said to Zabal: “Behold the people are coming down from the top of the mountain!” And Zabal said to him, “It is shadows of the mountain you see like men!” 37And Gael added and said to Zabal: “Behold, the people are coming down from the center of the land and one division came from the road of the Place of the Oak of Meunin!” 38Zabal said to him: “Where is your mouth which was saying, ‘Who is Abimelek, that we should serve him?’ Was this not the people that you despised? Go out now and fight with him!” 39And Gael went out before the Lords of the city and fought with Abimelek 40And Abimelek chased him and he fled from before him and many fell slain unto the entrance of the gate 41And Abimelek dwelt in Aduma and Zabal expelled Gael and his brothers that they would not dwell in Shekim

42And it happened after that day and the people went out to the country and showed Abimelek 43And he took the people and divided them to three divisions, and they lay wait in the wilderness, and he looked and, behold, the people went out from the city, and he arose against them and he killed them 44And Abimelek and the division of his people walked and they stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and two divisions walked against everyone in the wilderness and they killed them 45And Abimelek fought in the city all that day and defeated the city, and all the people that were in it he killed, and he destroyed the city and he sowed it with salt

46And all the Lords of the Tower of Shekeem heard and they came to make a covenant with Bayth Eil 47And they showed Abimelek that the Lords of the Tower of Shekeem were assembled 48And Abimelek came up to the Mountain of Tsalmun and all the people that were with him and Abimelek took the axe in His hand and cut off a branch of a tree and he took it and he placed it on his shoulder and said to the people that were with him: “What you have seen I have done, you do also quickly like me!” 49And they cut each man his branch and they followed after Abimelek. And they placed a heap and they burned the city in fire, and all the men that were in the Tower of Shekeem died in the fire, about one thousand, between men and woman

50And Abimelek went on to Thebets and he camped in Thebets and seized it 51And the tower fortress was inside the city, and all the men and the women fled there, and all the Lords of the city, and they locked themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower 52And Abimelek arrived unto the tower and fought against it and he came unto the gate of the tower to burn it in fire 53And a woman cast one piece of upper millstone of a mill on the head of Abimelek, and it broke his head 54And he called hastily the boy bearing his weapons and said to him: “Draw out your sword and kill me with it, that they will not say of me, ‘A woman killed him’” and the young man pierced him through, and he died 55And the sons of Israel saw that Abimelek himself was dead, and they went each man to his place

56And God paid the evil to Abimelek that he did to his father and he killed his seventy brothers 57And all the evil that the men of Shekeem had done God returned on their heads, and all the curse of Yutham, son of NeduBayl, came upon them