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the bramble, Come thou,
and
reign over us.
15
And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye
anoint me king over you,
then
come
and
put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out
of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
16
Now therefore, if ye have done truly and
sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his
house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
17
(For my father fought
for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
18
And ye are
risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons,
upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of
Shechem, because he
is
your brother;)
19
If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal
and with his house this day,
then
rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
20
But
if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo;
and let fire come out from the men 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, for fear of Abimelech his
brother.
22
When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
23
Then God sent an evil spirit between
Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
24
That the cruelty
done
to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be
laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided
him in the killing of his brethren.
25
And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top 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 men of
Shechem put their confidence in him.
27
And they went out into the fields, and gathered their
vineyards, and trode
the grapes,
and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat
and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
28
And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who
is
Abimelech, and who
is
Shechem, that we should serve him?
is
not
he
the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve
the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
29
And would to God this
people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase
thine army, and come out.
30
And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was
kindled.
31
And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed
and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.
32
Now therefore
up by night, thou and the people that
is
with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
33
And it shall be,
that
in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold,
when
he and the people that
is
with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou
shalt find occasion.
34
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that
were
with him, by night, and they laid wait
against Shechem in four companies.
35
And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering
of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that
were
with him, from lying in
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KJV Bible