31
and he sent privily messengers to Abimelech, and said, Lo! Gaal, the son of Ebed, is come into Shechem with his brethren, and he exciteth the city to fight against thee; (and he sent messengers privately, or secretly, to Abimelech, and said, Lo! Gaal, the son of Ebed, is come into Shechem with his kinsmen, and he exciteth, or rouseth, the city to fight against thee;)
32
therefore rise thou by night (and so rise thou up tonight), with the people that is with thee, and be thou hid in the field;
33
and first in the morrowtide, when the sun riseth, fall thou upon the city; and when Gaal goeth out with his people against thee, do thou to him that that thou mayest.
34
And so Abimelech rose with all his host by night, and set ambushments beside Shechem, in four places. (And so Abimelech and all his army rose up that night, and set men in ambush beside Shechem, in four places.)
35
And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out (the next morning), and stood in the entering of the gate of the city (and stood at the entrance to the city gate). And Abimelech, and all the host with him, rose (up) from the place of [the] ambushments.
36
And when Gaal had seen the people, he said to Zebul, Lo! a multitude cometh down from the hills. To whom Zebul answered, Thou seest the shadows of hills as the heads of men, and thou art deceived by this error.
37
And again Gaal said, Lo! a people cometh down from the midst of the earth, and one company cometh by the way that beholdeth the oak. (And Gaal said again, Lo! many people cometh down from the midst of the land, and one company, or one group, cometh along the road of the Soothsayers? Oak.)
38
To whom Zebul said, Where is now thy mouth, by which thou speakest, Who is Abimelech, that we serve him? (And then Zebul said to him, Now where is thy mouth, by which thou speakest, and saith, Who is this Abimelech, that we should serve him?) Whether this is not the people, whom thou despisedest? Go thou out, and fight against him.
39
Therefore Gaal went (out), while the people of Shechem abode; and he fought against Abimelech. (And so Gaal led out the men of Shechem; and they fought against Abimelech.)
40
And pursued him fleeing, and constrained him to flee into the city; and full many of the part of Gaal felled down, unto the gate of the city. (And Abimelech fought back, and pursued after them, and sent them fleeing; and a great many of Gaal's men were killed, all the way back to the city gate.)
41
And (then) Abimelech sat in Arumah; and Zebul put Gaal and his fellows out of the city of Shechem, and he suffered them not to dwell therein (and he did not allow them to stay there).