Judges 9:48-49

9:48 He and all his men ¹  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ²  took an ax ³  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁴  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁵  9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ⁶  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ⁷  All the people ⁸  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

¹ tn Heb “his people.”

² tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

³ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

⁴ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

⁵ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

⁶ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

⁸ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.