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.

[9:48]  ¹ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ² tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ⁴ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ⁵ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[9:49]  ⁶ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ⁷ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ⁸ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.