Judges 9:42-49

42The next day, the people of Shechem went out into the fields around the city. Abimelech heard about this.

43He took his men with him. He made them hide in three groups in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he and his men attacked them.

44Abimelech and his group of soldiers ran to stand at the city gate. They stopped people going back into the city. The other two groups attacked the people in the fields and killed them.

45Abimelech attacked the city all that day. He took the city and he killed all the people who lived there. Then he destroyed the city. He put salt all over it as a curse.

46The city's leaders who lived in the tower of Shechem heard the news. They went to hide in the strong building of El-berith's temple.

47Somebody told Abimelech that all the leaders were there together in the temple.

48He took all his men up to Mount Zalmon. He used an axe to cut some branches off a tree. He put the branches on his shoulders. Then he said to his men, ‘Be quick! Do the same thing as you have seen me do!’

49So all the men cut branches and they followed Abimelech. They put the branches around the strong building. Then they brought fire to burn down the building. There were about 1,000 men and women in the tower of Shechem. They all died in the fire.