This verse explains that God caused the division between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem to pay them back for killing the sons of Gideon. The Hebrew here is highly marked. It begins with a chiastic structure, followed by two parallel lines. The Hebrew is literally:

[in order] to come
the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal
and their blood
[in order] to put

upon Abimelech, their brother who killed them
and upon the baʿal of Shechem who strengthened his hand to kill his brothers.

Besides this structure, several keywords reappear: baʿal, hand, and most importantly brother. The word pair, violence and blood, adds to the force of this verse as well.

That the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come: That renders the Hebrew preposition meaning “to,” which may be better translated “in order that” or “so that.” Good News Translation starts a new sentence, saying “This happened so that…,” which may be a good model to follow in some languages. The violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal refers to Abimelech’s assassination of his own brothers. Violence renders an extremely strong Hebrew word, occurring often in the books of the prophets (see, for example, Isa 59.6; Amos 6.3; Hab 1.2-3, 9). In some languages violence may be expressed as “cruel act” or “horrible thing.” In many languages it will be necessary to specify who carried out the violence. If so, this clause may be rendered “the violent thing that Abimelech did to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal” or “the cruel/horrible thing Abimelech did when he killed….” God turned the leaders of Shechem against Abimelech, so that this violent act of Abimelech might come back on him and them. Some ancient manuscripts read “bring about” instead of come, but this will have little effect on the translation. Translators may prefer to use an idiomatic expression for come, such as “repay” (New American Bible), “pay back,” or “come back.”

And their blood be laid upon Abimelech: Often in the Old Testament, the word violence occurs with the word blood, which here certainly refers to “shed blood,” since Abimelech shed the blood of his own brothers. This clause uses a very common Hebrew idiom that speaks of the blood of one person being laid upon or “put” on another. It is used when one person is responsible for the death of another (see Exo 21.30; Num 35.18-21). Thus this clause is parallel to the previous one. God sent the spirit of discord so that Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem would pay for shedding the blood of his seventy brothers. Many languages will have idiomatic expressions to express this idea, for example, speaking of blood being “on the head” or “on the hands” of a certain party. If such expressions do not exist, translators might say “that the guilt for killing them would remain with Abimelech.”

Their brother, who slew them: Here the narrator reaches the height of irony as Abimelech is described as the brother of those he killed. The pronouns their and them refer to the seventy sons of Gideon who did not share the same mother with Abimelech. For the Hebrew verb rendered slew, see the comments on verse 9.5.

And upon the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brothers: Not only must Abimelech pay for the crime of killing his seventy brothers, but the leaders of Shechem must also pay. Once again the men of Shechem refers to the leaders of the town. They are described as those who strengthened his hands to slay his brothers, which means they lent their support to Abimelech’s plan. Strengthened renders the same Hebrew verb used in verse 3.12 (see comments there). Though the leaders of Shechem actually supported Abimelech financially (verse 9.4), it is probably better to use more general language for strengthened his hands, such as “encouraged him” (Good News Translation) or “supported him.” The repetition, to slay his brothers, emphasizes the point that Abimelech committed an unthinkable crime.

This verse is highly marked from a stylistic point of view because it carries a message of great importance. The LORD sees the evil that Abimelech did, and he holds him responsible, as well as those who supported this crime. It is, in fact, the leaders of Shechem who are singled out for punishment, instead of the ruffians Abimelech hired to help in the killing. Some versions attempt to render each of the clauses in this verse, while others try to combine them (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). A model that combines them is “so that Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, who supported him, would pay for having violently murdered his brothers, the seventy sons of Gideon.” This version conveys the basic ideas but lacks some of the emotion and poetic flavor of the original text. Translators will have to decide which kind of translation will best suit their audience’s needs. Other translation models for this verse are:

• [This was] so that both Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem would pay for the murder of the seventy sons of Jerubbaal. Abimelech killed them, but the men of Shechem made it possible.

• in order that the violence done and the blood spilled by Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, who supported him in killing the seventy sons of Gideon, his own brothers, would come back on their heads.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .