Following his last victory, Abimelech now plans another attack on Shechem. The text does not tell what motivates this attack, though it is likely he is seeking to punish the people of Shechem because they supported Gaal instead of him. So this attack could be a simple case of revenge.

He took his men is literally “And he took the people.” The Hebrew waw conjunction at the beginning of this verse may be rendered “So” (New International Version). The Hebrew text is slightly confusing, since “the people” does not refer to the people of Shechem, but rather to Abimelech’s supporters. So Revised Standard Version and many other versions make it clear that Abimelech took his men. It is possible that once again the narrator is poking fun at these events, since in other books of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “people” (ʿam) often refers to God’s chosen people, Israel. It will be very difficult to render this irony in the translation.

And divided them into three companies: The verbs took and divided may be viewed as representing a single action or two separate ones. We can say “He gathered his men and then divided them…” or simply “Abimelech divided his men….” In the previous episode Abimelech divided his men into four groups, but this time he divides them into three companies, as his father Gideon once did (verse 7.16). For companies (literally “heads”), see verse 9.34.

And laid wait in the fields: Abimelech uses a similar strategy as before. See verse 9.32.

And he looked and saw the men coming out of the city … is literally “and he looked and behold the people were coming out of the city….” The use of the Hebrew word hinneh (“behold”) shows this sentence is another high point or climax in the story. He looked and saw does not convey the suspense of the original text. A good storyteller might draw out the suspense by saying “And when he saw the people coming out of the city…” or “And just when he spied the people coming out of the town….” Some languages will have a special “surprise” particle or an ideophone that would be appropriate here. As in the previous verse, men renders the Hebrew word for “people.” To avoid confusion, the men may be rendered “the people of Shechem.” Coming out renders the same Hebrew verb translated “went out” in the previous verse. Here it is a participle, since it follows hinneh and emphasizes the current situation. The city is Shechem.

And he rose against them and slew them: While the previous clause slows down the action and creates suspense, these short direct clauses express the climax of this episode. Once again the Hebrew verb qum rendered rose is used to show an Israelite “judge” fighting the enemy, even if he is an “anti-hero”! Here the verb seems to also express determination and rapidity. The Hebrew verb rendered slew (nakah) is literally “struck” (see comments on verse 1.4, where it is translated “defeated”). Here some versions prefer to render it “attacked” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible). However, it could also be translated “killed” (New Revised Standard Version) as a summary of what happened. Translators might say “he and his men attacked them and killed them.” Contemporary English Version has “he and his army rushed out from their hiding places and attacked,” and Good News Translation is similar with “he came out of hiding to kill them.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• Abimelech divided his men into three groups and hid in the fields. Then when he saw the people coming out of the city, he and his men jumped up and killed them.

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 .