² “Speak to all the citizens of Shechem. Tell them, ‘You can have all 70 of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you. Or you can have just one man rule over you. Which would you rather have?’ Remember, I’m your own flesh and blood.”

³ The brothers told all of that to the citizens of Shechem. Then the people decided to follow Abimelek. They said, “He’s related to us.” ⁴ They gave him 28 ounces of silver. They had taken it from the temple of the god named Baal-Berith. Abimelek used it to hire some men. They were wild and weren’t good for anything. They became his followers.