And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
And here's what will happen: in the morning, as soon as the sun comes up, get up early and attack the city. When he and his people come out to fight against you, then you can do whatever seems best to you in that moment.
This verse is giving strategic military advice about timing an attack at dawn and being ready to respond to whatever happens in battle.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Judges, during a period of political instability in ancient Israel, Abimelech had seized power by killing his seventy brothers and ruling over Shechem, but a rebellion led by Gaal threatened his control. Zebul, the governor of Shechem and an ally of Abimelech, devised a plan to counter this uprising by advising a surprise attack. This verse specifically records Zebul's instruction for Abimelech to act early in the morning when the rebels would be emerging from the city.
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