Judges 9:7-21
American Standard Version
7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, [a]wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? 12 And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees unto the [b]bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. 15 And the [c]bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the [d]bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 16 Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands 17 (for my father fought for you, and [e]adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: 18 and ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); 19 if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
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- Judges 9:9 Or, which God and man honor in me
- Judges 9:14 Or, thorn
- Judges 9:15 Or, thorn
- Judges 9:15 Or, thorn
- Judges 9:17 Hebrew cast his life before him.
Judges 9:7-21
Lexham English Bible
7 And they told Jotham, and he went up and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and he cried out loud[a] and said to them, “Listen to me, lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
8 “The trees went certainly,
to anoint a king over themselves.
And they said to the olive tree,
‘Rule over us.’
9 And the olive tree replied,
‘Should I stop producing my oil,
which by me gods and men are honored,
to go sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You, come rule over us.’
11 But the fig tree said to them,
‘Should I stop producing my sweetness,
and my good crop,
to go sway over the trees?’
12 And the trees said to the vine,
‘You, come rule over us.’
13 But the vine said to them,
‘Should I stop producing my wine
that makes the gods and men happy,
to go sway over the trees?’
14 So all the trees said to the thornbush,
‘You, come rule over us.’
15 And the thornbush said to the trees,
‘If in good faith[b] you are anointing
me as king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade;
if not, may fire go out from the thornbush
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “So then, if you have acted in good faith[c] and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him according to his accomplishments[d]— 17 for my father fought and risked his life[e] for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian; 18 but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative[f]— 19 if you have acted in good faith[g] and sincerity with Jerub-Baal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech.” 21 And Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; he remained there because of Abimelech his brother.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 9:7 Literally “he lifted his voice and called”
- Judges 9:15 Or “honesty”
- Judges 9:16 Or “honesty”
- Judges 9:16 Literally “according to the dealings of his hand”
- Judges 9:17 Literally “he threw his life in front”
- Judges 9:18 Or “brother”
- Judges 9:19 Or “honesty”
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