Judges 9:7-21
Christian Standard Bible
Jotham’s Parable
7 When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim,(A) raised his voice, and called to them:
Listen to me, citizens of Shechem,
and may God listen to you:
8 The trees decided
to anoint a king over themselves.
They said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.”
9 But the olive tree said to them,
“Should I stop giving my oil
that people use to honor both God and men,
and rule[a] over the trees?”
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
“Come and reign over us.”
11 But the fig tree said to them,
“Should I stop giving
my sweetness and my good fruit,
and rule over trees?”
12 Later, the trees said to the grapevine,
“Come and reign over us.”
13 But the grapevine said to them,
“Should I stop giving my wine
that cheers both God and man,
and rule over trees?”
14 Finally, all the trees said to the bramble,
“Come and reign over us.”
15 The bramble said to the trees,
“If you really are anointing me
as king over you,
come and find refuge in my shade.
But if not,
may fire come out from the bramble
and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”
16 “Now if you have acted faithfully(B) and honestly(C) in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did— 17 for my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you from Midian, 18 and now you have attacked my father’s family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother’— 19 so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.
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- 9:9 Lit and go to sway, also in vv. 11,13
Judges 9:7-21
New English Translation
Jotham’s Parable
7 When Jotham heard the news,[a] he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below,[b] “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!
8 “The trees were determined to go out[c] and choose a king for themselves.[d] They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’[e] 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’[f]
10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’[g] 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!’[h]
12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’[i] 13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’[j]
14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’[k] 15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose[l] me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches.[m] Otherwise[n] may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’
16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub Baal and his family,[o] if you have properly repaid him[p]— 17 my father fought for you; he risked his life[q] and delivered you from Midian’s power.[r] 18 But you have attacked[s] my father’s family[t] today. You murdered his seventy legitimate[u] sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative.[v] 19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub Baal and his family[w] today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness![x] 20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!” 21 Then Jotham ran away[y] to Beer and lived there to escape from[z] Abimelech his half-brother.[aa]
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- Judges 9:7 tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
- Judges 9:7 tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”
- Judges 9:8 tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”
- Judges 9:8 tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”
- Judges 9:8 tn Or “Rule over us!”
- Judges 9:9 tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
- Judges 9:10 tn Or “and rule over us!”
- Judges 9:11 tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
- Judges 9:12 tn Or “and rule over us!”
- Judges 9:13 tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
- Judges 9:14 tn Or “and rule over us!”
- Judges 9:15 tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”
- Judges 9:15 tn Heb “in my shade.”
- Judges 9:15 tn Heb “If not.”
- Judges 9:16 tn Heb “house.”
- Judges 9:16 tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
- Judges 9:17 tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.
- Judges 9:17 tn Heb “hand.”
- Judges 9:18 tn Heb “have risen up against.”
- Judges 9:18 tn Heb “house.”
- Judges 9:18 tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Judges 9:18 tn Heb “your brother.”
- Judges 9:19 tn Heb “house.”
- Judges 9:19 tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”
- Judges 9:21 tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”
- Judges 9:21 tn Heb “there from before.”
- Judges 9:21 tn Heb “his brother.”
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