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Judges 9:7-21
New International Version
Judges 9:7-21
New International Version
7 When Jotham(A) was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim(B) and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’
10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’
12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine,(C) which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’
14 “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’
15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade;(D) but if not, then let fire come out(E) of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’(F)
16 “Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? 17 Remember that my father fought for you and risked(G) his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. 18 But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons(H) on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. 19 So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today?(I) If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out(J) from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem(K) and Beth Millo,(L) and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!”
21 Then Jotham(M) fled, escaping to Beer,(N) and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek.
Judges 9:7-21
International Standard Version
Judges 9:7-21
International Standard Version
7 When Jotham was informed about this, he went out, took his stand on top of Mount Gerizim, and cried out loudly, “Listen to me, you “lords” of Shechem, and God will listen to you.
“So they told the olive tree,
‘Reign over us!’
9 But the olive tree asked them,
‘Should I stop producing my rich oils
by which both God and men are honored
and go take dominion over trees?’
10 “So the trees told the fig tree,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree asked them,
‘Should I leave my sweet, good fruit
and go take dominion over trees?’
12 “So the trees told the grape vine,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
13 But the grape vine asked them,
‘Should I leave my new wine,
which cheers God and man,
and go take dominion over trees?’
14 “So all the trees told the bramble bush,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
15 Then the bramble bush replied to the trees,
‘If you really are consecrating[c] me to rule you,
come and put your confidence in my shade;
but if not, may fire spring out from the bramble bush
and burn up the cedars[d] of Lebanon…’
16 “Now then, if you have been acting in good faith and integrity by making a king out of Abimelech, if you have treated Jerubbaal and his household appropriately by acting toward him as he deserved[e]— 17 because my father fought on your behalf, throwing away all concern for his own life, and delivered you from Midian’s domination.
18 “But now as for you, you’ve rebelled against my father’s house today. You’ve murdered his sons—70 men—in one place,[f] and you’ve installed Abimelech, the son of his mistress, as king to rule over the “lords” of Shechem, since he’s related to you. 19 So if you’ve acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then you’re welcome to[g] Abimelech, and he’s welcome to[h] you… 20 But if not, may fire spring out from Abimelech and consume the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire spring out from the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo to consume Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham escaped by running away. He went to Beer and remained there because of his brother Abimelech.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 9:8 The Heb. lacks Once upon a time
- Judges 9:8 Or anoint
- Judges 9:15 Or anointing
- Judges 9:15 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book
- Judges 9:16 Lit. as his hands acted
- Judges 9:18 Lit. men—on one stone
- Judges 9:19 Lit. then rejoice in
- Judges 9:19 Lit. and let him rejoice in
New International Version (NIV) 
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International Standard Version (ISV) 
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