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When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice, cried out, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

“But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I stop producing my oil, with which they honor God and man by me, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’

10 “The trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and reign over us.’

11 “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’

12 “The trees said to the vine, ‘Come and reign over us.’

13 “The vine said to them, ‘Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’

14 “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’

15 “The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

16 “Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands 17 (for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18 and you have risen up against my father’s house today and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); 19 if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house today, then rejoice 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 Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer[a] and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:21 “Beer” is Hebrew for “well”, i.e., a village named for its well.

Jotham’s Parable

When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted,

“Listen to me, citizens of Shechem!
    Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!
Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king.
    First they said to the olive tree,
    ‘Be our king!’
But the olive tree refused, saying,
‘Should I quit producing the olive oil
    that blesses both God and people,
    just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

10 “Then they said to the fig tree,
    ‘You be our king!’
11 But the fig tree also refused, saying,
‘Should I quit producing my sweet fruit
    just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

12 “Then they said to the grapevine,
    ‘You be our king!’
13 But the grapevine also refused, saying,
‘Should I quit producing the wine
    that cheers both God and people,
    just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

14 “Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said,
    ‘Come, you be our king!’
15 And the thornbush replied to the trees,
‘If you truly want to make me your king,
    come and take shelter in my shade.
If not, let fire come out from me
    and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’”

16 Jotham continued, “Now make sure you have acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelech your king, and that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. Have you treated him with the honor he deserves for all he accomplished? 17 For he fought for you and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites. 18 But today you have revolted against my father and his descendants, killing his seventy sons on one stone. And you have chosen his slave woman’s son, Abimelech, to be your king just because he is your relative.

19 “If you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Gideon and his descendants today, then may you find joy in Abimelech, and may he find joy in you. 20 But if you have not acted in good faith, then may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and devour Abimelech!”

21 Then Jotham escaped and lived in Beer because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

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