Christian Standard Bible
Judges 9:15
15The 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.”
Judges 9:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
- New International Version (NIV)“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the bramble said to the trees, 'If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of Lebanon!’
Context of Judges 9:15
13But the grapevine said to them, “Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?” 14Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, “Come and reign over us.” 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 and honestly 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 — 17for my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you from Midian,
Read all of Judges 9Judges 9:15 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הָאָטָד֮ אֶל־הָעֵצִים֒ אִ֡ם בֶּאֱמֶ֣ת אַתֶּם֩ מֹשְׁחִ֨ים אֹתִ֤י לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם בֹּ֖אוּ חֲס֣וּ בְצִלִּ֑י וְאִם־אַ֕יִן תֵּ֤צֵא אֵשׁ֙ מִן־הָ֣אָטָ֔ד וְתֹאכַ֖ל אֶת־אַרְזֵ֥י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the brambleאָטָד'âţâd · brambleH329
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the treesעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
- If in truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571
- ye anointמָשַׁחmâshach · to anointH4886
- me kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- put your trustחָסָהchâsâh · to seek refugeH2620
- in my shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
- and if not, let fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- come outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: issueH3318
- and devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- the cedarsאֶ֫רֶז'erez · cedarH730
- of Lebanonלְבָנוֹןlebânôn · LebanonH3844
Cross-references for Judges 9:15
- Isaiah 30:2Without asking my advice they set out to go down to Egypt in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
- Daniel 4:12Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and on it was food for all. Wild animals found shelter under it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature was fed from it.
- Hosea 14:7The people will return and live beneath his shade. They will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
- Matthew 13:32It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
- Judges 9:20But 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.”
- Numbers 21:28For fire came out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon’s heights.
- Isaiah 1:31The strong one will become tinder, and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to extinguish the flames.
- Ezekiel 19:14Fire has gone out from its main branch and has devoured its fruit, so that it no longer has a strong branch, a scepter for ruling. This is a lament and should be used as a lament.”
- 2 Kings 14:9King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon once sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
- Psalms 104:16The trees of the Lord flourish, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
- Isaiah 2:13against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,
- Isaiah 37:24You have mocked the Lord through your servants. You have said, “With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its distant heights, its densest forest.
- Ezekiel 31:3Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady foliage and of lofty height. Its top was among the clouds.
Commentaries on Judges 9:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Come and put your trust in any shadow - The vain boast of the would-be sovereign; and of the man who is seeking to be put into power by the suffrages of the people. All promise, no performance. Let fire come out of the bramble - A strong catachresis. The bramble was too low to give shelter to any tree; and so far from being able to consume others, that the smallest fire will reduce it to ashes, and that in the shortest time. Hence the very transitory…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-20Verses 8-20 This fable and that noted in the marginal reference are the only two of the kind found in Scripture. Somewhat different are the parables of the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 12:1-4; 2 Samuel 14:5-11; 1 Kings 20:39-40. Judges 9:9 Honour God and man - Alluding to the constant use of oil in the meat-offerings Exodus 30:24-25. In like manner, the allusion in Judges 9:13 is to the drink-offerings of wine. See Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:10. Judges 9:14…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-21Verses 7-21 There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King. Those who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. All these fruit-trees gave much the same reason for their refusal to be promoted over the trees; or, as…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-15The trees, preferring a bad king to having none (compare 1 Samuel 8:18–19), asked the thornbush to be king. Although neither useful nor attractive, the thornbush accepted. The person who agreed to be king had no better work to do. The thornbush could not provide shade from the hot Middle Eastern sun. Accepting this offer was both pointless and unwise.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-217. he ... stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice--The spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable [Jud 9:8-15] drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. The top of Gerizim is not so high in the rear of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 9:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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