EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Judges 9:15
15The thorn bush said to the trees, “If you really want to choose me as your king, come here. Hide under my branches to keep safe. If not, I will cause fire to come out from the thorn bush. It will burn up all the big cedar trees in 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 vine answered, “Wine from my grapes makes gods and people happy. I will not stop making wine so that I can rule over you.” 14Finally, the trees said to the thorn bush, “Come and be our king.” The thorn bush said to the trees, “If you really want to choose me as your king, come here. Hide under my branches to keep safe. If not, I will cause fire to come out from the thorn bush. It will burn up all the big cedar trees in Lebanon!” 16When you chose Abimelech to be your king, you have not been faithful to Gideon and his family. You have not given Gideon the honour that he deserves. 17My father Gideon fought to save you. He did not try to keep his own life safe. He rescued you from the power of the Midianites.
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 30:2Your leaders travel to Egypt to ask for Pharaoh's help to keep them safe. But they did not ask me what I think about it. They think that Egypt has the power to protect them.
- Daniel 4:12It had beautiful leaves and lots of fruits. There was enough food on it for everyone. Wild animals could live in its shade. Birds lived in its branches. It gave food for every living thing.
- Hosea 14:7I will give my people shade to live in safely. They will plant crops that give them plenty of food. They will be successful, like a vine that gives many grapes. They will be famous, like the wine from Lebanon.
- Matthew 13:32It is the smallest seed that there is. But when it starts to grow, it will become bigger than the largest bush. It will become a tree. The wild birds will come and they will build their nests among the branches of that tree.’
- Judges 9:20But if you have not been faithful, I pray that Abimelech will destroy you! I pray that his fire will completely burn up the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo. And I pray that fire from you leaders will completely destroy Abimelech!’
- Numbers 21:28An army that was like a fire went out from Heshbon. It was like a flame that went out from Sihon's city. It destroyed Ar in Moab, and everything on the hills near the River Arnon.
- Isaiah 1:31Even your most powerful men will disappear. They will be like a piece of string that burns in a fire. Their sins will be the fire that destroys them. They and their sins will burn together, and nobody will put out the fire.
- Ezekiel 19:14Fire started to burn its strongest branch. From there the fire destroyed its other branches and its fruit. No strong branch remained in the vine. Now there was nothing to make a ruler's stick of authority.” This is a funeral song. It tells a very sad story.’
- 2 Kings 14:9But King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah: ‘In Lebanon, a thorn bush sent this message to a cedar tree: “Please give your daughter to my son, to be his wife.” Then a wild animal of Lebanon came and knocked down the thorn bush. It walked all over it!
- Psalms 104:16The Lord's own trees receive plenty of rain. They are the cedar trees that he planted in Lebanon.
- Isaiah 2:13The Lord will cut down the great cedar trees in Lebanon, and the oak trees in Bashan.
- Isaiah 37:24You have sent your servants to insult the Lord God. You have said, ‘I have taken all my chariots and I have gone up high mountains, the highest mountains in Lebanon. I have cut down its tall cedar trees, and I have cut down its best pine trees. I went up to its highest places, and I went far into its forests.
- Ezekiel 31:3Think about how powerful Assyria was. At one time, it was as strong as a great cedar tree in Lebanon. It had beautiful branches that gave shade in the forest. It was very tall. Its top reached up to 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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