Judges 9:15

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, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’ 14“So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! Otherwise 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, if you have properly repaid him – 17my father fought for you; he risked his life and delivered you from Midian’s power.

Judges 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 30:2They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.
• Daniel 4:12Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful; on it there was food enough for all. Under it the wild animals used to seek shade, and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest. All creatures used to feed themselves from it.
• Hosea 14:7People will reside again in his shade; they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. They will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
• Matthew 13:32It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches.”
• Judges 9:20But 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!”
• Numbers 21:28For fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has consumed Ar of Moab and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
• Isaiah 1:31The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.
• Ezekiel 19:14A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit. No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’ This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
• 2 Kings 14:9King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn.
• Psalms 104:16The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
• Isaiah 2:13for all the cedars of Lebanon, that are so high and mighty, for all the oaks of Bashan;
• Isaiah 37:24Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.
• Ezekiel 31:3Consider Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade, and extremely tall; its top reached into 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

• Allegory
• Anointing
• Bramble
• Jotham
• Judge
• Lebanon
• Parables
• Pride
• Sarcasm

In the dictionaries

• Lebanon
• Atad
• Deserving
• Fable
• Incline
• Merry
• Middle
• Mouth
• Parable
• Abdon (1)

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