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 Living Translation (NLT)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.’”

Context of Judges 9:15

13But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, Which cheers both God and men, And go to sway over trees?’ 14“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 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!’ 16“Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as he deserves— 17for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

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

People and places in Judges 9:15

• Lebanon

Cross-references for Judges 9:15

• Isaiah 30:2Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
• Daniel 4:12Its leaves were lovely, Its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, And all flesh was fed from it.
• Hosea 14:7Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
• Matthew 13:32which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
• Judges 9:20“But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!”
• Numbers 21:28“For fire went out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, The lords of the heights of the Arnon.
• Isaiah 1:31The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.
• Ezekiel 19:14Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch— a scepter for ruling.’ ” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.
• 2 Kings 14:9And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
• Psalms 104:16The trees of the Lord are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
• Isaiah 2:13Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
• Isaiah 37:24By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest.
• Ezekiel 31:3Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, With fine branches that shaded the forest, And of high stature; And its top was among the thick boughs.

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