Judges 9:8-23
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
8Once the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my fatness with which God and mankind are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 11But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ 12Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 13But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I give up my new wine, which cheers God and mankind, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 15And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
16Now then, if you have acted with honesty and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have dealt with him as he deserved—
17for my father fought for you, and risked his life and saved you from the hand of Midian;
18but in fact you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—
19so if you have acted with honesty and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, be joyful about Abimelech, and may he also be joyful about you.
20But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech.'
21Then Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; and he stayed there because of his brother Abimelech.
King James Version
Chapter 9
8The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
10And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
11But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
12Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
13And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
14Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
15And 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.
16Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
17(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
18And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
19If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
20But 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.
21And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
8The trees decided to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, "Reign over us."
9But the olive tree said to them, "Should I stop giving my oil that people use to honor both God and men, and rule over the trees?"
10Then the trees said to the fig tree, "Come and reign over us."
11But the fig tree said to them, "Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?"
12Later, the trees said to the grapevine, "Come and reign over us."
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."
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."
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,
18and now you have attacked my father’s family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother’—
19so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.
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."
21Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
8Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king. First they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 9But 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!’
11But 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!’
13But 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!’
15And 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.’'
16Jotham 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?
17For he fought for you and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites.
18But 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.
19If 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.
20But 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!'
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
8The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15And 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.’
16"Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved —
17for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,
18and you have risen up against my father 's house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative —
19if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
20But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech."
21And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
New International Version
16"Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves?
17Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian.
18But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you.
19So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too!
20But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!"
New King James Version
Chapter 9
8“The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I cease giving my oil, With which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?’ 10“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 11But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway over trees?’ 12“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 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!’ 15And 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;
18but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—
19if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
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!”
21And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
