Judges 9 · Verse 15

Judges 9:15

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.
Judges 9:15, King James Version

Judges 9:15 in other translations

BSBBut the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
WEB“The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
ASVAnd the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
YLTAnd the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow; and if not--fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the cedars of Lebanon.
DARBYAnd the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
BBEAnd the thorn said to the trees, If it is truly your desire to make me your king, then come and put your faith in my shade; and if not, may fire come out of the thorn, burning up the cedars of Lebanon.
WebsterAnd the bramble said to 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.

What does Judges 9:15 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Come 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 mirth of fools is said to be like the cracking of thorns under a pot. Abimelech was the bramble; and the cedars of Lebanon, all the nobles and people of Israel. Could they therefore suppose that such a low-born, uneducated, cruel, and murderous man, could be a proper protector, or a humane governor? He who could imbrue his hands in the blood of his brethren in order to get into power, was not likely to stop at any means to retain that power when possessed. If, therefore, they took him for their king, they might rest assured that desolation and blood would mark the whole of his reign. The condensed moral of the whole fable is this: Weak, worthless, and wicked men, will ever be foremost to thrust themselves into power; and, in the end, to bring ruin upon themselves, and on the unhappy people over whom they preside.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 9:7-21

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…

Read the full comment on Judges 9:7-21 →

Judges 9:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand it saidH559
הָאָטָד֮ha.'a.Tadthe thorn bushH329
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָעֵצִים֒ha.'e.Tzimthe treesH6086
אִ֡ם'imifH518
בֶּאֱמֶ֣תbe.'e.Metin truthH571
אַתֶּם֩'a.TemyouH859
מֹשְׁחִ֨יםmo.she.Chim[are] anointingH4886
אֹתִ֤י'o.Ti<obj.> meH853
לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙le.Me.lekhto kingH4428
עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם'a.lei.Khemover youH5921
בֹּ֖אוּBo.'ucomeH935
חֲס֣וּcha.Sutake refugeH2620
בְצִלִּ֑יve.tzi.Liin shade myH6738
וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
אַ֕יִן'A.yinnotH369
תֵּ֤צֵאTe.tze'let it go outH3318
אֵשׁ֙'esha fireH784
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הָ֣אָטָ֔דha.'a.Tadthe thorn bushH329
וְתֹאכַ֖לve.to.Khaland let it consumeH398
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אַרְזֵ֥י'ar.Zei[the] cedars ofH730
הַלְּבָנֽוֹן\׃ha.le.va.Non<the> LebanonH3844

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 9:15

  • Isaiah 30:2

    That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

  • Isaiah 2:13

    And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

  • Judges 9:20

    But 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.

  • Hosea 14:7

    They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

  • Isaiah 37:24

    By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

  • Daniel 4:12

    The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

  • 2 Kings 14:9

    And Jehoash the 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 thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

  • Ezekiel 19:14

    And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

  • Numbers 21:28

    For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

  • Psalms 104:16

    The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

  • Ezekiel 31:3

    Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.

  • Matthew 13:32

    Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shadow.
Isa 30:2; Da 4:12; Ho 14:7; Mt 13:32
let fire.
20,49; Nu 21:28; Isa 1:31; Eze 19:14
the cedars.
2Ki 14:9; Ps 104:16; Isa 2:13; 37:24; Eze 31:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 9:14

    Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

  • Judges 9:15

    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.

  • Judges 9:16

    Now 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;

Read all of Judges 9

Judges 9:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y el escaramujo respondió á los árboles: Si en verdad me elegís por rey sobre vosotros, venid, y aseguraos debajo de mi sombra: y si no, fuego salga del escaramujo que devore los cedros del Líbano.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et l’épine dit aux arbres: Si vraiment vous voulez m’oindre roi sur vous, venez, mettez votre confiance en mon ombre; sinon, un feu sortira de l’épine, et dévorera les cèdres du Liban.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und der Dornstrauch sprach zu den Bäumen: Wenn ihr mich in Wahrheit zum König über euch salben wollt, so kommet, vertrauet euch meinem Schatten an; wenn aber nicht, so soll Feuer von dem Dornstrauch ausgehen und die Cedern des Libanon verzehren. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quæ respondit eis: Si vere me regem vobis constituitis, venite, et sub umbra mea requiescite: si autem non vultis, egrediatur ignis de rhamno, et devoret cedros Libani.