Judges 9:12

THE MESSAGE

The trees then said to Vine, "You come and rule over us." But Vine said to them, "Am I no longer good for making wine, Wine that cheers gods and men, and to be demoted to waving over trees?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Later, the trees said to the grapevine,“Come and reign over us.”

Hebrew Names Version
The trees said to the vine, Come, and reign over us.

King James Version
Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

Lexham English Bible
And the trees said to the vine, ‘You, come rule over us.'

English Standard Version
And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.'

New Century Version
"Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be king over us!'

New English Translation
"So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!'

Amplified Bible
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'You come and reign over us.'

New American Standard Bible
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'You, come, reign over us!'

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then sayd the trees vnto the Vine, Come thou, and be king ouer vs.

Legacy Standard Bible
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

Contemporary English Version
Next they asked the grape vine, "Will you be our king?"

Complete Jewish Bible
So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You, come and rule over us!'

Darby Translation
Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.'

George Lamsa Translation
Then the trees said to the vine, Come you, and reign over us.

Good News Translation
So the trees then said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king.'

Literal Translation
And the trees said to the vine, You come, reign over us.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the trees vnto the vyne: Come thou and be oure kinge.

American Standard Version
And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

Bible in Basic English
Then the trees said to the vine, You come and be king over us.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde the trees vnto the vine: Come thou and be kyng ouer vs.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the trees said unto the vine: Come thou, and reign over us.

King James Version (1611)
Then saide the trees vnto the Uine, Come thou, and reigne ouer vs.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the trees said to the vine, Come, reign over us.

English Revised Version
And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the trees said to the grapevine, 'Come and reign over us.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also `the trees spaken to the vyne, Come thou, and comaunde to vs.

Young's Literal Translation
`And the trees say to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.

Update Bible Version
And the trees said to the vine, You come, and reign over us.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

World English Bible
The trees said to the vine, Come you, and reign over us.

New King James Version
"Then the trees said to the vine, "You come and reign over us!'

New Living Translation
"Then they said to the grapevine, ‘You be our king!'

New Life Bible
So the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and rule over us!'

New Revised Standard
Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.'

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said the trees unto the vine, - Come! thou, reign over us.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the trees said to the vine: Come thou and reign over us.

Revised Standard Version
And the trees said to the vine, 'Come you, and reign over us.'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'You come, reign over us!'

Contextual Overview

⁷When this was all told to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and shouted: Listen to me, leaders of Shechem. And let God listen to you! The trees set out one day to anoint a king for themselves. They said to Olive Tree, "Rule over us." But Olive Tree told them, "Am I no longer good for making oil That gives glory to gods and men, and to be demoted to waving over trees?" ¹⁰The trees then said to Fig Tree, "You come and rule over us." But Fig Tree said to them, "Am I no longer good for making sweets, My mouthwatering sweet fruits, and to be demoted to waving over trees?" ¹²The trees then said to Vine, "You come and rule over us." But Vine said to them, "Am I no longer good for making wine, Wine that cheers gods and men, and to be demoted to waving over trees?" ¹⁴All the trees then said to Tumbleweed, "You come and reign over us." But Tumbleweed said to the trees: "If you're serious about making me your king, Come and find shelter in my shade. But if not, let fire shoot from Tumbleweed and burn down the cedars of Lebanon!" ¹⁶"Now listen: Do you think you did a right and honorable thing when you made Abimelech king? Do you think you treated Jerub-Baal and his family well, did for him what he deserved? My father fought for you, risked his own life, and rescued you from Midian's tyranny, and you have, just now, betrayed him. You massacred his sons—seventy men on a single stone! You made Abimelech, the son by his maidservant, king over Shechem's leaders because he's your relative. If you think that this is an honest day's work, this way you have treated Jerub-Baal today, then enjoy Abimelech and let him enjoy you. But if not, let fire break from Abimelech and burn up the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo. And let fire break from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and burn up Abimelech." ²¹ And Jotham fled. He ran for his life. He went to Beer and settled down there, because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 9:17
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I've set up between me and everything living on the Earth."

Genesis 9:28
Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.

Exodus 13:16
God spoke to Moses, saying, "Consecrate every firstborn to me— the first one to come from the womb among the Israelites, whether person or animal, is mine." Moses said to the people, "Always remember this day. This is the day when you came out of Egypt from a house of slavery. God brought you out of here with a powerful hand. Don't eat any raised bread. "You are leaving in the spring month of Abib. When God brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he promised to your fathers to give you, a land lavish with milk and honey, you are to observe this service during this month: "You are to eat unraised bread for seven days; on the seventh day there is a festival celebration to God . "Only unraised bread is to be eaten for seven days. There is not to be a trace of anything fermented—no yeast anywhere. "Tell your child on that day: ‘This is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.' "The day of observance will be like a sign on your hand, a memorial between your eyes, and the teaching of God in your mouth. It was with a powerful hand that God brought you out of Egypt. Follow these instructions at the set time, year after year after year. "When God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he promised you and your fathers, and turns it over to you, you are to set aside the first birth out of every womb to God . Every first birth from your livestock belongs to God . You can redeem every first birth of a donkey if you want to by substituting a lamb; if you decide not to redeem it, you must break its neck. "Redeem every firstborn child among your sons. When the time comes and your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?' you tell him, ‘ God brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, with a powerful hand. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of both humans and animals. That's why I make a sacrifice for every first male birth from the womb to God and redeem every firstborn son.' The observance functions like a sign on your hands or a symbol on the middle of your forehead: God brought us out of Egypt with a powerful hand."

Joshua 2:12
"Now promise me by God . I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters—everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the trees unto the vine,.... Another emblem of good and useful men; and it may be observed, that Jotham takes no notice of any trees but fruitful ones till he comes to the bramble, and them only such as were well known, and of the greatest use, in the land of Judea, as olives, figs, and vines, see Deuteronomy 8:8

come thou, and reign over us; this Jarchi applies to Gideon; but since there are three sorts of trees brought into the fable, and when the kingdom was offered to Gideon, it was proposed to him, and to his son, and his son's son, and refused, some reference may be had unto it in this apologue. Abarbinel thinks three sorts of men are intended as proper persons for rule and government, as honourable ones, such as are wealthy and rich, and also of good behaviour to God and man, as Gideon's sons were; but Abimelech was all the reverse.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Leviticus 2:1-16, and in the holy ointment 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

The bramble - Said to be the Rhamnus Paliurus of Linnaeus, otherwise called Spina-Christi, or Christ’s Thorn, a shrub with sharp thorns. The application is obvious. The noble Gideon and his worthy sons had declined the proffered kingdom. The vile, base-born Abimelech had accepted it, and his act would turn out to the mutual ruin of himself and his subjects.

Judges 9:15

If in truth - i. e. consistently with truth, honor, and uprightness, as explained in the interpretation in Judges 9:16, Judges 9:19.

Let fire come out ... - The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground. See Psalms 58:9.

Judges 9:16-20

These verses contain the interpretation of the fable. In them Jotham points out the base ingratitude of the people in raising Abimelech upon the ruin of Gideon’s house, and foretells the retribution which would fall upon both parties.