Judges 9:14
New International Version
“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

New Living Translation
“Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said, ‘Come, you be our king!’

English Standard Version
Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

Berean Standard Bible
Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’

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

New King James Version
“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’

New American Standard Bible
Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’

NASB 1995
“Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’

NASB 1977
“Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’

Legacy Standard Bible
Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’

Amplified Bible
Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

Christian Standard Bible
Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, “Come and reign over us.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Finally, all the trees said to the bramble,” Come and reign over us.”

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

Contemporary English Version
Finally, they went to the thornbush and asked, "Will you be our king?"

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You come and be our king!'

Good News Translation
So then all the trees said to the thorn bush, 'You come and be our king.'

International Standard Version
"So all the trees told the bramble bush, 'Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

Majority Standard Bible
Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ?Come and reign over us.?

NET Bible
"So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You come and be our king!'

New Heart English Bible
"Then all the trees said to the bramble, 'Come, and reign over us.'

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

World English Bible
“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And all the trees say to the bramble, Come, reign over us.

Young's Literal Translation
And all the trees say unto the bramble, Come thou, reign over us.

Smith's Literal Translation
And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou and reign over us.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’

New American Bible
Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’

New Revised Standard Version
So all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Then all the trees said to the bramble, Come you, and reign over us.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And all the trees said to a bramble: “You reign over us!”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Then said all the trees unto the bramble: Come thou, and reign over us.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Then all the trees said to the bramble, Come thou and reign over us.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jotham's Parable
13But the grapevine replied, ‘Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’ 14Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’ 15But 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.’…

Cross References
Matthew 7:16-20
By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? / Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. / A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ...

Luke 6:43-45
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. / For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles. / The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

Isaiah 5:1-7
I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. / He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour! / “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard. ...

Ezekiel 17:22-24
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. / I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches. / Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. / He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. / He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful. / You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ...

Matthew 21:18-19
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. / Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

Mark 11:12-14
The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry. / Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs. / Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.

Romans 11:17-24
Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, / do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. / You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ...

Isaiah 55:12-13
You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. / Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, the myrtle will spring up; this will make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”

Hosea 9:10
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.

Psalm 92:12-14
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. / Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. / In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,

Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, / gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Treasury of Scripture

Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come you, and reign over us.

bramble.

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.

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Bramble Reign Thorn Thornbush Trees
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Judges 9
1. Abimelech by conspiracy with the Shechemites, and murder of his brothers, is made king
7. Jotham by a parable rebukes them, and foretells their ruin
22. Gaal conspires with the Shechemites against him
30. Zebul reveals it
34. Abimelech overcomes them, and sows the city with salt
46. He burns the hold of the god Berith
50. At Thebez he is slain by a piece of a millstone
56. Jotham's curse is fulfilled.














Finally all the trees
This phrase marks the culmination of a parable told by Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, to the people of Shechem. The "trees" symbolize the people of Israel or the leaders among them. In the Hebrew context, trees often represent strength, stability, and life. The use of "finally" indicates a progression and a sense of desperation or resignation among the trees, as they have already approached more suitable candidates for leadership, who have all declined.

said to the thornbush
The "thornbush" (Hebrew: "אטד" - atad) is a lowly, prickly plant, often associated with desolation and barrenness. In the parable, it represents Abimelech, who is being offered kingship. The thornbush is a stark contrast to the fruitful trees previously mentioned, highlighting the folly and danger of choosing a leader who lacks the qualities of true leadership. Historically, thornbushes were seen as nuisances, often causing harm rather than providing benefit, which underscores the negative implications of this choice.

‘Come and reign over us.’
This invitation to the thornbush is a desperate plea for leadership, reflecting the people's misguided decision to choose Abimelech as their king. The Hebrew word for "reign" (מלך - malak) implies not just ruling, but having dominion and authority. The irony here is palpable; the trees, representing the people, are willing to submit to a leader who is inherently unfit to rule. This reflects a broader biblical theme of the dangers of rejecting God's chosen leaders and the consequences of seeking leadership that does not align with divine principles.

(14) Unto the bramble.--Despairing of their best, they avail themselves of the unscrupulous ambition of their worst. The bramble--atad--is rather the rhamnus, or buckthorn, which Dioscorides calls the Cartha ginian atadin. There seems to be an echo of this fable in 'sop's fable of the fox and the thorn, where the fox is dreadfully rent by taking hold of the thorn to save himself from a fall, and the thorn asks him what else he could expect.

Reign over us.--They seem to address the thorn in a less ceremonious imperative--not m?lekah, as to the olive, or m?leki, as to the fig-tree and vine, but a mere blunt mel?k!

Verse 14. - The bramble. A prickly shrub; in Greek ῤαμνος, Rhamnus, "the southern buckthorn" (Gesenins). The same plant as is mentioned in Psalm 58:9 (thorns, A.V.) as used to make fires with (see note to ver. 7).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Finally all
כָל־ (ḵāl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the trees
הָעֵצִ֖ים (hā·‘ê·ṣîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

said
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the thornbush,
הָאָטָ֑ד (hā·’ā·ṭāḏ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 329: A bramble, buckthorn, also a city in Canaan

‘Come
לֵ֥ךְ (lêḵ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and reign
מְלָךְ־ (mə·lāḵ-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 4427: To reign, inceptively, to ascend the throne, to induct into royalty, to take counsel

over us.’
עָלֵֽינוּ׃ (‘ā·lê·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


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OT History: Judges 9:14 Then said all the trees to (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 9:13
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