Judges 9:15
in Judges 9But 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.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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.
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.
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This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseCome 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.
This site's exposition
all the trees said to the thornbush
on Judges 9:14-15
The thornbush bears no fruit and no shade worth standing in, and dry thorn catches fire faster than anything in a field. It invites the trees to "find refuge in my shade," the Hebrew verb used of taking refuge in God at Psalm 2:12. Its threat to "consume the cedars of Lebanon," the tallest trees Scripture names, is carried out twice before the chapter ends.
This site's exposition
come and find refuge in my shade
John Wesley reads the cedars as the nobles of Shechem, such as the house of Millo, who pushed hardest for the crowning. Adam Clarke calls the offer all promise and no performance. The condition, if you really are anointing me, is the test Jotham applies in verse 16.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But lest I should appear to some to be sophistical, and to conjecture these things from mere probabilities, and to babble, I will bring forward to you, O virgins, from the Old Testament, written prophecy from the book of Judges, to show that I speak the truth, where the future reign of chastity was already clearly foretold.…Now it is clear that these things are not said of trees growing out of the earth. Inanimate trees cannot be assembled in council to choose a king since they are firmly fixed to the earth by deep roots.
And no one has been so illiterate as to think that similar fables of Aesop, related for the same purpose, ought to be called lies. But also in the sacred writings such passages are found, as in the book of Judges the trees look for a king to rule over them and speak to the olive and the fig and the vine and the bramble. Surely, all this is invented in order that we may reach the matter intended by means of a narrative [that is] fictitious, to be sure, but bearing a true and not a false signification.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If in truth - If you deal truly and justly in making me king. Then trust - Then you may expect protection under my government. Devour the cedars - In stead of protection, you shall receive destruction by me; especially you cedars, that is, nobles, such as the house of Millo, who have been most forward in this work.
), what promises he makes to his faithful subjects: Let them come and trust in my shadow: a goodly shadow to trust in! How unlike to the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, which a good magistrate is compared to!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the bramble said unto the trees,....
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָאָטָד֮ | haatad | the thorn bush | H329 → | 6 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעֵצִים֒ | haetzim | the trees | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אִ֡ם | ʾim | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בֶּאֱמֶ֣ת | beemet | in truth | H571 → | 127 times |
| אַתֶּם֩ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מֹשְׁחִ֨ים | moshechim | [are] anointing | H4886 → | |
| אֹתִ֤י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙ | lemelekh | to king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾaleikhem | over you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בֹּ֖אוּ | bou | come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| חֲס֣וּ | chasu | take refuge | H2620 → | |
| בְצִלִּ֑י | vetzili | in shade my | H6738 → | |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אַ֕יִן | ʾayin | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| תֵּ֤צֵא | tetze' | let it go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵשׁ֙ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָ֣אָטָ֔ד | haatad | the thorn bush | H329 → | 6 times |
| וְתֹאכַ֖ל | vetokhal | and let it consume | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַרְזֵ֥י | ʾarzei | [the] cedars of | H730 → | |
| הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃ | halevanon | <the> Lebanon | H3844 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand it said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הָאָטָד֮the thorn bush
haatadH329 →6 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעֵצִים֒the trees
haetzimH6086 →328 times
אִ֡םif
ʾimH518 →1069 times
בֶּאֱמֶ֣תin truth
beemetH571 →127 times
אַתֶּם֩you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
מֹשְׁחִ֨ים[are] anointing
moshechimH4886 →
אֹתִ֤י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙to king
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֔םover you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
בֹּ֖אוּcome
bouH935 →2568 times
חֲס֣וּtake refuge
chasuH2620 →
בְצִלִּ֑יin shade my
vetziliH6738 →
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
אַ֕יִןnot
ʾayinH369 →789 times
תֵּ֤צֵאlet it go out
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֵשׁ֙a fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָ֣אָטָ֔דthe thorn bush
haatadH329 →6 times
וְתֹאכַ֖לand let it consume
vetokhalH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַרְזֵ֥י[the] cedars of
ʾarzeiH730 →
הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃<the> Lebanon
halevanonH3844 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 30:2They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.
it leads to
- Isaiah 36:6
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…
- Numbers 27:21
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
- Ezekiel 29:6–7
Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 28:68
The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but…
- Lamentations 4:20
The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”
- Isaiah 36:6
Through
2 Kings 14:9But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a…
it leads to
- Judges 9:8–15
One day the trees set out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
- Judges 9:8–15
Through
Hosea 14:7They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 91:1
Through
Isaiah 2:13against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:8
Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon exult over you: “Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter comes against us.”
- Isaiah 14:8
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Against Lying 13.28; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Methodius of Olympus, BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 10.2.