“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’
Parallel translations
- WEB “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’
- KJV Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
- BSB Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’
- NASB Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’
- NLT “Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said, ‘Come, you be our king!’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Finally all the trees ask the worthless bramble to reign over them.
Overview
The bramble, a thorny, fruitless, and dangerous plant, represents Abimelech. That the trees turn to such a thing exposes the desperation and folly of their choice. The fable now reaches its biting climax of warning and threat.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 2 Kgs 14:9Jehoash 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 your daughter to my son as wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 9:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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