Judges 9:7–11

7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

7 When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted,

“Listen to me, citizens of Shechem!

Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!

8 Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king.

First they said to the olive tree,

‘Be our king!’

9 But the olive tree refused, saying,

‘Should I quit producing the olive oil

that blesses both God and people,

just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

10 “Then they said to the fig tree,

‘You be our king!’

11 But the fig tree also refused, saying,

‘Should I quit producing my sweet fruit

just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them:

“Listen to me, you men of Shechem,

That God may listen to you!

8 “The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.

And they said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us!’

9 But the olive tree said to them,

‘Should I cease giving my oil,

With which they honor God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You come and reign over us!’

11 But the fig tree said to them,

‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,

And go to sway over trees?’

7 When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted to the people: “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, so that God will listen to you! 8 One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, ‘You be king over us!’

9 “But the olive tree said, ‘Men and gods are honored by my oil. Should I stop making it and go and sway over the other trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be king over us!’

11 “But the fig tree answered, ‘Should I stop making my sweet and good fruit and go and sway over the other trees?’

7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?

7 And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you. 8 The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us. 9 And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us. 11 But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?

7 When Jotham was told about this, he went to a high spot on Mount Gerizim. He shouted to them, “Listen to me, you citizens of Shechem, so that God might listen to you. 

8 “The trees went to anoint someone to be king over them. 

They said to the olive tree, 

‘Be our king!’ 

9 But the olive tree responded, 

‘Should I stop producing oil, 

which people use to honor gods and humans, 

in order to rule the trees?’ 

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, 

‘You come and be our king!’ 

11 But the fig tree responded, 

‘Should I stop producing my good, sweet fruit 

in order to rule the trees?’ 

7 When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them:

Listen to me, lords of Shechem,

and may God listen to you:

8 The trees set out

to anoint a king over themselves.

They said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.”

9 But the olive tree said to them,

“Should I stop giving my oil

that honors both God and man,

and rule over the trees?”

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,

“Come and reign over us.”

11 But the fig tree said to them,

“Should I stop giving

my sweetness and my good fruit,

and rule over trees?”

7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

8 The trees once went out

to anoint a king over themselves.

So they said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us.’

9 The olive tree answered them,

‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil

by which gods and mortals are honored

and go to sway over the trees?’

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You come and reign over us.’

11 But the fig tree answered them,

‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness

and my delicious fruit

and go to sway over the trees?’

7 And they told Jotham, and he went up and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and he cried out loud and said to them, “Listen to me, lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

8 “The trees went certainly,

to anoint a king over themselves.

And they said to the olive tree,

‘Rule over us.’

9 And the olive tree replied,

‘Should I stop producing my oil,

which by me gods and men are honored,

to go sway over the trees?’

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You, come rule over us.’

11 But the fig tree said to them,

‘Should I stop producing my sweetness,

and my good crop,

to go sway over the trees?’

7 Jotham was told about it. So he climbed up on top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted down to them, “Citizens of Shechem! Listen to me! Then God will listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to an olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my olive oil? It’s used to honor gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’

10 “Next, the trees spoke to a fig tree. They said, ‘Come and be our king.’

11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit? It’s so good and sweet. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’

7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

8 “Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’

9 “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’

11 “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’