Judges 9:8–13

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?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

8 The trees once went out 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 abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’

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? 12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

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?’

12 “Then they said to the grapevine,

‘You be our king!’

13 But the grapevine also refused, saying,

‘Should I quit producing the wine

that cheers both God and people,

just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

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?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine,

‘You come and reign over us!’

13 But the vine said to them,

‘Should I cease my new wine,

Which cheers both God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

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?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be king over us!’

13 “But the vine answered, ‘My new wine makes men and gods happy. Should I stop making it and go and sway over the trees?’

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? 12 And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?

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? 12 Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us. 13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

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?’ 

12 Then the trees said to the grapevine, 

‘You come and be our king!’ 

13 But the grapevine responded, 

‘Should I stop producing my wine, 

which makes gods and humans happy, 

in order to rule the trees?’ 

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?”

12 Later, the trees said to the grapevine,

“Come and reign over us.”

13 But the grapevine said to them,

“Should I stop giving my wine

that cheers both God and man,

and rule over trees?”

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?’

12 Then the trees said to the vine,

‘You come and reign over us.’

13 But the vine said to them,

‘Shall I stop producing my wine

that cheers gods and mortals

and go to sway over the trees?’

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?’

12 And the trees said to the vine,

‘You, come rule over us.’

13 But the vine said to them,

‘Should I stop producing my wine

that makes the gods and men happy,

to go sway over the trees?’

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?’

12 “Then the trees spoke to a vine. They said, ‘Come and be our king.’

13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine? It cheers up gods and people alike. Should I give that up just to rule over the trees?’