Judges 9:8-15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 One day the trees went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us.’
9 But the olive tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my rich oil,
whereby gods and human beings are honored,[a]
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my sweetness
and my sweet fruit,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
12 Then the trees said to the vine,
‘Come you, reign over us.’
13 But the vine answered them,
‘Must I give up my wine
that cheers gods[b] and human beings,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
14 Then all the trees said to the buckthorn,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
15 The buckthorn answered the trees,
‘If you are anointing me in good faith,
to make me king over you,
come, and take refuge in my shadow.
But if not, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’(A)
Footnotes
- 9:9 Whereby gods and human beings are honored: olive oil had a variety of cultic uses (e.g., Lv 2:1, 6, 15; 24:2), and it was also used in the consecration of priests and kings for office (e.g., Ex 30:25, 30; 1 Sm 10:1; 16:13).
- 9:13 Cheers gods: wine was part of a number of types of offerings in the Israelite cult (cf. Ex 29:40; Lv 23:13; Nm 15:7, 10), and it was also used widely in the worship of foreign gods (cf. Dt 32:37–38; Is 65:11).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.