Judges Chapter 9 verse 15 Holy Bible
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.
read chapter 9 in ASV
And the thorn said to the trees, If it is truly your desire to make me your king, then come and put your faith in my shade; and if not, may fire come out of the thorn, burning up the cedars of Lebanon.
read chapter 9 in BBE
And the bramble said to the trees, 'If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'
read chapter 9 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 9 in KJV
And the bramble said to 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.
read chapter 9 in WBT
The bramble said to the trees, If in truth you 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.
read chapter 9 in WEB
And the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow; and if not -- fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the cedars of Lebanon.
read chapter 9 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 15. - If in truth, i.e. truly, as the same phrase is rendered in vers. 16, 19, with integrity of purpose and sincerity of heart. The English would be less ambiguous if it ran, "If ye anoint me king over you in truth." The speech of the bramble indicates the grounds for suspicion already existing between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. Let fire come out, etc. - keeping up the propriety of the image, as the natural function of the bramble was to kindle a fire, and as it had no other use; showing, too, how a base bramble could destroy a noble cedar, and the base-born Abimelech could bring ruin upon the lords of Shechem.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) If in truth--i.e., with serious purpose. The bramble can hardly believe in the infatuation of the trees.Put your trust in my shadow.--The mean leaves and bristling thorns of the rhamnus could afford no shadow to speak of, and even such as they could afford would be dangerous; but the fable is full of fine and biting irony.If not.--The bramble is not only eager to be king, but has spiteful and dangerous threats--the counterpart of those, doubtless, which had been used by Abimelech--to discourage any withdrawal of the offer.Let fire come out of the bramble.--Some suppose that there is a reference to the ancient notions of the spontaneous ignition of the boughs of the bramble when rubbed together by the wind. The allusion is far more probably to the use of thorns for fuel: Exodus 22:6, "If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn . . . be consumed;" Psalm 58:9, "Or ever your pots be made hot with thorns;" Ecclesiastes 7:6, "the crackling of thorns under a pot."
