JDG 9:9 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἡ ἐλαία, μὴ ἀπολείψασα τὴν πιότητά μου, ἐν ᾗ δοξάσουσι τὸν Θεὸν ἄνδρες, πορεύσομαι κινεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων;
(Kai eipen autois haʸ elaia, maʸ apoleipsasa taʸn piotaʸta mou, en haʸ doxasousi ton Theon andres, poreusomai kineisthai epi tōn xulōn;)

BrTr But the olive said to them, Shall I leave my fatness, with which men shall glorify God, and go to be [fn]promoted over the trees?

ULT But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I discontinue my fatness, which, by it, they honor gods and men, that I should go to wave over the trees?’

UST But the olive tree replied, ‘I produce olives, and people make oil from them. They put the oil in sacrifices that they offer, and they use it to anoint people whom they want to honor. It is much more important for me to keep producing olives than to wander around settling matters for other trees as a king would do. So I will not be your king.’

BSB & MSB But the olive tree replied
⇔ ‘Should I stop giving my oil
⇔ that honors both God and man,
⇔ to hold sway over the trees?’

OEB No OEB JDG 9:9 book available

WEBBE & WMBB “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I stop producing my oil, with which they honour God and man by me, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’

NET But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’

LSV And the olive says to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honor gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

FBV But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my rich oil that benefits both gods and men just to go and sway to and fro over the trees?’

T4T “But the olive tree said, ‘No! I will not be your king Men and gods enjoy the oil from my fruit. I will not [RHQ] stop producing olives from which we make that oil, in order to rule over you other trees!’

LEB • 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?’

BBE But the olive-tree said to them, Am I to give up my wealth of oil, by which men give honour to God, and go waving over the trees?

Moff No Moff JDG 9:9 book available

JPS But the olive-tree said unto them: Should I leave my fatness, seeing that by me they honour God and man, and go to hold sway over the trees?

ASV 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?

DRA And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, which both gods and men make use of, to come to be promoted among the trees?

YLT And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

Drby And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour [fn]God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

9.9 Elohim

RV But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?
(But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave to and from over the trees?)

SLT And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees?

Wbstr But the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

KJB-1769 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?[fn]

9.9 go…: or, go up and down for other trees

KJB-1611 But the Oliue tree saide vnto them, Should I leaue my fatnesse, wherewith by mee they honour God and man, and [fn]goe to bee promoted ouer the trees?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and footnotes)

9:9 Or, goe vp and downe for other trees.

Bshps But the Olyue tree sayd vnto them: Should I leaue my fatnesse wherwith by me they honour God and man, & to be promoted ouer the trees?
(But the Olive tree said unto them: Should I leave my fatness wherewith by me they honour God and man, and to be promoted over the trees?)

Gnva But the oliue tree said vnto them, Should I leaue my fatnes, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to aduance me aboue ye trees?
(But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to advance me above ye/you_all trees?)

Cvdl But the Olyue tre answered them: Shall I go and leaue my fatnesse (which both God and men commende in me) and go to be puft vp aboue the trees?
(But the Olive tree answered them: Shall I go and leave my fatness (which both God and men commend in me) and go to be puffed up above the trees?)

Wycl Whiche answeride, Whether Y may forsake my fatnesse, which bothe Goddis and men vsen, and come, that Y be auaunsid among trees?
(Which answered, Whether I may forsake my fatness, which both God’s and men use, and come, that I be advanced among trees?)

Luth Aber der Ölbaum antwortete ihnen: Soll ich meine Fettigkeit lassen, die beide, Götter und Menschen, an mir preisen, und hingehen, daß ich schwebe über die Bäume?
(But the/of_the olive_tree replied to_them: Should I my fatness let, the both, gods and people, at/to to_me praise(v), and go_there, that I float above the trees?)

ClVg Quæ respondit: Numquid possum deserere pinguedinem meam, qua et dii utuntur et homines, et venire ut inter ligna promovear?
(Which answered: Is_it I_can to_abandon fatness of_mine, which and gods they_use and people/men, and to_come as between wood I_may_be_moved_forward?)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

וַ⁠יֹּ֤אמֶר לָ⁠הֶם֙ הַ⁠זַּ֔יִת הֶ⁠חֳדַ֨לְתִּי֙ אֶת־דִּשְׁנִ֔⁠י אֲשֶׁר־בִּ֛⁠י יְכַבְּד֥וּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַ⁠אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וְ⁠הָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָ⁠נ֖וּעַ עַל־הָ⁠עֵצִֽים

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to/for=them the_olive,tree will,I_cease? DOM fatness_of,my which/who by,me honoured ʼElohīm and,men and,will_I_go to,sway on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,trees )

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [But the olive tree asked them whether it should discontinue its fatness, by which they honor gods and men, in order to go wave over the trees]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

הֶ⁠חֳדַ֨לְתִּי֙ אֶת־דִּשְׁנִ֔⁠י אֲשֶׁר־בִּ֛⁠י יְכַבְּד֥וּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַ⁠אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וְ⁠הָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָ⁠נ֖וּעַ עַל־הָ⁠עֵצִֽים

The olive tree in the story is using the question form for emphasis. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [I am not going to discontinue my fatness, by which they honor gods and men, in order to go wave over the trees!]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

הֶ⁠חֳדַ֨לְתִּי֙ אֶת־דִּשְׁנִ֔⁠י

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of fatness, you could express the same idea in another way. The tree is referring specifically to the oil that is made from its olives. Alternate translation: [Should I stop producing oil]

Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns

אֲשֶׁר־בִּ֛⁠י יְכַבְּד֥וּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַ⁠אֲנָשִׁ֑ים

Here the author is not using they to refer to specific people. Use an expression for this that would be natural in your language. Alternate translation: [by which people honor gods and men] or [by which gods and men are honored]

Note 5 topic: translate-plural

אֱלֹהִ֖ים

ʼElohīm

The word translated as gods is plural in form, but it could mean either: (1) gods, as in the ULT. (2) God. Alternate translation: [God]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠הָ֣לַכְתִּ֔י לָ⁠נ֖וּעַ עַל־הָ⁠עֵצִֽים

The olive tree is using the term wave to suggest implicitly that being a king over the other trees would not be as worthwhile or productive as continuing to make olives for oil. Trees stay rooted in the ground, so the olive tree is using the word wave, meaning to sway back and forth in the wind, to represent how kings go around taking care of various official matters. You could indicate this explicitly in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. The UST models one way to do this.

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Abimelech Seizes Power

Judges 9

Virtually every account in the book of Judges paints this formative period in Israel’s history as a very dark, brutal time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The story of Abimelech’s rise to power is no exception. Judges 6-8 recounts the heroic deeds of Gideon, a Manassite from the clan of Abiezer who rescued the Israelites from the Midianites. After Gideon’s victory, he returned to his hometown of Ophrah, and Israel enjoyed peace for the rest of his lifetime. But Gideon also left a legacy of idolatry by him, by his family, and by many Israelites. Gideon had many wives and seventy sons, as well as a concubine in Shechem who gave birth to another son named Abimelech (Judges 8:29-32). It appears that when Abimelech grew up, he settled in Arumah, (Judges 9:31), just outside Manassite territory in the tribal allotment of Ephraim (Joshua 16-17; see “Poster Map of the Tribe of Manasseh (West) and Its Surroundings, circa 1200 B.C.” map). Perhaps this move to non-Manassite territory reflected Abimelech’s lack of a legitimate heritage from his Manassite father. Later, Abimelech visited his relatives in Shechem and convinced them to persuade the leaders of Shechem to make him ruler over the city. To ensure that none of his seventy brothers, who were legitimate heirs to Gideon, challenged his authority, Abimelech went to Ophrah and killed all but one of them. The only brother to escape was Jotham, the youngest, and he went to the top of Mount Gerizim and warned them against betraying Gideon by making Abimelech king. Then he fled to the town of Beer, perhaps the same as Beeroth near the town of Gibeon. After three years, however, the leaders of Shechem began to grow dissatisfied with Abimelech as their king, and a man named Gaal offered to rule in place of him. Abimelech’s ally Zebul, who was one of the leaders of Shechem, went to Arumah and told Abimelech what Gaal was planning to do. So Gideon and his men split up into four groups and secretly surrounded the city at night. Then they attacked Gaal’s men, and Gaal’s men retreated into Shechem. Zebul drove them back out into the fields, and Abimelech’s men defeated them and captured the city. Some of the leaders of Shechem fled into the temple of El-berith (or Baal-berith), but Abimelech and his men cut down branches from Mount Zalmon (likely Mount Ebal just north of Shechem) and set fire to the temple, killing about 1000 people inside. Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebez and attacked the city. Many of the citizens took refuge inside a strong tower in the town, and Abimelech prepared to set fire to the entrance. But a woman on the roof dropped a millstone on his head, crushing his skull, so Abimelech commanded his armor bearer to kill him.

Parallel JDG 9:9

Abimelech Seizes Power