SEV Biblia, Chapter 9:15
Y el escaramujo respondió a los árboles: Si en verdad me elegís por rey sobre vosotros, venid, y aseguraos debajo de mi sombra; y si no, fuego salga del escaramujo que devore los cedros del Líbano.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Judges 9:15
Verse 15. Come and put your trust in any shadow] The vain boast of the would-be sovereign; and of the man who is seeking to be put into power by the suffrages of the people. All promise, no performance. Let fire come out of the bramble] A strong catachresis. The bramble was too low to give shelter to any tree; and so far from being able to consume others, that the smallest fire will reduce it to ashes, and that in the shortest time. Hence the very transitory mirth of fools is said to be like the cracking of thorns under a pot. Abimelech was the bramble; and the ceders of Lebanon, all the nobles and people of Israel. Could they therefore suppose that such a low-born, uneducated, cruel, and murderous man, could be a proper protector, or a humane governor? He who could imbrue his hands in the blood of his brethren in order to get into power, was not likely to stop at any means to retain that power when possessed. If, therefore, they took him for their king, they might rest assured that desolation and blood would mark the whole of his reign. The condensed moral of the whole fable is this: Weak, worthless, and wicked men, will ever be foremost to thrust themselves into power; and, in the end, to bring ruin upon themselves, and on the unhappy people over whom they preside.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 15. And the bramble said unto the trees , etc.] Accepting of their offer at once: if ye in trust anoint me king over you ; suspecting they were not hearty and cordial in their choice and call to the kingly authority over them: then come and put your trust in my shadow ; promising protection to them as his subjects, requiring their confidence in him, and boasting of the good they should receive from him, as is common with wicked princes at their first entering on their office; but, alas! what shadow or protection can there be in a bramble? if a man attempts: to put himself under it for shelter, he will find it will be of no use to him, but harmful, since, the nearer and closer he comes to it, the more he will be scratched and torn by it: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon ; signifying, that if they did not heartily submit to his government, and put confidence in him, and prove faithful to him, they should smart for it, and feel his wrath and vengeance, even the greatest men among them, comparable to the cedars of Lebanon; for thorns and brambles catching fire, as they easily do, or fire being put to them, as weak as they are, and placed under the tallest and strongest cedars, will soon fetch them down to the ground; and the words of the bramble, or Abimelech, proved true to the Shechemites, he is made to speak in this parable.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 7-21 - There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King. Those wh bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. All thes fruit-trees gave much the same reason for their refusal to be promote over the trees; or, as the margin reads it, to go up and down for the trees. To rule, involves a man in a great deal both of toil and care Those who are preferred to public trust and power, must forego all private interests and advantages, for the good of others. And thos advanced to honour and dignity, are in great danger of losing their fruitfulness. For which reason, they that desire to do good, are afrai of being too great. Jotham compares Abimelech to the bramble of thistle, a worthless plant, whose end is to be burned. Such a one wa Abimelech.
Original Hebrew
ויאמר 559 האטד 329 אל 413 העצים 6086 אם 518 באמת 571 אתם 859 משׁחים 4886 אתי 853 למלך 4428 עליכם 5921 באו 935 חסו 2620 בצלי 6738 ואם 518 אין 369 תצא 3318 אשׁ 784 מן 4480 האטד 329 ותאכל 398 את 853 ארזי 730 הלבנון׃ 3844
