Bible Strands
Judges 9:11
But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, to hold sway over the trees?’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The fig tree answers the collective proposal of the trees to establish it as their ruler. This dialogue occurs mid-parable as the trees negotiate leadership succession.
The words — הֶחֳדַלְתִּי (hechodalti) means “will I cease,” and מָתְקִי (matqi) translates to “my sweetness.” The fig tree states it will not stop producing its sweet fruit to govern the other trees.
The thread — The fig tree reappears in Luke 13:6, where a vineyard owner searches for fruit on a planted fig tree. Both passages use the tree’s natural output to define its purpose.
Why it lands — The text asks readers to identify calls to authority that require abandoning one’s inherent function. It demands the rejection of leadership roles that trade productive service for political control.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Cross-references
- Luke 13:6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.