6. Then all the men of Shechem and Bethmillo got together and went to the sacred oak tree at Shechem, where they made Abimelech king.
7. When Jotham heard about this, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, and God may listen to you!
8. Once upon a time the trees got together to choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
9. The olive tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my oil, which is used to honour gods and human beings.’
10. Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king.’
11. But the fig tree answered, ‘In order to govern you, I would have to stop producing my good sweet fruit.’