¹⁸ And Joash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thorn-tree in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast from the woodland in Lebanon went by, crushing the thorn under his feet.

⁸ One day the trees went out to make a king for themselves; and they said to the olive-tree, Be king over us.

⁹ 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?

¹⁰ Then the trees said to the fig-tree, You come and be king over us.

¹¹ But the fig-tree said to them, Am I to give up my sweet taste and my good fruit and go waving over the trees?

¹² Then the trees said to the vine, You come and be king over us.

¹³ But the vine said to them, Am I to give up my wine, which makes glad God and men, to go waving over the trees?

¹⁴ Then all the trees said to the thorn, You come and be king over us.

¹⁵ 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.

³³ He made sayings about all plants, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop hanging on the wall; and about all beasts and birds and fishes and the small things of the earth.

¹³ It is uprooted by the pigs from the woods, the beasts of the field get their food from it.