Christian Standard Bible
Judges 8:33
33When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.
Judges 8:33 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal–berith their god.
- New International Version (NIV)No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god
- English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god.
Context of Judges 8:33
31His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them. 35They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
Read all of Judges 8Judges 8:33 word by word
וַיְהִ֗י כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ מֵ֣ת גִּדְע֔וֹן וַיָּשׁ֙וּבוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיִּזְנ֖וּ אַחֲרֵ֣י הַבְּעָלִ֑ים וַיָּשִׂ֧ימוּ לָהֶ֛ם בַּ֥עַל בְּרִ֖ית לֵאלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass, as soon as Gideonגִּדְעוֹןgid‛ôn · GideonH1439
- was deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- that the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- turned againשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- and went a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- Baalimבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
- and madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- Baal–berithבַּעַל בְּרִיתba‛al berîyth · Baal-berithH1170
- their godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Judges 8:33
- Judges 2:7The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works he had done for Israel.
- Joshua 24:31Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had experienced all the works the Lord had done for Israel.
- 2 Kings 12:2Throughout the time the priest Jehoiada instructed him, Joash did what was right in the Lord’s sight.
- 2 Chronicles 24:17However, after Jehoiada died, the rulers of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them,
- Judges 8:27Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
- Judges 2:17but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their ancestors did.
- Exodus 34:15“Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- Jeremiah 3:9Indifferent to her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
- Judges 9:4So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
Commentaries on Judges 8:33
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33A whoring after Baalim - This term has probably a different meaning here from what it has Judges 8:7; for it is very likely that in most parts of the pagan worship there were many impure rites, so that going a whoring after Baalim may be taken in a literal sense. Baal-berith - Literally, the lord of the covenant; the same as Jupiter faederis, or Mercury, among the Romans; the deity whose business it was to preside over compacts, leagues, treaties…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 33Turned again - Doubtless Gideon himself had no doubt prepared the way for this apostacy by his unauthorized ephod. The Law of Moses, with its strict unity of priesthood and altar, was the divinely-appointed and only effectual preservative from idolatry. Baal-bereth - The god of covenants or sworn treaties, corresponding to the Zeus Orkius of the Greeks. The center of this fresh apostacy was at Shechem.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-35Verses 29-35 As soon as Gideon was dead, who kept the people to the worship of the God of Israel, they found themselves under no restraint; then they went after Baalim, and showed no kindness to the family of Gideon. No wonder if those who forget their God, forget their friends. Yet conscious of our own ingratitude to the Lord, and observing that of mankind in general, we should learn to be patient under any unkind returns we meet with for our poor…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 33-35Gideon's ephod (Judges 8:27) quickly became part of a pagan shrine honoring images of the Canaanite god Baal, here called Baal-berith ("Baal of the covenant"). This sinful act involved forgetting the Lord and his works and being disloyal to godly leadership. Remembering is essential to biblical, covenantal worship, from the time of the exodus (Exodus 12:14, 24) to the ongoing Christian celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:25). kindness: See…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 8:33
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries