Judges 4:3

Judges 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.

Context of Judges 4:3

1After Ehud died, the Israelites again did things that the Lord saw were evil. 2So the Lord put them under the power of King Jabin. He was a Canaanite king who ruled in Hazor. The leader of Jabin's army was called Sisera. Sisera lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. He had 900 iron chariots for his army. He used his power to be cruel to the Israelites for 20 years. So they called out to the Lord for help. 4At that time, Lappidoth's wife Deborah was leading the Israelites. She was a prophetess. 5She would sit under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel to judge people's problems. That was in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites would come to her when they had arguments. She would decide who was right.

Judges 4:3 word by word

וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֠י תְּשַׁ֨ע מֵא֤וֹת רֶֽכֶב־בַּרְזֶל֙ ל֔וֹ וְ֠הוּא לָחַ֞ץ אֶת־בְּנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל בְּחָזְקָ֖ה עֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• criedצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• for he had nineתֵּ֫שַׁעtêsha‛ tish‛âh · nineH8672
• hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393
• of ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
• and twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• he mightilyחׇזְקָהchozqâh · forceH2394
• oppressedלָחַץlâchats · to oppressH3905

Cross-references for Judges 4:3

• Judges 3:9Then the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. So he chose Othniel to be their leader. He was the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Othniel rescued them from their enemies.
• Judges 10:16Then they threw away all the idols of foreign gods that they had been worshipping. They began to worship the Lord again. Finally, the Lord decided to help them, because he saw how upset they were.
• 1 Samuel 7:8They said to Samuel, ‘Pray to the Lord our God. Do not stop. Ask him to help us. Ask him to save us from the Philistines.’
• Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble. Then I will rescue you, and you will praise me.’
• Psalms 78:34When God killed some of them, the other people turned to God. They were sorry and they prayed to him.
• Jeremiah 2:27They worship a piece of wood, and they say, “You are my father.” They say to a stone, “You gave birth to me.” They have not turned to come to me. Instead, they have turned away from me. But when trouble comes to them, they call out to me to rescue them.
• Judges 1:19The Lord helped the men of Judah so that they took the towns in the hill country for themselves. But they could not win against the people who lived on the lower land near the sea. Those people had iron chariots to help them fight.
• Joshua 17:16They replied, ‘The hill country is certainly not big enough for us. But the Canaanites who live in Beth Shan and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.’
• Judges 5:8When the Israelites chose new gods to worship, enemies attacked their cities. No one in Israel was ready to fight. Not one of their 40,000 soldiers had a shield or a spear.
• Deuteronomy 28:29Even at midday, you will not see your way. You will be in the dark, like a blind person. You will not be able to go anywhere, whatever you do. Every day, people will be cruel to you. People will rob you. No one will be there to save you.
• Psalms 106:42Their enemies had power to hurt them, and they were cruel to them.

Commentaries on Judges 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Nine hundred chariots of iron - Chariots armed with iron scythes, as is generally supposed; they could not have been made all of iron, but they might have been shod with iron, or had iron scythes projecting from the axle on each side, by which infantry might be easily cut down or thrown into confusion. The ancient Britons are said to have had such chariots.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Oppressed - The same word is used Exodus 3:9 of the oppression of Israel by the Egyptians. If they were put to task-work in hewing timber, their condition was very like that of their ancestors making bricks.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Historical records show that armies like Sisera's had many iron chariots. They expected to easily defeat the lightly armed Israelite foot soldiers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. Jabin king of Canaan--"Jabin," a royal title (see on Jos 11:1). The second Jabin built a new capital on the ruins of the old (Jos 11:10, 11). The northern Canaanites had recovered from the effect of their disastrous overthrow in the time of Joshua, and now triumphed in their turn over Israel. This was the severest oppression to which Israel had been subjected. But it fell heaviest on the tribes in the north, and it was not till after a grinding…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 4:3

• Canaanites
• Iron
• Israel
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Asleep
• Chariot
• Harosheth of the Gentiles
• Prophetess
• Thirsty
• Abdon (1)

Commentaries on Judges 4

• 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