English Standard Version
Judges 4:3
3Then 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
Context of Judges 4:3
1And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 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. 4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Read all of Judges 4Judges 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 3:9But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
- Judges 10:16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 7:8And the people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines."
- Psalms 50:15and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
- Psalms 78:34When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
- Jeremiah 2:27who say to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.' For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Arise and save us!'
- Judges 1:19And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.
- Joshua 17:16The people of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel."
- Judges 5:8When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?
- Deuteronomy 28:29and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.
- Psalms 106:42Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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