English Standard Version
Judges 8:23
23Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you."
Judges 8:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.
- New International Version (NIV)But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you!
Context of Judges 8:23
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you." 24And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil.
Read all of Judges 8Judges 8:23 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ גִּדְע֔וֹן לֹֽא־אֶמְשֹׁ֤ל אֲנִי֙ בָּכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יִמְשֹׁ֥ל בְּנִ֖י בָּכֶ֑ם יְהוָ֖ה יִמְשֹׁ֥ל בָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Judges 8:23
- Judges 2:18Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
- Judges 10:18And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
- Judges 11:9Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head."
- Luke 22:24A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
- 2 Corinthians 1:24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.
- 1 Peter 5:3not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
- 1 Samuel 8:6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 10:19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, 'Set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands."
- 1 Samuel 12:12And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the Lord your God was your king.
- Isaiah 33:22For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.
- Isaiah 63:19We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.
Commentaries on Judges 8:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23The Lord shall rule over you - Few with such power at their command would have acted as Gideon. His speech calls them back to their first principles, and should have excited in them both shame and contrition. How different is this speech from that of Oliver Cromwell when the commons offered him the crown of England!Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-28Verses 22-28 Gideon refused the government the people offered him. No good man can be pleased with any honour done to himself, which belongs only to God. Gideon thought to keep up the remembrance of this victory by an ephod, made of the choicest of the spoils. But probably this ephod had, as usual, a teraphim annexed to it, and Gideon intended this for an oracle to be consulted. Many are led into false ways by one false step of a good man. It became a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-32Gideon's time as a judge ends the first era of judges.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us ... Gideon said unto them, the Lord shall rule over you--Their unbounded admiration and gratitude prompted them, in the enthusiasm of the moment, to raise their deliverer to a throne, and to establish a royal dynasty in his house. But Gideon knew too well, and revered too piously the principles of the theocracy, to entertain the proposal for a moment. Personal and family ambition was cheerfully…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 8:23
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries