Judges 5:8

Judges 5:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
• New International Version (NIV)God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?
• New King James Version (NKJV)They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Context of Judges 5:8

6In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, roads were deserted. Those who traveled took back roads. 7Villages in Israel were deserted— deserted until I, Deborah, took a stand— took a stand as a mother of Israel. When the people chose new gods, war broke out inside the city gates. Not a weapon was seen among 40,000 in Israel. 9My heart goes out to Israel’s commanders, to those people who volunteered. Praise the Lord! 10You people who ride on brown donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and who walk on the road—think.

Judges 5:8 word by word

יִבְחַר֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים חֲדָשִׁ֔ים אָ֖ז לָחֶ֣ם שְׁעָרִ֑ים מָגֵ֤ן אִם־יֵֽרָאֶה֙ וָרֹ֔מַח בְּאַרְבָּעִ֥ים אֶ֖לֶף בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They choseבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• warלָחֶםlâchem · warH3901
• in the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• was there a shieldמָגֵןmâgên meginnâh · shieldH4043
• or spearרֹ֫מַחrômach · spearH7420
• seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• among fortyאַרְבָּעִים'arbâ‛îym · fortyH705
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Judges 5:8

• Judges 2:12The Israelites abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They followed the other gods of the people around them. They worshiped these gods, and that made the Lord angry.
• Deuteronomy 32:16They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
• Judges 4:3The people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. King Jabin had 900 chariots made of iron and had cruelly oppressed Israel for 20 years.
• 1 Samuel 13:19No blacksmith could be found in the entire land of Israel. In this way the Philistines kept the Hebrews from making swords and spears.

Commentaries on Judges 5:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8They chose new gods - This was the cause of all their calamities; they forsook Jehovah, and served other gods; and then was war in their gates - they were hemmed up in every place, and besieged in all their fortified cities; and they were defenseless, they had no means of resisting their adversaries; for even among forty thousand men, there was neither spear nor shield to be seen. The Vulgate gives a strange and curious turn to this verse: Nova bella…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The “war in the gates” describes the hostile attacks of the Canaanites, which were the punishment of the idolatry of the Israelites (compare the marginal references), and the reduction of Israel to an unarmed and unresisting state under the Philistine dominion. See Judges 3:31 note.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 Deborah describes the distressed state of Israel under the tyranny of Jabin, that their salvation might appear more gracious. She shows what brought this misery upon them. It was their idolatry. They chose new gods, with new names. But under all these images, Satan was worshipped. Deborah was a mother to Israel, by diligently promoting the salvation of their souls. She calls on those who shared the advantages of this great salvation, to offer…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Israel was in social chaos and lacked defensive weapons. forty thousand: The Hebrew word translated as thousand could also mean clans (see study note on Exodus 12:37).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86-8. The song proceeds in these verses to describe the sad condition of the country, the oppression of the people, and the origin of all the national distress in the people's apostasy from God. Idolatry was the cause of foreign invasion and internal inability to resist it.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 5:8

• Country
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Barak
• Deborah
• Fight
• Jabin
• Lattice
• Poetry
• Rehearse
• Searching
• Songs

Commentaries on Judges 5

• 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