God’s Word Translation
Judges 6:2
2Midian’s power was too strong for Israel. The Israelites made hiding places in the mountains, caves, and mountain strongholds ⌞to protect themselves⌟ from Midian.
Judges 6:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
- New International Version (NIV)Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.
Context of Judges 6:2
1The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord handed them over to Midian for seven years. Midian’s power was too strong for Israel. The Israelites made hiding places in the mountains, caves, and mountain strongholds ⌞to protect themselves⌟ from Midian. 3Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and Kedem came and damaged the crops. 4The enemy used to camp on the land and destroy the crops all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to live on—not one sheep, cow, or donkey.
Read all of Judges 6Judges 6:2 word by word
וַתָּ֥עָז יַד־מִדְיָ֖ן עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִפְּנֵ֨י מִדְיָ֜ן עָשֽׂוּ לָהֶ֣ם׀ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶת־הַמִּנְהָרוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים וְאֶת־הַמְּעָר֖וֹת וְאֶת־הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
- prevailedעָזַז‛âzaz · be strongH5810
- against Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
- the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- them the densמִנְהָרָהminhârâh · caveH4492
- in the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- and cavesמְעָרָהme‛ârâh · caveH4631
- and strong holdsמְצָדmetsad metsâd metsâdâh · strongholdH4679
Cross-references for Judges 6:2
- Leviticus 16:17No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron enters the holy place to do this until he comes out. Aaron will make peace with the Lord for his own sins, his family’s sins, and the sins of the entire assembly of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 28:47You didn’t serve the Lord your God with a joyful and happy heart when you had so much.
- 1 Samuel 13:6When the Israelites saw they were in trouble because the army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves, in thorny thickets, among rocks, in pits, and in cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 14:11So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine troops. The Philistines said, “Look, some Hebrews are coming out of the holes they were hiding in.”
- Hebrews 11:38The world didn’t deserve these good people. Some wandered around in deserts and mountains and lived in caves and holes in the ground.
- Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains.
Commentaries on Judges 6:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Made them the dens which are in the mountains - Nothing can give a more distressing description of the state of the Israelites than what is here related. They durst not reside in the plain country, but were obliged to betake themselves to dens and caves of the mountains, and live like wild beasts, and were hunted like them by their adversaries.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The word rendered “dens” is only found in this passage. It is best explained of ravines hollowed out by torrents, which the Israelites made into hiding-places.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6After forty years of peace, religious blending caused political instability, and roaming nomads forced the Israelites to live as fugitives. The Midianites, once thought to be purely nomadic and based in northwest Arabia, are now known to have built cities and, for a time, controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula and southern Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan). They are joined by the Amalekites (who were earlier part of a Moabite coalition; see…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. made ... dens ... in the mountains and caves--not, of course, excavating them, for they were already, but making them fit for habitation.Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 6:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 6
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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