God’s Word Translation
Judges 8:23
23Gideon replied, “I will not rule you nor will my son. The Lord will rule 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not 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.”
Context of Judges 8:23
21Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and do it yourself! It’s a man’s job!” So Gideon got up and killed them. Then he took the half-moon ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. 22The men of Israel said to Gideon, “You, then your son, and then your grandson, must rule us. You rescued us from Midian.” Gideon replied, “I will not rule you nor will my son. The Lord will rule you.” 24Then Gideon said to them, “Do me a favor. Each of you give me the earrings from your loot.” (Their enemies, the Ishmaelites, wore gold earrings.) 25The men of Israel answered, “Yes, we’ll give them to you.” So they spread out a coat. Each man took the earrings from his loot and dropped them on it.
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 2:18But when the Lord appointed judges for the Israelites, he was with each judge. The Lord rescued them from their enemies as long as that judge was alive. The Lord was moved by the groaning of those who were tormented and oppressed.
- Judges 10:18The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever starts the fight against Ammon will rule everyone who lives in Gilead.”
- Judges 11:9Jephthah told them, “If you take me back to fight against Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”
- Luke 22:24Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest.
- 2 Corinthians 1:24It isn’t that we want to have control over your Christian faith. Rather, we want to work with you so that you will be happy. Certainly, you are firmly established in the Christian faith.
- 1 Peter 5:3Don’t be rulers over the people entrusted to you, but be examples for the flock to follow.
- 1 Samuel 8:6But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 10:19But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”
- 1 Samuel 12:12But when you saw King Nahash of Ammon coming to attack you, you told me, ‘No, a king should rule over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king.
- Isaiah 33:22The Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. The Lord is our savior.
- Isaiah 63:19We have become like those whom you 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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