New English Translation
Judges 8:27
27Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Judges 8:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
- New International Version (NIV)Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
Context of Judges 8:27
25They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” So they spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 26The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family. 28The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time. 29Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down.
Read all of Judges 8Judges 8:27 word by word
וַיַּעַשׂ֩ אוֹת֨וֹ גִדְע֜וֹן לְאֵפ֗וֹד וַיַּצֵּ֨ג אוֹת֤וֹ בְעִירוֹ֙ בְּעָפְרָ֔ה וַיִּזְנ֧וּ כָֽל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אַחֲרָ֖יו שָׁ֑ם וַיְהִ֛י לְגִדְע֥וֹן וּלְבֵית֖וֹ לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Gideonגִּדְעוֹןgid‛ôn · GideonH1439
- madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- an ephodאֵפוֹד'êphôd 'êphôd · ephodH646
- thereof, and putיָצַגyâtsag · to setH3322
- it in his cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- in Ophrahעׇפְרָה‛ophrâh · OphrahH6084
- and all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- went thither a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- it: which thing became a snareמוֹקֵשׁmôqêsh môqêsh · snareH4170
- and to his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
Cross-references for Judges 8:27
- Judges 17:5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.
- Judges 18:14The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.”
- Exodus 28:6“They are to make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, the work of an artistic designer.
- 1 Samuel 23:9When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!”
- Isaiah 8:20Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.
- Judges 8:32Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Judges 6:11The Lord’s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.
- Deuteronomy 12:5But you must seek only the place he chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, and you must go there.
- Exodus 23:33They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
- Psalms 73:27Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
- Psalms 106:39They were defiled by their deeds, and unfaithful in their actions.
- Hosea 2:2Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.
- Hosea 4:12They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.
- Judges 8:33After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.
- Deuteronomy 7:16You must destroy all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
Commentaries on Judges 8:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27Gideon made an ephod thereof - That is, he made an ephod out of this mass of gold; but he could not employ it all in making this one garment, for it is not likely that any man could wear a coat of nearly one hundred pounds weight. It is likely that he made a whole tabernacle service in miniature out of this gold. All Israel went thither a whoring after it - This form of speech often occurs, and has been often explained. The whole Jewish nation is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27The ephod was that particular part of the high priest‘s dress which was necessary to be worst when he inquired of God by Urim and Thummim. It seems that Gideon being now the civil ruler, desired to have an ephod of his own, kept in his own city, to he worn by the priest whenever Gideon might summon him to inquire of the Lord for him. His relations with the tribe of Ephraim probably made him unwilling to resort to Shiloh. Compare the act of Jeroboam 1…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. 27An ephod was usually part of the priest's clothing (Exodus 28:6–30). Samuel and David also wore one (1 Samuel 2:18; 2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:27). However, in Judges 17:5 and 18:14–18, the ephod seems to have been a gold image, which became an idol.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, ... Ophrah--That no idolatrous use was in view, nor any divisive course from Shiloh contemplated, is manifest from Jud 8:33. Gideon proposed, with the gold he received, to make an ephod for his use only as a civil magistrate or ruler, as David did (1Ch 15:27), and a magnificent pectoral or breastplate also. It would seem, from the history, that he was not blamable in making this ephod, as a civil…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 8:27
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
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