New International Version
Judges 4:3
3Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
Judges 4:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
Context of Judges 4:3
1Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help. 4Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.
Read all of Judges 4Judges 4:3 word by word
וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֠י תְּשַׁ֨ע מֵא֤וֹת רֶֽכֶב־בַּרְזֶל֙ ל֔וֹ וְ֠הוּא לָחַ֞ץ אֶת־בְּנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל בְּחָזְקָ֖ה עֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- criedצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- for he had nineתֵּ֫שַׁעtêsha‛ tish‛âh · nineH8672
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393
- of ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
- and twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- he mightilyחׇזְקָהchozqâh · forceH2394
- oppressedלָחַץlâchats · to oppressH3905
Cross-references for Judges 4:3
- Judges 3:9But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.
- Judges 10:16Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.
- 1 Samuel 7:8They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.”
- Psalms 50:15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
- Psalms 78:34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
- Jeremiah 2:27They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
- Judges 1:19The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.
- Joshua 17:16The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”
- Judges 5:8God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
- Deuteronomy 28:29At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
- Psalms 106:42Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.
Commentaries on Judges 4:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Nine hundred chariots of iron - Chariots armed with iron scythes, as is generally supposed; they could not have been made all of iron, but they might have been shod with iron, or had iron scythes projecting from the axle on each side, by which infantry might be easily cut down or thrown into confusion. The ancient Britons are said to have had such chariots.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Oppressed - The same word is used Exodus 3:9 of the oppression of Israel by the Egyptians. If they were put to task-work in hewing timber, their condition was very like that of their ancestors making bricks.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Historical records show that armies like Sisera's had many iron chariots. They expected to easily defeat the lightly armed Israelite foot soldiers.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. Jabin king of Canaan--"Jabin," a royal title (see on Jos 11:1). The second Jabin built a new capital on the ruins of the old (Jos 11:10, 11). The northern Canaanites had recovered from the effect of their disastrous overthrow in the time of Joshua, and now triumphed in their turn over Israel. This was the severest oppression to which Israel had been subjected. But it fell heaviest on the tribes in the north, and it was not till after a grinding…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 4:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 4
- 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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