Judges 5:6

Judges 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, and in the days of Jael, people avoided the main roads, and travelers stayed on winding pathways.

Context of Judges 5:6

4“When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. 5The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel. “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. 7Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel. 8God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Judges 5:6 word by word

בִּימֵ֞י שַׁמְגַּ֤ר בֶּן־עֲנָת֙ בִּימֵ֣י יָעֵ֔ל חָדְל֖וּ אֳרָח֑וֹת וְהֹלְכֵ֣י נְתִיב֔וֹת יֵלְכ֕וּ אֳרָח֖וֹת עֲקַלְקַלּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• In the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of Shamgarשַׁמְגַּרshamgar · ShamgarH8044
• the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Anathעֲנָת‛ănâth · AnathH6067
• of Jaelיָעֵלyâ‛êl · JaelH3278
• the highwaysאֹ֫רַח'ôrach · wayH734
• were unoccupiedחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
• and the travellersהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• walkedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• through bywaysנְתִיבָהnâthîyb nethîybâh nethibâh · pathH5410
• through bywaysעֲקַלְקַל‛ăqalqal · crookedH6128

Cross-references for Judges 5:6

• Judges 3:31After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
• Judges 4:17Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
• Leviticus 26:22I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.
• 2 Chronicles 15:5In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil.
• Isaiah 33:8The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
• Lamentations 1:4The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.
• Lamentations 4:18People stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.
• Micah 3:12Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
• Psalms 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.

Commentaries on Judges 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The highways were unoccupied - The land was full of anarchy and confusion, being everywhere infested with banditti. No public road was safe; and in going from place to place, the people were obliged to use unfrequented paths.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Words dcscriptive of a state of weakness and fear, so that Israel could not frequent the highways. It is a graphic description of a country occupied by an enemy.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. 6During this chaotic and uncertain time, people outside the main walled cities had little security. Even Shamgar (see Judges 3:31) did not ease the suffering of common people. They endured hardships under the Canaanites and their cruel commander, Sisera.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 5:6

• Country
• Jael
• Patriotism
• Shamgar

In the dictionaries

• Barak
• Byways
• Deborah
• Ehud
• Fight
• Jabin
• Lattice
• Poetry
• Rehearse
• Searching

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