Judges 5:8

Judges 5:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
• New International Version (NIV)God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?
• New King James Version (NKJV)They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Context of Judges 5:8

6“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. 7There were few people left in the villages of Israel— until Deborah arose as a mother for Israel. When Israel chose new gods, war erupted at the city gates. Yet not a shield or spear could be seen among forty thousand warriors in Israel! 9My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with those who volunteered for war. Praise the Lord! 10“Consider this, you who ride on fine donkeys, you who sit on fancy saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road.

Judges 5:8 word by word

יִבְחַר֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים חֲדָשִׁ֔ים אָ֖ז לָחֶ֣ם שְׁעָרִ֑ים מָגֵ֤ן אִם־יֵֽרָאֶה֙ וָרֹ֔מַח בְּאַרְבָּעִ֥ים אֶ֖לֶף בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They choseבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• warלָחֶםlâchem · warH3901
• in the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• was there a shieldמָגֵןmâgên meginnâh · shieldH4043
• or spearרֹ֫מַחrômach · spearH7420
• seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• among fortyאַרְבָּעִים'arbâ‛îym · fortyH705
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Judges 5:8

• Judges 2:12They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 32:16They stirred up his jealousy by worshiping foreign gods; they provoked his fury with detestable deeds.
• Judges 4:3Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
• 1 Samuel 13:19There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.

Commentaries on Judges 5:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8They chose new gods - This was the cause of all their calamities; they forsook Jehovah, and served other gods; and then was war in their gates - they were hemmed up in every place, and besieged in all their fortified cities; and they were defenseless, they had no means of resisting their adversaries; for even among forty thousand men, there was neither spear nor shield to be seen. The Vulgate gives a strange and curious turn to this verse: Nova bella…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The “war in the gates” describes the hostile attacks of the Canaanites, which were the punishment of the idolatry of the Israelites (compare the marginal references), and the reduction of Israel to an unarmed and unresisting state under the Philistine dominion. See Judges 3:31 note.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. 8Israel was in social chaos and lacked defensive weapons. forty thousand: The Hebrew word translated as thousand could also mean clans (see study note on Exodus 12:37).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 5:8

• Country
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Barak
• Deborah
• Fight
• Jabin
• Lattice
• Poetry
• Rehearse
• Searching
• Songs

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