Judges 6:3

Judges 6:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
• New International Version (NIV)Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.

Context of Judges 6:3

1And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yhwh: And Yhwh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey. 5For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

Judges 6:3 word by word

וְהָיָ֖ה אִם־זָרַ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְעָלָ֨ה מִדְיָ֧ן וַֽעֲמָלֵ֛ק וּבְנֵי־קֶ֖דֶם וְעָל֥וּ עָלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

• it was, when Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• had sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• that the Midianitesמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
• came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• and the Amalekitesעֲמָלֵק‛ămâlêq · AmalekH6002
• and the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · EastH6924

Cross-references for Judges 6:3

• Leviticus 26:16I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
• Deuteronomy 28:30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
• Job 31:8Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
• Isaiah 65:21And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
• Micah 6:15Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
• Judges 3:13And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
• Judges 6:33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
• Judges 7:12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
• Judges 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the armies of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
• Genesis 29:1Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
• 1 Kings 4:30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
• Job 1:3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Commentaries on Judges 6:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Children of the East - Probably those who inhabited Arabia Deserta, Ishmaelites.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6After forty years of peace, religious blending caused political instability, and roaming nomads forced the Israelites to live as fugitives. The Midianites, once thought to be purely nomadic and based in northwest Arabia, are now known to have built cities and, for a time, controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula and southern Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan). They are joined by the Amalekites (who were earlier part of a Moabite coalition; see…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61. and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian--Untaught by their former experiences, the Israelites again apostatized, and new sins were followed by fresh judgments. Midian had sustained a severe blow in the time of Moses (Nu 31:1-18); and the memory of that disaster, no doubt, inflamed their resentment against the Israelites. They were wandering herdsmen, called "children of the East," from their occupying the territory east of the Red Sea…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Children of the East
• Abraham
• Amalekite
• Den
• East, Children of the
• Gideon
• God
• Jezreel, Valley of
• Midianite

Commentaries on Judges 6

• 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