Judges 10:16
in Judges 10So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
KJV
And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
⋯
This verse in Judges 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel - What a proof of the philanthropy of God! Here his compassions moved on a small scale; but it was the same principle that led him to give his Son Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for the sins of the Whole world. God grieves for the miseries to which his creatures are reduced by their own sins. Be astonished, ye heavens, at this; and shout for joy, all ye inhabitants of the earth! for, through the love whence this compassion flowed, God has visited and redeemed a lost world!
This site's exposition
Deal with us as You see fit
on Judges 10:15-16
This is the one round of the cycle where the people themselves put the foreign gods away. The Hebrew behind "He could no longer bear the misery of Israel" is the shortening of soul used of the people at Numbers 21:4 and of Samson at 16:16. Clarke reads compassion like that which gives the Son for the world, and Keil and Delitzsch read God growing impatient of the suffering.
This site's exposition
He could no longer bear the misery of Israel
The BSB uses the words no longer twice: in verse 13 the LORD will no longer save, and here He can no longer bear Israel's misery. Adam Clarke adds that God grieves over miseries his creatures bring on themselves by their own sins. The chapter leaves the two sentences side by side.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
They knew it was to no purpose to go to the gods whom they had served, and therefore returned to the God whom they had slighted. This is true repentance not only for sin, but from sin. God's gracious return in mercy to them, which is expressed here very tenderly (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
): His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. Not that there is any grief in God (he has infinite joy and happiness in himself, which cannot be broken in upon by either the sins or the miseries of his creatures), nor that there is any change in God: he is in one mind, and who can turn him? But his goodness is his glory.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
They put away - This was an evidence of the sincerity of their sorrow, that they did not only confess their sins, but also forsake them. His soul, &c. - He acted towards them, like one that felt their sufferings; he had pity upon them, quite changed his carriage towards them, and punished their enemies as sorely as if they had grieved and injured his own person.
And they put away the strange gods from among them,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Could not contain Himself at [Yisroel's] anguish. As if one could depict God as lacking the space to bear and encompass His pain at Yisroel's anguish.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּסִ֜ירוּ | vaiyasiru | and they removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַנֵּכָר֙ | hanekhar | <the> foreignness | H5236 → | |
| מִקִּרְבָּ֔ם | mikirbam | from midst their | H7130 → | 227 times |
| וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ | vaiyaavdu | and they served | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתִּקְצַ֥ר | vatiktzar | and it was short | H7114 → | |
| נַפְשׁ֖וֹ | nafsho | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בַּעֲמַ֥ל | baamal | at [the] trouble of | H5999 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיָּסִ֜ירוּand they removed
vaiyasiruH5493 →299 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] gods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הַנֵּכָר֙<the> foreignness
hanekharH5236 →
מִקִּרְבָּ֔םfrom midst their
mikirbamH7130 →227 times
וַיַּעַבְד֖וּand they served
vaiyaavduH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתִּקְצַ֥רand it was short
vatiktzarH7114 →
נַפְשׁ֖וֹself his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
בַּעֲמַ֥לat [the] trouble of
baamalH5999 →
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 63:9In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
it leads to
- Exodus 33:14
And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
- Exodus 23:20–21
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He…
- Acts 7:34–35
I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
- Acts 12:11
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
- Exodus 33:14
Through
Deuteronomy 32:36For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
it leads to
- Psalms 135:14
For the LORD will vindicate His people and will have compassion on His servants.
- Psalms 135:14
Through
Hosea 11:8How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Jeremiah 31:20
Through
Jeremiah 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
- Isaiah 55:7
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.