Judges 3:12
in Judges 3Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
KJV
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.
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This verse in Judges 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe children of Israel did evil - They forgat the Lord and became idolaters, and God made those very people, whom they had imitated in their idolatrous worship, the means of their chastisement. The Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab - The success he had against the Israelites was by the especial appointment and energy of God. He not only abandoned the Israelites, but strengthened the Moabites against them. Eglon is supposed to have been the immediate successor of Balak.
This site's exposition
Once again the Israelites did evil
on Judges 3:12-14
The LORD "gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel", so the enemy's rise comes from the hand that raises the deliverer three verses later, as 2:14 said with the word sold. Moab takes "the City of Palms", Jericho by Deuteronomy 34:3, so the first town Israel captured in the land is held by a foreign king. Eighteen years is more than twice the eight before it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord,....
It was an aggravation of their wickedness that they did evil again after they had smarted so long for their former iniquities, promised so fair when Othniel judged them, and received so much mercy from God in their deliverance. What, and after all this, again to break his commandments! Was the disease obstinate to all the methods of cure, both corrosives and lenitives?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord--The Israelites, deprived of the moral and political influences of Othniel, were not long in following their native bias to idolatry. the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab--The reigning monarch's ambition was to recover that extensive portion of his ancient territory possessed by the Israelites.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The “strengthening” Eglon was the special work of God, and because Israel “had done evil,” etc. Samuel’s comment on the event is to the same effect 1Sa 12:9.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּסִ֙פוּ֙ | vaiyosifu | and they repeated | H3254 → | 212 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְחַזֵּ֨ק | vaychazek | and he strengthened | H2388 → | 291 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֶגְל֤וֹן | eglon | Eglon | H5700 → | 13 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מוֹאָב֙ | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַ֛ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָשׂ֥וּ | ʾasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֥י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּסִ֙פוּ֙and they repeated
vaiyosifuH3254 →212 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְחַזֵּ֨קand he strengthened
vaychazekH2388 →291 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֶגְל֤וֹןEglon
eglonH5700 →13 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מוֹאָב֙Moab
moavH4124 →181 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַ֛לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עָשׂ֥וּthey did
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֥יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
John 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
it leads to
- Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- John 3:27
John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
- Acts 2:23
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
- Daniel 4:17
This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it…
- Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.
- Romans 13:1
Through
Hosea 6:4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
it leads to
- Hosea 11:8
How 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…
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Hosea 11:8
Through
Judges 2:14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:40–42
So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.
- Psalms 106:40–42
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.