Judges 8:20

So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

ASV

And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

YLT

And he saith to Jether his first-born, `Rise, slay them;' and the young man hath not drawn his sword, for he hath been afraid, for he is yet a youth.

DBT

And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

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On this verse

And he said unto Jether, his firstborn, up, and slay them,....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

Related commentary

He said unto Jether his first-born - By the ancient laws of war, prisoners taken in war might be either slain, sold, or kept for slaves. To put a captive enemy to death no executioner was required. Gideon slays Zebah and Zalmunna with his own hand. So Samuel is said to have hewn Agag in pieces, 1Sa 15:33. Benaiah slew Joab, 1Ki 2:25. Saul orders his guards to slay the priests who had contributed to the escape of David, 1Sa 22:17; and David caused one of his attendants to slay the Amalekite who pretended to have slain Saul, 2Sa 1:15.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

But Gideon knew too well, and revered too piously the principles of the theocracy, to entertain the proposal for a moment. Personal and family ambition was cheerfully sacrificed to a sense of duty, and every worldly motive was kept in check by a supreme regard to the divine honor. He would willingly act as judge, but the Lord alone was King of Israel.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

But, (1.) The young man himself desired to be excused; he feared, though they were bound and could make no resistance, because he was yet a youth, and not used to such work: courage does not always run in the blood.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

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Cross-references

5 linked verses

The verses this one reaches5

Joshua 10:24
When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
Psalms 149:9
to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!
1 Samuel 15:33
But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
2 Samuel 1:15
Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died.
1 Kings 2:25
So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

About this book

The Death of Samson — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Judges — The post-conquest slide into cyclical apostasy. Twelve judges delivering Israel from successive oppressors, a pattern repeating seven times, and an appendix whose violence diagnoses a nation with no king.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Anonymous; rabbinic tradition attributes to Samuel (Bava Batra 14b)
Date: Events c. 1375–1050 BC; compilation during the early monarchy

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 149:9
to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:2–3
  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
- Psalms 148:14
  He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!
Through
1 Samuel 15:33
But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
leads to
- Judges 1:7
  Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought…
- Genesis 9:6
  Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
Through
Joshua 10:24
When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks…
leads to
- Romans 16:20
  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- Malachi 4:3
  Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Revelation 2:26–27
  And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
- Psalms 149:8–9
  to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with shackles of iron,

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

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