Judges 3 · Verse 7

Judges 3:7

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
Judges 3:7, King James Version

Judges 3:7 in other translations

BSBSo the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
WEBThe children of Israel did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
ASVAnd the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgat Jehovah their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.
YLTand the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.
DARBYAnd the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgot Jehovah their God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
BBEAnd the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and put out of their minds the Lord their God, and became servants to the Baals and the Astartes.
WebsterAnd the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim, and the groves.

What does Judges 3:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 3:5-7

Jud 3:5-7. By Communion with These the Israelites Commit Idolatry. 5-7. the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites--The two peoples by degrees came to be on habits of intercourse. Reciprocal alliances were formed by marriage till the Israelites, relaxing the austerity of their principles, showed a growing conformity to the manners and worship of their idolatrous neighbors.

Read the full comment on Judges 3:5-7 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Served Baalim and the groves - No groves were ever worshipped, but the deities who were supposed to be resident in them; and in many cases temples and altars were built in groves, and the superstition of consecrating groves and woods to the honor of the deities was a practice very usual with the ancients. Pliny assures us that trees, in old times, served for the temples of the gods. Tacitus reports this custom of the old Germans; Quintus Curtius, of the Indians; and Caesar, and our old writers, mention the same of the Druids in Britain. The Romans were admirers of this way of worship and therefore had their luci or groves in most parts of the city, dedicated to some deity. But it is very probable that the word אשרות asheroth which we translate groves, is a corruption of the word עשתרות ashtaroth, the moon or Venus, (see on Jdg 2:13 (note)), which only differs in the letters ע ת, from the former. Ashtaroth is read in this place by the Chaldee Targum, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, and by one of Dr. Kennicott's MSS.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 3:1-7

As the Israelites were a type of the church on earth, they were not to be idle and slothful. The Lord was pleased to try them by the remains of the devoted nations they spared. Temptations and trials detect the wickedness of the hearts of sinners; and strengthen he graces of believers in their daily conflict with Satan, sin, and this evil world. They must live in this world, but they are not of it, and are forbidden…

Read the full comment on Judges 3:1-7 →

Judges 3:7 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּעֲשׂ֨וּvai.ya.'a.Suand they didH6213
בְנֵי\־ve.nei-[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֤לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָרַע֙ha.Ra'the evilH7451
בְּעֵינֵ֣יbe.'ei.Neiin [the] eyes ofH5869
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַֽיִּשְׁכְּח֖וּvai.yish.ke.Chuand they forgotH7911
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם'e.lo.hei.HemGod theirH430
וַיַּעַבְד֥וּvai.ya.'av.Duand they servedH5647
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַבְּעָלִ֖יםha.be.'a.Limthe BaalsH1168
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָאֲשֵׁרֽוֹת\׃ha.'a.she.Rotthe Asherah polesH842

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 3:7

  • Exodus 34:13

    But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

  • Deuteronomy 4:9

    Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

  • 2 Kings 23:6

    And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

  • 1 Kings 18:19

    Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

  • 2 Kings 23:14

    And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.

  • Judges 2:11-13

    And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

  • Judges 3:12

    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.

  • 2 Chronicles 15:16

    And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

  • 1 Kings 16:33

    And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

  • 2 Chronicles 33:3

    For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

  • 2 Chronicles 24:18

    And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

  • Judges 6:25

    And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
did evil.
12; 2:11-13
the groves.
6:25; Ex 34:13; De 16:21; 1Ki 16:33; 18:19; 2Ki 23:6,14
2Ch 15:16; 24:18; 33:3,19; 34:3,7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 3:6

    And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

  • Judges 3:7

    And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

  • Judges 3:8

    Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan–rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan–rishathaim eight years.

Read all of Judges 3

Judges 3:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Hicieron, pues, los hijos de Israel lo malo en ojos de Jehová: y olvidados de Jehová su Dios, sirvieron á los Baales, y á los ídolos de los bosques.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et les fils d’Israël firent ce qui est mauvais aux yeux de l’ Éternel, et ils oublièrent l’ Éternel, leur Dieu, et servirent les Baals et les ashères.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und die Kinder Israel taten, was böse war in den Augen Jehovas und vergaßen Jehovas, ihres Gottes, und sie dienten den Baalim und den Ascheroth.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Feceruntque malum in conspectu Domini, et obliti sunt Dei sui, servientes Baalim et Astaroth.