In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Parallel translations
- WEB In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.
- BSB In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- NKJV In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- NASB In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- NLT In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This is the key explanation of the era's chaos.
Overview
This refrain (cf. 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) diagnoses the root of Israel's disorder: the absence of godly leadership and the reign of self-will. Doing what is right in one's own eyes, rather than what is right in God's eyes, is the essence of the period's sin. The verse stirs longing for a faithful king, ultimately fulfilled in Christ, the true King who does and leads His people in what is right.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 12:8Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
- Prov 14:12There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
- Prov 12:15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
- Judg 21:25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
- Judg 19:1And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
- Prov 16:2All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
- Judg 18:1In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
- Ps 12:4Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
- Eccl 11:9Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
- Gen 36:31And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
- Deut 33:5And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
- Judg 21:3And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
- Jer 44:16–17As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 17:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.