And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, when Ehud was dead.
- BSB After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD.
- NKJV When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord.
- NASB Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died.
- NLT After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight.
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
After Ehud's death Israel again does evil, restarting the cycle of sin.
Overview
The deliverer's death removes the restraint on Israel's idolatry, and the nation relapses. This recurring pattern exposes the people's persistent need for a permanent, living Savior. The cycle's repetition deepens the longing for the One whose deliverance will never end.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 5:3O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
- Lev 26:23–25And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
- Judg 6:1And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
- Judg 3:7And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
- Judg 3:12And 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.
- Judg 2:19–20And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
- Ps 106:43–45Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
- Judg 10:6And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
- Judg 2:11And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
- Neh 9:23–30Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:1 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.