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Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died.
Judges 4:1 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, when Ehud was dead.
  • KJV And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, 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.
  • 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 Yahweh, don’t your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.
  • Lev 26:23–25“‘If by these things you won’t be reformed to me, but will walk contrary to me;
  • Judg 6:1The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight: and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
  • Judg 3:7The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
  • Judg 3:12The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
  • Judg 2:19–20But when the judge was dead, they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They didn’t cease what they were doing, or give up their stubborn ways.
  • Ps 106:43–45He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
  • Judg 10:6The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned Yahweh, and didn’t serve him.
  • Judg 2:11The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals.
  • Neh 9:23–30You also multiplied their children as the stars of the sky, and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Judges videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Judges 4:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JudgesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.