Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
Parallel translations
- WEB So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them.
- KJV And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
- NKJV So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
- NASB For whenever Israel had sown, the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the people of the east and march against them.
- NLT Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel,
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
Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian and allied raiders swept in to attack them.
Overview
The Midianites, joined by Amalekites and eastern peoples, timed their raids to coincide with Israel's harvest. This relentless plundering left the people unable to sustain themselves in their own land. The oppression demonstrates how sin robs God's people of the blessings of the covenant land.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Judg 7:12Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Judg 6:33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
- Judg 3:13After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.
- 1 Kgs 4:30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
- Job 1:3and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- Isa 65:21–22They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- Gen 29:1Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
- Judg 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
- Deut 28:51They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.
- Job 31:8then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
- Mic 6:15You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
- Deut 28:30–33You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
- Lev 26:16then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
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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 6:3 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.