Judges 3:6
New International Version
They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

New Living Translation
and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.

English Standard Version
And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

Berean Standard Bible
And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

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

New King James Version
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

New American Standard Bible
and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

NASB 1995
and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

NASB 1977
and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Legacy Standard Bible
and they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

Amplified Bible
and they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their [pagan] gods.

Christian Standard Bible
The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.

American Standard Version
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

English Revised Version
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry these people. Israel also served their gods.

Good News Translation
They intermarried with them and worshiped their gods.

International Standard Version
taking their daughters as wives for themselves, giving their own daughters to their sons, and serving their gods.

Majority Standard Bible
And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

NET Bible
They took the Canaanites' daughters as wives and gave their daughters to the Canaanites; they worshiped their gods as well.

New Heart English Bible
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

World English Bible
They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and take their daughters to them for wives, and have given their daughters to their sons, and they serve their gods;

Young's Literal Translation
and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters they will give to their sons, and they will serve their gods.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they took their daughters to wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they took their daughters as wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

New American Bible
They took their daughters in marriage, and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage, and served their gods.

New Revised Standard Version
and they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and their own daughters they gave to their sons; and they worshiped their gods.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they took wives for themselves from their daughters, and their daughters they gave to their sons
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they took their daughters for wives to themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Nations Left to Test Israel
5Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Cross References
Deuteronomy 7:3-4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, / because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

Exodus 34:15-16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. / And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Joshua 23:12-13
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, / know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.

1 Kings 11:1-2
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

Nehemiah 13:25-27
I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! / Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. / Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

Ezra 9:1-2
After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. / Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

Deuteronomy 20:17-18
For you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you, / so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

Psalm 106:34-36
They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them, / but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. / They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.

1 Corinthians 7:39
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? / What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? / What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ...

Malachi 2:11
Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

1 Kings 16:31-33
And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal. / First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. / Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

1 Corinthians 10:20-22
No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. / You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too. / Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

2 Kings 17:7-8
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods / and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel.

Hosea 4:12-14
My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God. / They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery. / I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.


Treasury of Scripture

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

Exodus 34:16
And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:2,4
And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: …

1 Kings 11:1-5
But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; …

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Judges 3
1. The nations which were left to prove Israel
5. By communion with them they commit idolatry
8. Othniel delivered them from Chushan-Rishathaim
12. Ehud from Eglon
31. and Shamgar from the Philistines














They took their daughters in marriage
This phrase highlights the Israelites' disobedience to God's command to remain separate from the pagan nations surrounding them. The Hebrew root for "took" (לָקַח, laqach) implies an active choice, indicating that the Israelites willingly entered into these unions. Historically, marriage alliances were common in the ancient Near East as a means of securing political and social ties. However, for the Israelites, this act represented a significant departure from their covenantal identity. By marrying the daughters of the surrounding nations, they not only disobeyed God's explicit instructions (Exodus 34:16, Deuteronomy 7:3-4) but also opened themselves up to the influence of foreign gods and practices, which would lead them away from their devotion to Yahweh.

and gave their own daughters to their sons
This phrase further emphasizes the reciprocal nature of these alliances. The Israelites not only took foreign wives but also gave their daughters in marriage to the sons of these nations. The Hebrew word for "gave" (נָתַן, nathan) suggests a deliberate act of offering or surrendering. This exchange of daughters signifies a deeper level of integration and assimilation into the surrounding cultures. From a scriptural perspective, this act of giving their daughters away symbolizes a relinquishing of their distinctiveness as God's chosen people. It reflects a compromise of their values and a willingness to conform to the practices of the nations around them, which ultimately led to spiritual and moral decline.

and served their gods
This phrase reveals the inevitable consequence of the Israelites' intermarriage with pagan nations. The Hebrew word for "served" (עָבַד, avad) conveys the idea of worship and devotion. By serving the gods of the surrounding nations, the Israelites violated the first commandment, which called for exclusive worship of Yahweh. This service was not merely a passive acceptance but an active participation in idolatrous practices. Historically, the worship of foreign gods often involved rituals and customs that were abhorrent to the God of Israel, including child sacrifice and temple prostitution. The Israelites' service to these gods represents a profound spiritual adultery, as they turned away from their covenant relationship with Yahweh to pursue the false promises of the idols. This act of serving other gods led to their oppression and suffering, as God allowed them to experience the consequences of their unfaithfulness, ultimately calling them back to repentance and restoration.

(6) And they took their daughters.--This beginning of intermarriages shows that we are now a generation removed from the days of Joshua. Such marriages had been forbidden in Deuteronomy 7:3. but are not among the sins denounced by the Angel-messenger at Bochim (Judges 2:1).

Verse 6. - They took their daughters, etc. Here is a further downward step in the disobedience of the Israelites. Intermarriage with the Canaanite nations had been expressly forbidden (Exodus 34:15, 16; Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12), and the reason of the prohibition clearly stated, and for some time after Joshua's death no such marriages appear to have been contracted. But now the fatal step was taken, and the predicted consequence immediately ensued: "they served their gods;.., they forgat the Lord their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth."

CHAPTER 3:7-11 This section introduces us into the actual narrative of the Book of Judges, the prefatory matter being now concluded. The whole book proceeds on the same model as this section does. The apostasy of Israel; their servitude under the oppressor sent to chastise them; their cry of distress and penitence; their deliverance by the judge raised up to save them; the rest which follows their deliverance. There is infinite variety in the details of the successive narratives, but they are all formed on the same plan.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And they took
וַיִּקְח֨וּ (way·yiq·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

the daughters [of these people]
בְּנוֹתֵיהֶ֤ם (bə·nō·w·ṯê·hem)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1323: A daughter

in marriage,
לְנָשִׁ֔ים (lə·nā·šîm)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

gave
נָתְנ֣וּ (nā·ṯə·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

their own daughters
בְּנוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם (bə·nō·w·ṯê·hem)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1323: A daughter

to their sons,
לִבְנֵיהֶ֑ם (liḇ·nê·hem)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

and served
וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ (way·ya·‘aḇ·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5647: To work, to serve, till, enslave

their gods.
אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃ (’ĕ·lō·hê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative


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OT History: Judges 3:6 And they took their daughters to be (Jd Judg. Jdg)
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