Judges 3:7
New International Version
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

New Living Translation
The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.

English Standard Version
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Berean Standard Bible
So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

King James Bible
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

New King James Version
So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.

New American Standard Bible
So the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

NASB 1995
The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

NASB 1977
And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Legacy Standard Bible
Thus the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and forgot Yahweh their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Amplified Bible
And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Christian Standard Bible
The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; they forgot the LORD their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; they forgot the LORD their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

American Standard Version
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgat Jehovah their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

Contemporary English Version
The Israelites sinned against the LORD by forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and Astarte.

English Revised Version
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The people of Israel did what the LORD considered evil. They forgot the LORD their God and served other gods and goddesses-the Baals and the Asherahs.

Good News Translation
The people of Israel forgot the LORD their God; they sinned against him and worshiped the idols of Baal and Asherah.

International Standard Version
The Israelis kept on practicing evil in full view of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served Canaanite male and female deities.

Majority Standard Bible
So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

NET Bible
The Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight. They forgot the LORD their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

New Heart English Bible
The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim, and the groves.

World English Bible
The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and the sons of Israel do evil in the eyes of YHWH, and forget their God YHWH, and serve the Ba‘alim and the Asheroth.

Young's Literal Translation
and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel will do evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and they will forget Jehovah their God, and they will serve the Baalims and the wooden pillars.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, and served Baalim and Astaroth.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, while serving the Baals and Ashtaroth.

New American Bible
Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD, their God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs,

New Revised Standard Version
The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, forgetting the LORD their God, and worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they served their gods and the sons of Israel did evil before LORD JEHOVAH, and they forgot LORD JEHOVAH their God and they served Baal and Astharatha
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Othniel
7So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.…

Cross References
Exodus 20:3-5
You shall have no other gods before Me. / You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. / You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Deuteronomy 6:14-15
Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. / For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them. / On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’ / And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

Joshua 24:20
If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”

1 Kings 11:33
For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.

2 Kings 17:7-12
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. / The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. ...

Psalm 106:34-40
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. ...

Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Jeremiah 2:19
Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear of Me,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

Jeremiah 7:9-10
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, / and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?

Hosea 4:1-2
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

Hosea 4:12-13
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.

Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:6-7
These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did. / Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”


Treasury of Scripture

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

did evil

Judges 3:12
And 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.

Judges 2:11-13
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: …

the groves

Judges 6:25
And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

Exodus 34:13
But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

Deuteronomy 16:21
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

Jump to Previous
Asheroth Astartes Baalim Baals Ba'als Children Evil Eyes Israel Israelites Minds Servants Serve Served Serving Shrines Sight
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Asheroth Astartes Baalim Baals Ba'als Children Evil Eyes Israel Israelites Minds Servants Serve Served Serving Shrines Sight
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














The Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD
This phrase sets the stage for the recurring cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance that characterizes the Book of Judges. The Hebrew word for "evil" is "ra," which encompasses not only moral wickedness but also actions that are harmful or destructive. The phrase "in the sight of the LORD" underscores the omniscience of God, who sees all actions and judges them according to His holy standards. This highlights the seriousness of Israel's sin, as it is not merely a societal or cultural failing but a direct affront to God's holiness.

They forgot the LORD their God
The Hebrew word for "forgot" is "shakach," which implies more than a mere lapse of memory; it suggests a willful neglect or disregard. This forgetting is not intellectual but relational, indicating a breakdown in the covenant relationship between Israel and God. The phrase "the LORD their God" emphasizes the personal and covenantal nature of Israel's relationship with Yahweh. It is a reminder that God is not a distant deity but their personal God who has delivered them and established a covenant with them.

and served the Baals and the Asherahs
The term "served" comes from the Hebrew "avad," which means to work or worship. This indicates that Israel's idolatry was not passive but involved active participation and devotion. "The Baals" refers to the Canaanite storm and fertility gods, with "Baal" meaning "lord" or "master." The worship of Baal was often associated with immoral practices and rituals. "The Asherahs" refers to the Canaanite goddess Asherah, often represented by wooden poles or trees. Her worship was linked to fertility rites and was a direct violation of the first commandment. This phrase highlights the syncretism that plagued Israel, as they adopted the religious practices of the surrounding nations, forsaking their unique identity as God's chosen people.

(7) Did evil in the sight of the Lord.--Rather, did the evil, as in Judges 2:11.

And the groves.--Rather, and the Asheroth, i.e., the wooden images of the nature-goddess, Asherah (which are called also Asherim). The LXX. render the word Asherah by alsos, "a grove," and other versions follow them. (Sec Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 8:5; Deuteronomy 16:21; 2Kings 23:14, &c.) Thus Luther renders it die Hainen, and it used to be erroneously supposed that the word pointed to tree-worship. The Vulgate rundere it "Astaroth." It seems, however, to be clear from the researches of M”vers and others that Asherah and Astarte were different though allied deities. For the latter, see Judges 2:13. Asherah is from a root which means upright (like Orthia or Orthosia, a designation of Artemis, Herod. iv. 87), and her images are generally mentioned in connection with altars and images of Baal (Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:3; 1Kings 14:23, &c.; Micah 6:12). . . .

Verse 7. - The groves. The Asheroth, here and elsewhere (Judges 6:25, 26; Deuteronomy 16:21, etc.)wrongly rendered groves, were large wooden images or pillars in honour of Ashtoreth, and so are properly coupled with Baalim. This verse is in fact identical in meaning with Judges 2:13, of which it is a repetition (see note to Judges 2:13, and Judges 8:23).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So the Israelites
בְנֵי־ (ḇə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

did
וַיַּעֲשׂ֨וּ (way·ya·‘ă·śū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make

evil
הָרַע֙ (hā·ra‘)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

in the sight
בְּעֵינֵ֣י (bə·‘ê·nê)
Preposition-b | Noun - cdc
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

of the LORD;
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

they forgot
וַֽיִּשְׁכְּח֖וּ (way·yiš·kə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7911: To mislay, to be oblivious of, from want of memory, attention

the LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

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

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

the Baals
הַבְּעָלִ֖ים (hab·bə·‘ā·lîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1168: Baal -- a heathen god

and the Asherahs.
הָאֲשֵׁרֽוֹת׃ (hā·’ă·šê·rō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 842: A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same


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OT History: Judges 3:7 The children of Israel did that which (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 3:6
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