Judges 8:27

Gideon made/decorated a sacred vest from the gold, and later he put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But soon the Israeli people started to worship the vest. So it became like a trap [MET] for the people, causing them to worship it instead of worshiping only God.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

In Context

26The weight of all the earrings was ◄43 pounds/19.4 kg.►. That did not include other things that they gave to Gideon—the other ornaments or the pendants or the clothes that the kings of Midian wore or the gold chains that were on the necks of their camels.

28That is how the Israelis defeated the people from Midian. The people of Midian did not become strong enough to attack Israel again. So while Gideon was alive, there was peace in the land for 40 years.

Read all of Judges 8

Cross References

Exodus 28:6“The skilled workmen must make the sacred apron from fine linen, and skillfully embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.

Exodus 34:16If you take some of their women to be wives for your sons, and these women worship their own gods, they will persuade your sons also to worship their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn the wooden idols that represent their gods. Do not desire to take the silver or gold decorations that are on those idols, because if you take them for yourselves, they will be like a trap to cause you to want to worship those idols. Yahweh hates the worship of those idols.

Judges 2:2But as for you, you must never make a peace agreement with the people who live in this land. You must tear down the altars where they make sacrifices to idols.’ But you have not obeyed me.

Judges 6:11One day Yahweh appeared in the form of an angel and sat underneath a big oak tree at Ophrah town. That tree belonged to Joash, who was from the clan of Abiezer. Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in the pit where they pressed grapes to make wine. He was threshing the grain there in order to hide it from the people of Midian.

Judges 8:32Gideon died when he was very old. They buried his body in the grave where his father Joash was buried, at Ophrah, in the land belonging to the descendants of Abiether.

Matthew Henry on Judges 8:23-29

Gideon Declines the Proffered Crown. ( b. c. 1249.) 22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Judges 8:27