Judges 3:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

NIV: They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

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

CSB: The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.

NLT: 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.

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

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

This verse completes the reintroduction begun in Judges 2:6. The writer is summing up how Israel failed to obey the Lord once the people settled into the land of Canaan. They left many areas unconquered, and the existing kingdoms there would become a source of raids and oppression in the years to come (Judges 3:3). In the previous verse (Judges 3:5), Scripture emphasized that the Israelites settled among the peoples of the land instead of driving them out, as God commanded (Deuteronomy 20:16–18).

Here, it's pointed out that the Israelites intermarried with the people of the land. They gave their Israelite daughters to be married to Canaanite sons and took Canaanite daughters for their own sons. This was another direct violation of God's commands to Israel:

"You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly" (Deuteronomy 7:3–4).

This intermarriage was not a concern about ethnicity, or race. Rather, as explained here, widespread intermarriage was a sign of the two cultures blending. Despite God's warnings, Israelites served the gods of the Canaanites and adopted their immoral and depraved worship practices. These practices included having sex with temple prostitutes and even sacrificing children on altars. What follows in the book of Judges are the consequences of Israel's association with deep, moral evil.

Judges 3:1–6 names the nations the Lord leaves in existence in and around the Promised Land. These nations will plague future generations of Israelites to see if they will be faithful. Some of these represent unconquered territories whose inhabitants will raid and oppress Israel: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites. Groups living amongst the captured regions will tempt Israel in different ways. These are listed as Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite peoples. Starting with the very first generation after Joshua, the people betray God, intermarrying with these depraved nations and serving their gods.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).