What Does Judges 10:6 Mean?
And the children of Israel added again to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and let go of the LORD, and did not serve him.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.THE KEY
The many god-names are not the center: one repeated Hebrew verb makes this a transfer of service, with the final phrase naming whom it no longer reaches.
THE MEANING
This verse shows how allegiance can be redistributed among many powers, while service makes that shift concrete. The long list gives the displacement names; the repeated service names the change in what receives a person’s work and loyalty.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief that adding other sources of power leaves the first allegiance untouched dissolves here: the verse presents the added service as forsaking the LORD and refusing to serve him.
THE ROOT
וַיַּעַבְדוּ
wayyaʿavdu
GROWS FROM
עבד
to work or serve
“served” in this verse is wayyaʿavdu. The same root עבד (ʿ-b-d, work/serve) governs both directions in the verse: service to the named powers and refusal of service to the LORD. Its range includes work and servitude, so the shift is an allegiance made active, not merely a change of names.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeved: servant, worker
עֶבֶד
The servant is defined by the work or service rendered, making the verse’s allegiance relational and concrete.
ʿavodah: work, service
עֲבֹדָה
This branch makes service tangible as labor: the verse names where that labor and allegiance are directed.
בְּעָלִים
beʿalim
GROWS FROM
בעל
to be master or owner; בַּעַל (baʿal) means lord, master, owner, or husband
Baalim is the plural of Baal, a word that means lords or masters. Set beside עבד (ʿ-b-d, work/serve), the wording links masters and service: these named powers are presented as claimants to the work of allegiance.
ALSO GROWS
baʿal: lord, master, owner; also husband
בַּעַל
Baalim is this word in the plural, so the verse’s list names the rival masters receiving service.
bāʿal: to possess, rule as master, or marry
בָּעַל
The verbal branch carries the sense of mastery or belonging, sharpening the link between the named powers and the service directed to them.
THE PATTERN
Repeated service reveals which power has become the practical master of a life.
And if it seems evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you settle. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold fast to one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.Do you not know that to the one you set yourselves beside as servants for hearing and response, his servants you are, the one you hear and respond to; whether of falling short unto death, or of hearing and response unto alignment?THE THREAD
And if it seems evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you settle. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.Joshua repeats the same Hebrew root עבד (ʿ-b-d, work/serve) for service to rival gods and service to the LORD. The shared root makes the direction of service the hinge: the verse turns on whom that service reaches.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us