What Does Judges 6:27 Mean in the King James?
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Fear does not cancel Gideon’s obedience; it moves the act into the night.
THE MEANING
Fear can narrow your freedom without erasing your movement: you can act while fear still sets the hour and the visibility. Gideon does what the LORD says, but night is the condition he can manage because his father’s household and the city still have power over him.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that fear makes obedience unreal: Gideon fears the people, and the act still happens.
THE ROOT
וַיִּירָא
vayyira
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear or be afraid; when directed toward God, to stand in awe.
“feared” in this verse is vayyira. The same root can name awe toward God or fear before people; here, the people are the object of Gideon’s fear. Fear remains present, but it changes the hour of his action rather than erasing the action.
ALSO GROWS
yare: To fear or be afraid.
יָרֵא
This verb names Gideon’s fear of his father’s household and the city’s men.
yir’ah: Fear, reverence, or awe.
יִרְאָה
The same root’s range shifts with its object: awe toward God, apprehension before people.
וַיַּעַשׂ
vayya’as
GROWS FROM
עשה
To do, make, or carry out.
“did” in this verse is vayya’as. The verse repeats this root for acting on the LORD’s word, being unable to act by day, and acting at night. The action stays at the center of the sentence while fear changes its hour.
ALSO GROWS
asah: To do or make.
עָשָׂה
This verb is repeated as Gideon carries out the instruction and then acts at night.
ma’aseh: A deed, work, or action.
מַעֲשֶׂה
This noun from the same root names the deed that still takes place despite Gideon’s fear.
THE PATTERN
Fear of human judgment can govern whether a conviction stays hidden or becomes visible.
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;THE THREAD
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.Both verses use ירא (yare, to fear) for fear directed at people. Saul says that fear makes him obey their voice; Gideon carries out the LORD’s instruction, but fear confines the act to night.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us