Judges 10:14

Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God delivers this sarcastic command to the Israelites after they abandon Him for foreign deities, immediately following His declaration that He will no longer rescue them.

The words — The imperative לְכ֗וּ (le.Khu) "go" pairs with וְ/זַֽעֲקוּ֙ (ve./za.'a.Ku) "and cry out," directing the people to summon the gods they chose (בְּחַרְתֶּ֖ם, be.char.Tem) to deliver (יוֹשִׁ֥יעוּ, yo.Shi.'u) them.

The thread — The same rhetorical challenge appears in Deuteronomy 32:37 and Jeremiah 2:28, where identical phrasing exposes the impotence of idols when crisis arrives.

Why it lands — The text demands readers acknowledge that relying on self-made alternatives guarantees abandonment, leaving only the covenant Lord as the only viable refuge.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לְכ֗וּle.Khugo וְזַֽעֲקוּ֙ve./za.'a.Kuand/ cry out אֶל־'el-to הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔יםha./'E.lo.Himthe/ gods אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich בְּחַרְתֶּ֖םbe.char.Temyou have chosenבָּ֑םBa/m<in> <the>/ themהֵ֛מָּהHe.mahthey יוֹשִׁ֥יעוּyo.Shi.'ulet them deliverלָכֶ֖םla./Khem<to> <the>/ youבְּעֵ֥תbe./'Etat/ [the] time of צָרַתְכֶֽם׃tza.rat./Khemdistress/ your

King James Version

Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 32:37 He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
Jeremiah 2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
Proverbs 1:25 because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,
Deuteronomy 32:26 I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
Isaiah 10:3 What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
1 Kings 18:27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
2 Kings 3:13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”