Bible Strands
Judges 8:20
So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gideon, having just learned his captured brothers were killed by the Midianite kings, instructs his eldest son Jether to execute them. The words — The Hebrew verbs קוּם (qum, "arise") and הָרֹג (harog, "kill") frame the command, while שָׁלַף (shalaf, "drew") describes Jether’s refusal to draw his weapon. The thread — This moment of failed execution parallels Joshua 10:24, where commanders place feet on conquered kings, and anticipates the divine mandate in Psalm 149:9 to execute written judgments. Why it lands — The text records a youth’s hesitation and a father’s direct intervention, requiring the reader to recognize human reluctance alongside the necessity of carrying out decisive judgment.
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
King James Version
And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
Cross-references
- Joshua 10:24 When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
- 1 Samuel 15:33 But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
- Psalms 149:9 to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!