Judges 3:4

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

And they were [left], to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַֽיִּהְי֕וּ לְנַסּ֥וֹת בָּ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָדַ֗עַת הֲיִשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶת־מִצְוֺ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֖ם בְּיַד־מֹשֶֽׁה׃

Transliteration

And-wayyihyû to-nassôt with-them ʾet-yiśrāʾēl, to-lādaʿat whether-yišmĕʿû ʾet-miṣwōt YHWH which-ṣiwwāh ʾet-ʾăbôtām by-hand-of-mōšeh.

Grammar Details

*wa*: conjunction + consecutive - and
*yihyû*: qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - they were/became
*lĕnassôt*: preposition + piel infinitive construct - to test/try
*bām*: preposition + 3rd masculine plural suffix - with/by them
*ʾet*: direct object marker
*yiśrāʾēl*: proper noun - Israel
*lādaʿat*: preposition + qal infinitive construct - to know
*hă*: interrogative particle - whether
*yišmĕʿû*: qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - they would hear/obey
*miṣwōt*: noun, feminine plural construct - commandments of
*YHWH*: proper noun - divine name
*ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - which
*ṣiwwāh*: piel perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he commanded
*ʾăbôtām*: noun, masculine plural + 3rd masculine plural suffix - their fathers
*bĕyad*: preposition + noun, feminine singular construct - by hand of/through
*mōšeh*: proper noun - Moses

Word Meanings

*wayyihyû*: and they were/became/existed
*nassôt*: test/try/prove
*yišmĕʿû*: hear/listen to/obey
*bĕyad*: by means of/through/by agency of

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Judg 2:22 : 22 that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
Judg 3:1 : 1 Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, even as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
1 Cor 11:19 : 19 For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.
2 Thess 2:9-9 : 9 [None even he], whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Exod 15:25 : 25 An he cried unto Jehovah; And Jehovah showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them;
Deut 8:2 : 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.
Deut 33:8 : 8 And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Judg 2:22-23
2 verses
83%
22that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23So Jehovah left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
Judg 3:1-3
3 verses
82%
1Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, even as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof:
3[ namely], the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entrance of Hamath.
Judg 3:5
76%
5And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
Deut 8:2
74%
2And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.
Deut 4:34
72%
34Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Josh 11:20
72%
20For it was of Jehovah to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Deut 8:16
71%
16who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not; that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end:
Judg 2:2-3
2 verses
71%
2and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice: why have ye done this?
3Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
Exod 34:11
71%
11Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Heb 3:9
71%
9Where your fathers tried [me] by proving [me], And saw my works forty years.
Judg 2:20
71%
20And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
Num 13:3
70%
3And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
Judg 10:6
70%
6And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.
2 Kgs 17:7-8
2 verses
70%
7And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
8and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.
Josh 11:3
70%
3to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill-country, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
1 Sam 12:9
70%
9But they forgat Jehovah their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
Deut 4:38
70%
38to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day.
Josh 3:10
70%
10And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite.
Deut 4:44
70%
44And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:
Num 32:7-8
2 verses
70%
7And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which Jehovah hath given them?
8Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
Josh 5:6
70%
6For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the nation, even the men of war that came forth out of Egypt, were consumed, because they hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah: unto whom Jehovah sware that he would not let them see the land which Jehovah sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Deut 31:5
70%
5And Jehovah will deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you.
Exod 3:17
70%
17and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
Neh 9:24
69%
24So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
Judg 1:28
69%
28And it came to pass, when Israel was waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.
Deut 7:1
69%
1When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Num 1:54
69%
54Thus did the children of Israel; according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did they.
Judg 2:15
69%
15Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.
Num 5:4
69%
4And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp; as Jehovah spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
Deut 6:3
69%
3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Exod 3:8
69%
8and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Exod 33:2
69%
2and I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Deut 20:18
69%
18that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God.
Judg 13:1
69%
1And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
Deut 4:14
69%
14And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
Josh 17:13
69%
13And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.
Deut 1:33
69%
33who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.
Num 13:19
68%
19and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds;
2 Chr 8:7
68%
7As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, that were not of Israel;
Lev 24:12
68%
12And they put him in ward, that it might be declared unto them at the mouth of Jehovah.
Josh 23:13
68%
13know for a certainty that Jehovah your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you, and a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you.
Judg 6:1
68%
1And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
Acts 13:18
68%
18And for about the time of forty years as a nursing-father bare he them in the wilderness.
Judg 2:12
68%
12and they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked Jehovah to anger.