Judges 6:1

Modern

Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

Traditional

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Literal

And the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Latin

Fecerunt autem filii Israël malum in conspectu Domini: qui tradidit illos in manu Madian septem annis,

Hebrew

English

Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

After forty years of peace, religious blending caused political instability, and roaming nomads forced the Israelites to live as fugitives.
The Midianites, once thought to be purely nomadic and based in northwest Arabia, are now known to have built cities and, for a time, controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula and southern Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan). They are joined by the Amalekites (who were earlier part of a Moabite coalition; see study note on Judges 3:12–13) and the mysterious people of the east (compare 1 Kings 4:30; Ezekiel 25:4, 10). The attacks were seasonal but very destructive.

Theme notes and profiles

Nehemiah 9:26–29
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
Judges 2:19–20
But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Judges 2:13–14
…for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
Numbers 31:1–3
And the LORD said to Moses,
Judges 2:11
And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
Numbers 25:15–18
And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
Deuteronomy 28:15–68
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Psalm 106:34–42
They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,
Leviticus 26:14–46
If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
Genesis 25:2
…and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Midian: A nation descended from Abraham; oppressed Israel in the time of the judges