Judges 6:5

3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
KJV
For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
WEB
For they came up with their livestock and their tents. They came in as locusts for multitude. Both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it.
ASV
For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.
DARBY
For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number; and they entered into the land to destroy it.
BLB
For they and their livestock and their tents would come up, and they would come as the fullness of the locust for multitude. And of them and their camels [was] no number, and they would enter the land to destroy it.
ÅB
For de dro opp med sine flokker og sine telt; de kom som gresshopper i mengde; det var ikke tall på dem og deres kameler, og de kom inn i landet og herjet det.
OTB
De kom opp med sitt buskap og sine telt, svermet som gresshopper. Deres antall og deres kameler var uten tall; de invaderte landet for å legge det øde.
B1930
For de drog op med sine hjorder og sine telt; de kom som gresshopper i mengde; det var ikke tall på dem og deres kameler, og de kom inn i landet og herjet det.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Judges 7:12

    And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

    Read in context
  • Judges 8:10

    Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 60:6

    The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 49:32

    And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 49:29

    Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 46:23

    They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 13:20

    It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

    Read in context
  • Song of Solomon 1:5

    I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

    Read in context