Judges 18:5

Judges 18:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
• New International Version (NIV)Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they said to him, “Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”

Context of Judges 18:5

3When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4He said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest.” They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” 6The priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the Lord’s approval.” 7Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

Judges 18:5 word by word

וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ ל֖וֹ שְׁאַל־נָ֣א בֵאלֹהִ֑ים וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה הֲתַצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכֵּ֔נוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנַ֖חְנוּ הֹלְכִ֥ים עָלֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• They saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to him, “Inquireשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• pleaseנָאnâ' · pleaseH4994
• that we may knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• whether our wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• on whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• we are goingהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• will be prosperousצָלֵחַtsâlach tsâlêach · to prosperH6743

Cross-references for Judges 18:5

• 1 Kings 22:5Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the Lord.”
• 2 Kings 16:15Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king’s burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”
• Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;
• Ezekiel 21:21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.
• Hosea 4:12My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.
• Acts 8:10and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.”
• Judges 18:14Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.”
• Judges 17:5And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrated one of his sons, that he might become his priest.

Commentaries on Judges 18:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Ask counsel - of God - As the Danites use the word אלהים Elohim here for God, we are necessarily led to believe that they meant the true God; especially as the Levite answers, Judges 18:6, Before the Lord (יהוה Yehovah ) is your way. Though the former word may be sometimes applied to idols, whom their votaries clothed with the attributes of God; yet the latter is never applied but to the true God alone. As the Danites succeeded according to the oracle…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The sight of the ephod and teraphim suggested the notion of inquiring of God.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The Lord had promised Dan land in the southwest, but they had not taken it (see Judges 1:34; Joshua 19:40–48). Now they sought God's blessing from a hired priest. This priest's "blessing," like Micah's mother's (Judges 17:2), sounded religious but had no basis in Israel's covenant with the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-261-6. In those days ... the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in--The Danites had a territory assigned them as well as the other tribes. But either through indolence, or a lack of energy, they did not acquire the full possession of their allotment, but suffered a considerable portion of it to be wrested out of their hands by the encroachments of their powerful neighbors, the Philistines. In consequence, being straitened for room, a considerable…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 18:5

• Armies
• Jonathan
• Reconnoissance

In the dictionaries

• God
• Ask
• Magic
• Micah
• Quiet
• Teraphim
• Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of
• Dan (2)
• Intercession
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on Judges 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary