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 Living Translation (NLT)Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”

Context of Judges 18:5

3While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?” 4He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.” So they said to him, “Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.” 6And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.” 7So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.

Judges 18:5 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Ask counselשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• we pray thee, of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• that we may knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• whether our wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• which we goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• shall be prosperousצָלֵחַtsâlach tsâlêach · to prosperH6743

Cross-references for Judges 18:5

• 1 Kings 22:5Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”
• 2 Kings 16:15Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”
• Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;
• Ezekiel 21:21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver.
• Hosea 4:12My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.
• Acts 8:10to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”
• Judges 18:14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.”
• Judges 17:5The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became 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