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 by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 4And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. 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. 6And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before Yhwh is your way wherein ye go. 7Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no business with any man.

Judges 18:5 word by word

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

• 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 22:5And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of Yhwh to day.
• 2 Kings 16:15And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
• Isaiah 30:1Woe to the rebellious children, saith Yhwh, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
• Ezekiel 21:21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
• Hosea 4:12My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under 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 answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.
• Judges 17:5And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and 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