Limitless Word
Then Manoah said, “Now when your words are fulfilled, what shall be the boy’s way of life and his vocation?”
Judges 13:12 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Manoah said, “Now let your words happen. What shall the child’s way of life and mission be?”
  • KJV And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
  • BSB Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
  • ESV And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?”
  • NKJV Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”
  • NLT So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Manoah asks how the child should live and what his mission will be. He desires to raise the son according to God's purpose.

Overview

Manoah's question reveals a heart concerned with obedient parenting and the child's God-given calling. He wants to align his family with the Lord's plan rather than his own. This thoughtful seeking honors God and stands in stark contrast to the self-willed spirit of the age.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Eph 6:4You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
  • Prov 22:6Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
  • Gen 18:19For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
  • Prov 4:4He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Judges videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Judges 13:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JudgesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.

How Judges 13:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.