And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?
Parallel translations
- WEB They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
- BSB “Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”
- NKJV And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
- NASB And they said to him, “Be silent, put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
- NLT “Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn’t it better to be a priest for an entire tribe and clan of Israel than for the household of just one man?”
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
The Danites tell the priest to be silent and come serve a whole tribe rather than one man. They appeal to his ambition.
Overview
By offering him a larger sphere of influence, they entice the Levite to abandon Micah. The flattering question, 'is it better to serve a tribe or one household,' treats priesthood as a career to be advanced. This bartering of sacred office reveals how thoroughly Israel's worship had been corrupted.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Judg 17:10And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
- Job 21:5Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
- Job 29:9The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
- Prov 30:32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
- Mic 7:16The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
- Matt 23:9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
- 2 Kgs 6:21And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
- 2 Kgs 13:14Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
- Job 40:4–5Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
- 2 Kgs 8:8–9And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
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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 18:19 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
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