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When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
Judges 18:23 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB As they cried to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”
  • KJV And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
  • NKJV And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?”
  • NASB Then they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?”
  • NLT They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?”

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 turn and ask Micah why he has come with such a crowd. They feign innocence about the theft.

Overview

Their question is brazen, given that they have just robbed him. The exchange highlights the audacity of the strong against the weak. Micah's desperate complaint will follow, revealing the misplaced devotion at the heart of his loss.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Gen 21:17Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
  • 2 Kgs 6:28Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’
  • Ps 114:5Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,
  • 2 Sam 14:5“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
  • Isa 22:1This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
  • 1 Sam 11:5Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.

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 18:23YouTube · 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 18:23 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.