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?”
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?
- BSB 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?”
- 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 21:17God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
- 2 Kgs 6:28The king said to her, “What is your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
- Ps 114:5What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back?
- 2 Sam 14:5The king said to her, “What ails you?” She answered, “Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.
- Isa 22:1The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?
- 1 Sam 11:5Behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, “What ails the people that they weep?” They told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.