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.
Parallel translations
- WEB They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
- BSB Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”
- NKJV So they said to him, “Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”
- NASB Then they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.”
- NLT Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”
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 ask the priest to inquire of God whether their journey will succeed. They seek divine approval through an illegitimate shrine.
Overview
The spies want a religious sanction for their venture, but they seek it from an unauthorized priest serving before forbidden images. Their request shows a desire for God's blessing divorced from God's appointed means and obedience. The episode portrays a people who want assurance from God while ignoring His clear commands about how He is to be worshiped.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Kgs 22:5And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
- Acts 8:10To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
- Isa 30:1Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, 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:
- Hos 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.
- Judg 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.
- Judg 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.
- Ezek 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.
- 2 Kgs 16:15And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat 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.
- Judg 17:13Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
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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 18:5 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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