Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.
Parallel translations
- WEB Why did you sit among the sheepfolds? To hear the whistling for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart.
- KJV Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
- NKJV Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.
- NASB “Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the piping for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.
- NLT Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds— to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks? Yes, in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision.
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
Reuben is rebuked for staying with the flocks instead of joining the battle.
Overview
Reuben's preference for the safety of the sheepfolds reveals a heart divided between comfort and duty. The repeated 'searchings of heart' exposes their failure to commit. The verse warns that God's people must not let ease keep them from His call.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Num 32:24Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
- Num 32:1–5Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
- Ps 77:6At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
- Judg 5:15The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.
- Phil 2:21For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
- Phil 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- Ps 4:4Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah
- Lam 3:40–41Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:16 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.