Judges 18 · Verse 19

Judges 18:19

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?
Judges 18:19, King James Version

Judges 18:19 in other translations

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?”
WEBThey said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. 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?”
ASVAnd they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?
YLTand they say to him, ‘Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'
DARBYAnd they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy 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 for the house of one man, or to be priest for a tribe and a family in Israel?
BBEAnd they said to him, Be quiet; say nothing, and come with us and be our father and priest; is it better for you to be priest to one man's house or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?
WebsterAnd they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy 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 to the house of one man, or that thou shouldst be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

What does Judges 18:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 18:11-21

11-21. there went from thence of the family of the Danites ... six hundred men--This was the collective number of the men who were equipped with arms to carry out this expeditionary enterprise, without including the families and furniture of the emigrants (Jud 18:21). Their journey led them through the territory of Judah, and their first halting place was "behind," that is, on the west of Kirjath-jearim, on a spot…

Read the full comment on Judges 18:11-21 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 Lay thine hand upon thy mouth - This was the token of silence. The god of silence, Harpocrates, is represented on ancient statues with his finger pressed on his lips.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Judges 18:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩vai.yo.me.Ruand they saidH559
ל֨וֹloto <the> him
הַחֲרֵ֜שׁha.cha.Reshkeep quietH2790
שִֽׂים\־sim-putH7760
יָדְךָ֤ya.de.Khahand yourH3027
עַל\־'al-overH5921
פִּ֙יךָ֙pi.khamouth yourH6310
וְלֵ֣ךְve.Lekhand comeH1980
עִמָּ֔נוּ'i.Ma.nuwith usH5973
וֶֽהְיֵה\־veh.yeh-and becomeH1961
לָ֖נוּLa.nuof us
לְאָ֣בle.'Av<into> a fatherH1
וּלְכֹהֵ֑ןu.le.kho.Henand <into> a priestH3548
הֲט֣וֹב\׀ha.Tov¿ goodH2896
הֱיוֹתְךָ֣he.yot.Kha[is] being youH1961
כֹהֵ֗ןkho.Hena priestH3548
לְבֵית֙le.Veitof [the] house ofH1004
אִ֣ישׁ'isha manH376
אֶחָ֔ד'e.ChadoneH259
א֚וֹ'oor?H176
הֱיוֹתְךָ֣he.yot.Khabeing youH1961
כֹהֵ֔ןkho.Hena priestH3548
לְשֵׁ֥בֶטle.She.vetof a tribeH7626
וּלְמִשְׁפָּחָ֖הu.le.mish.pa.Chahand of a clanH4940
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל\׃be.Yis.ra.'Elin IsraelH3478

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 18:19

  • Job 21:5

    Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.

  • Judges 17:10

    And 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 29:9

    The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

  • Proverbs 30:32

    If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

  • Micah 7:16

    The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

  • 2 Kings 6:21

    And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

  • Matthew 23:9

    And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

  • Job 40:4-5

    Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

  • 2 Kings 8:8-9

    And 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? So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben–hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

  • 2 Kings 13:14

    Now 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
lay thine.This was the token of silence. These men were evidently very ignorant; and absurdly concluded that they should, by taking Micah's gods, secure the presence and favour of the God of Israel, in their expedition and settlement. They perhaps supposed the piety of their motives, and the goodness of their end, would justify the means. But it was a base robbery of Micah, aggravated by the Levite's ingratitude, and their menaces.
Job 21:5; 29:9; 40:4,5; Pr 30:32; Mic 7:16
a father.
17:10; 2Ki 6:21; 8:8,9; 13:14; Mt 23:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 18:18

    And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

  • Judges 18:19

    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?

  • Judges 18:20

    And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

Read all of Judges 18

Judges 18:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y ellos le respondieron: Calla, pon la mano sobre tu boca, y vente con nosotros, para que seas nuestro padre y sacerdote. ¿Es mejor que seas tú sacerdote en casa de un hombre solo, que de una tribu y familia de Israel?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils lui dirent: Tais-toi, mets ta main sur ta bouche, et viens avec nous, et sois pour nous un père et un sacrificateur. Vaut-il mieux pour toi d’être sacrificateur de la maison d’un homme seul, ou d’être sacrificateur d’une tribu et d’une famille en Israël?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie sprachen zu ihm: Schweige! lege deine Hand auf deinen Mund und gehe mit uns, und sei uns ein Vater und ein Priester. Ist es besser für dich, Priester zu sein für das Haus eines einzelnen Mannes, oder Priester zu sein für einen Stamm und für ein Geschlecht in Israel?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cui responderunt: Tace et pone digitum super os tuum: venique nobiscum, ut habeamus te patrem, ac sacerdotem. Quid tibi melius est, ut sis sacerdos in domo unius viri, an in una tribu et familia in Israël?