Judges 18 · Verse 5

Judges 18:5

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.
Judges 18:5, King James Version

Judges 18:5 in other translations

BSBThen they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”
WEBThey said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
ASVAnd they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
YLTAnd they say to him, ‘Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.'
DARBYAnd they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way on which we go shall be prosperous.
BBEThen they said, Do get directions from God for us, to see if the journey on which we are going will have a good outcome.
WebsterAnd they said to him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

What does Judges 18:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 18:1-6

Jud 18:1-26. The Danites Seek Out an Inheritance. 1-6. In those days ... the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in--The Danites had a territory assigned them as well as the other tribes. But either through indolence, or a lack of energy, they did not acquire the full possession of their allotment, but suffered a considerable portion of it to be wrested out of their hands by the encroachments of their…

Read the full comment on Judges 18:1-6 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 Ask counsel - of God - As the Danites use the word אלהים Elohim here for God, we are necessarily led to believe that they meant the true God; especially as the Levite answers, Jdg 18:6, Before the Lord (יהוה Yehovah) is your way. Though the former word may be sometimes applied to idols, whom their votaries clothed with the attributes of God; yet the latter is never applied but to the true God alone. As the Danites succeeded according to the oracle delivered by the Levite, it is a strong presumption that the worship established by Micah was not of an idolatrous kind. It is really begging the question to assert, as many commentators have done, that the answer was either a trick of the Levite, or suggested by the devil; and that the success of the Danites was merely accidental. This is taking the thing by the worst handle, to support an hypothesis, and to serve a system. See the end of the preceding chapter, Jdg 17:13 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Judges 18:5 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.

וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּvai.Yo.me.ruand they saidH559
ל֖וֹloto <the> him
שְׁאַל\־she.'al-enquireH7592
נָ֣אna'pleaseH4994
בֵאלֹהִ֑יםve.lo.Himby GodH430
וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔הve.Ne.de.'Ahso let us knowH3045
הֲתַצְלִ֣יחַha.tatz.Li.ach¿ will it succeedH6743
דַּרְכֵּ֔נוּdar.Ke.nujourney ourH1870
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
אֲנַ֖חְנוּ'a.Nach.nuweH587
הֹלְכִ֥יםho.le.Khim[are] goingH1980
עָלֶֽיהָ\׃'a.Lei.haon itH5921

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

Cross references for Judges 18:5

  • Acts 8:10

    To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

  • 1 Kings 22:5

    And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.

  • Isaiah 30:1

    Woe 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:

  • Hosea 4:12

    My 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.

  • Judges 18:14

    Then 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.

  • 2 Kings 16:15

    And 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.

  • Judges 17:5

    And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

  • Ezekiel 21:21

    For 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.

  • Judges 17:13

    Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ask counsel.
1Ki 22:5; 2Ki 16:15; Isa 30:1; Eze 21:21; Ho 4:12; Ac 8:10
of God.
14; 17:5,13

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

Context

  • Judges 18:4

    And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

  • Judges 18:5

    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.

  • Judges 18:6

    And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.

Read all of Judges 18

Judges 18:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y ellos le dijeron: Pregunta pues ahora á Dios, para que sepamos si ha de prosperar nuestro viaje que hacemos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils lui dirent: Nous te prions, interroge Dieu, afin que nous sachions si notre chemin par lequel nous allons prospérera.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie sprachen zu ihm: Befrage doch Gott, daß wir wissen, ob unser Weg, auf dem wir ziehen, gelingen wird.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Rogaverunt autem eum ut consuleret Dominum ut scire possent an prospero itinere pergerent, et res haberet effectum.