Judges 18 24

Judges 18:24 kjv

And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

Judges 18:24 nkjv

So he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, 'What ails you?' "

Judges 18:24 niv

He replied, "You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, 'What's the matter with you?'?"

Judges 18:24 esv

And he said, "You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, 'What is the matter with you?'"

Judges 18:24 nlt

"What do you mean, 'What's the matter?'" Micah replied. "You've taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!"

Judges 18 verses

Judges 18 24 Meaning

Judges 18:24 conveys Micah's profound despair and sense of loss after the Danites forcibly took his crafted cultic objects—his "gods"—and his Levite priest. For Micah, these items and the priest represented his personal access to divine favor and prosperity. Their abrupt removal left him feeling utterly bereft and questioning the worth and purpose remaining in his life, underscoring his misplaced faith in human-made spiritual constructs.

Judges 18 24 Context

This verse is set during a chaotic period in Israel's history, as detailed in Judges 17-18, serving as one of the two appendices to the main narrative of the judges. It directly follows the Danite scouts and then a contingent of their tribe seizing Micah's cultic objects—his carved image, molten image, ephod, and teraphim—along with persuading his Levite priest to join them. Micah, a man who had set up his own private sanctuary with these idols and a hired priest, believed these items ensured his prosperity. His desperate cry in Judges 18:24 vividly illustrates his shattered world, not because of a theological realization, but because his entire framework of spiritual assurance, albeit misguided, had been violently dismantled. The overarching context of the book, repeatedly stated as a time when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judg 17:6; 21:25), profoundly explains how such an aberrant religious system could exist and be so ruthlessly appropriated within Israel itself.

Judges 18 24 Word analysis

• "And they said" (וַיֹּאמְרוּ - vayyō'mĕrū): Refers collectively to Micah and his household. The Hebrew narrative tense emphasizes the immediate, reactive nature of their despair.
• "You have taken away" (לָקַחְתֶּם - lāqaḥtem): Implies a completed and forceful act by the Danites. The verb laqach signifies "to take, seize," indicating a unilateral and hostile act, amounting to theft from Micah's perspective.
• "my gods" (אֱלֹהַי - ’ĕlōhay): Singular form Elohim (often used for the true God, but here clearly "gods") with a first-person possessive suffix. This highlights Micah's deep personal attachment to, and mistaken reliance upon, his crafted idols as personal deities bringing him favor.
• "that I made" (אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי - ’ăšer ‘āśîtî): This crucial phrase points to the fundamental flaw of Micah's religion: his "gods" were human creations. The verb ‘āśâ ("to make, fashion") directly contradicts the uncreated nature of the true God and underscores the folly of idolatry.
• "and the priest" (וְאֶת־הַכֹּהֵן - wĕ’et-hakōhēn): The conjunction "and" links the taking of the idols to the abduction of Micah's private Levite priest. The definite article "the" refers to the specific, significant Levite he had hired. For Micah, the priest was integral to the efficacy of his cultic practices.
• "and you have gone away" (וַתֵּלְכוּ - wattēlĕkū): Signifies the Danites' departure with Micah's cultic objects and priest. This action sealed Micah's loss, making it final and irretrievable from his vantage point.
• "and what do I have more?" (וּמַה־לִּי עוֹד - ūmah-llî ‘ôd): A desperate rhetorical question. The interrogative mah ("what") combined with the preposition "to me" and the adverb ‘ôd ("still, more, else") expresses utter devastation, meaning "what is left to me of any value?"

Words-group analysis

• "my gods that I made": This self-referential claim ("my gods") simultaneously showcases Micah's intense idolatry and its inherent absurdity ("that I made"). It exposes the spiritual blindness of placing ultimate trust and allegiance in creations of one's own hands, contrasting sharply with the true God, who is uncreated.
• "and the priest, and you have gone away": This sequence emphasizes the total disruption of Micah's perceived spiritual system. Not only were his material "gods" removed, but the "channel" (the priest) he believed would mediate divine blessing was also taken. Their departure signifies the irreversible nature of his loss.
• "and what do I have more?": This climactic question encapsulates the profound despair resulting from misplaced faith. Micah's lament is not for the true God, but for his lost sense of security and purpose, which he mistakenly derived from tangible objects and a mercenary priest. It vividly illustrates the ultimate emptiness and lack of hope that results when one's foundation is built on anything other than the eternal, unchanging God.

Judges 18 24 Bonus section

• Implicit Polemic: Micah's lament, "my gods that I made," serves as a poignant, albeit ironic, internal polemic within the biblical narrative against idolatry. The text allows the deluded idolater himself to state the damning truth: his "gods" were human fabrications, unable to protect themselves or provide enduring comfort, unlike the uncreated and all-powerful God of Israel.
• Irony of Prophecy/Blessing: Micah had declared, "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest!" (Judg 17:13). The events of Judges 18 directly refute this misplaced assurance. Far from bringing prosperity, his idols and priest lead directly to his devastation, proving the utter fallacy of his self-devised religious scheme.
• The Depth of Corruption: This episode is a microcosm of Israel's widespread spiritual decay. A tribe of Israel (Dan) acts lawlessly, appropriating the corrupt religious system of another Israelite (Micah) through violence, without any apparent concern for true Yahweh worship or Mosaic Law. This demonstrates how deeply Israel had deviated from the covenant.

Judges 18 24 Commentary

Micah's lament in Judges 18:24 profoundly reveals the spiritual chaos of Israel during the period of the Judges. His grief is not for having offended the Lord, but for the loss of his self-constructed, syncretistic religious system that he believed was essential for his well-being. By clinging to "gods that I made" and a hired priest, Micah exemplified the people's descent into a superficial religiosity, relying on man-made practices for prosperity rather than a genuine relationship with the Creator. The Danites' ruthless theft exposes the inherent vulnerability and worthlessness of such idols: they could be taken by stronger human hands, leaving their worshiper with nothing. This scenario implicitly condemns idolatry, highlighting that anything which can be made, stolen, or destroyed is ultimately futile to put one's trust in. Micah's "What do I have more?" underscores the void created when the true God is forsaken for substitutes; when those substitutes are removed, utter emptiness remains. It is a stark example of "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" leading to spiritual destitution and profound insecurity.