Judges 18:9 kjv
And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
Judges 18:9 nkjv
So they said, "Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land.
Judges 18:9 niv
They answered, "Come on, let's attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren't you going to do something? Don't hesitate to go there and take it over.
Judges 18:9 esv
They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land.
Judges 18:9 nlt
The men replied, "Come on, let's attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. What are you waiting for? Don't hesitate to go and take possession of it.
Judges 18 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Promise/Possession of Land | ||
| Gen 12:7 | To your offspring I will give this land... | God's promise of land to Abraham. |
| Exo 3:8 | ...to a land flowing with milk and honey... | Description of the promised land. |
| Num 33:53 | ...you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess it. | Divine command to possess the land. |
| Deut 1:8 | See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land... | Exhortation to take promised land. |
| Deut 9:5 | ...it is for the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out... | God's justice in land dispossession. |
| Josh 1:3 | Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you... | Divine promise and call to occupy. |
| Josh 1:6 | Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land... | Joshua's charge to lead the conquest. |
| Call to Diligence/Action vs. Slothfulness | ||
| Prov 6:6-11 | Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. | Rebuke against laziness and call to diligence. |
| Prov 10:4 | A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. | Value of hard work and diligence. |
| Prov 24:30-34 | I passed by the field of a sluggard... it was all overgrown... | Warning against neglect and idleness. |
| Eccl 9:10 | Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might... | Call for wholehearted action. |
| Rom 12:11 | Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. | New Testament call to spiritual diligence. |
| Heb 6:11-12 | We want each of you to show the same diligence to the very end... | Encouragement for perseverance and faith. |
| Consequences of Inaction/Unbelief | ||
| Jdg 1:34 | The Amorites pressed the people of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down into the plain. | Dan's initial failure to dispossess. |
| Num 14:1-45 | The spies' report leading to Israel's rebellion and wandering. | Consequences of fear and unbelief in action. |
| Ethical & Moral Considerations | ||
| Jdg 17:6 | In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. | Underlying chaos of the Judges period. |
| Jdg 18:27-28 | They came upon a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them... | Description of the subsequent ruthless conquest. |
| Ps 76:5 | The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil... | Implied warning about trusting in human strength. |
| Gen 1:31 | And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. | Contrast to human perception of "good" for gain. |
| Mic 2:1-2 | Woe to those who devise mischief... They covet fields and seize them... | Condemnation of covetous and violent acquisition. |
| Jas 4:17 | So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. | Moral implication of inaction when opportunity arises. |
| Prov 29:18 | Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint... | The moral decay driving the Danites' actions. |
Judges 18 verses
Judges 18 9 Meaning
Judges 18:9 records the fervent plea of the five Danite spies to their kinsmen to seize a newly discovered land. They urge immediate action against the peaceful inhabitants of Laish, asserting that the land is exceedingly fruitful and easy to conquer. The verse highlights their motivation—not divine command, but a pragmatic assessment of opportunity and a desire to overcome their previous failures in securing their inheritance. It’s a call to abandon hesitation and promptly occupy what they perceive as an ideal territory for their struggling tribe.
Judges 18 9 Context
Judges chapter 18 details the desperate search of the Danite tribe for a new territory. Prior to this, the tribe of Dan had largely failed to fully dispossess the Amorites from their inherited land (Jdg 1:34), confining them to a smaller, less fertile area. Faced with insufficient land, they sent five spies to scout out new regions. These spies traveled north, encountering Micah's idolatrous shrine and Levite priest (whom they would later abduct). Their journey culminates in their discovery of Laish (also called Leshem), a Sidonian city, whose inhabitants lived in peace and security, undefended and far from any potential aid. Verse 9 represents the spies' urgent and enticing report back to their tribe, urging them to capitalize on this perceived easy target for settlement. This action unfolds in a period where "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Jdg 17:6; 21:25), reflecting a breakdown of central authority and a pervasive spiritual and moral decline in Israel. The Danites’ motives were driven by practical land needs and an assessment of easy conquest rather than specific divine direction for this new possession.
Judges 18 9 Word analysis
- And they said, Arise: The phrase signals a strong call to action by the five Danite spies, serving as a directive to overcome passivity. "Arise" (קוּמוּ, qumu) is a Hebrew imperative often used to initiate a significant journey or undertaking, emphasizing readiness and vigor.
- that we may go up against them: This denotes a military ascent. "Go up" (נַעֲלֶה, na'aleh) implies a concerted effort and an invasion from their current position. "Against them" refers to the peaceful, isolated people of Laish/Leshem.
- for we have seen the land: This provides the justification for their urgent appeal. The spies base their counsel on direct observation and personal assessment rather than explicit divine command or prophetic revelation regarding this specific territory.
- and, behold, it is very good: The phrase (וְהִנֵּה טוֹבָה מְאֹד, vehinnah tovah me'od) evokes Genesis 1:31, where God declares His creation "very good." Here, however, it's a human appraisal of an earthly prize. "Very good" describes the land's fertility, richness, and suitability for settlement, highlighting its material prosperity and the ease with which it could be taken.
- and are ye still?: A rhetorical question expressing impatience and rebuke for inaction. "Are ye still?" (וְאַתֶּם מַחְשִׁים, ve'atem machashim) can be translated as "Are you silent?", "Are you holding back?", or "Are you sitting idly?" It conveys an urgent appeal for their kinsmen to move past hesitation and act decisively.
- be not slothful to go: A direct command, urging them to shake off laziness and procrastination. "Slothful" (תְּאַחֲרוּ, te'acharu) comes from a root meaning "to delay" or "to linger." The spies recognize that procrastination would squander a golden opportunity.
- and to enter to possess the land: These actions highlight the clear goal: actual occupation and establishment of ownership. "To possess" (לָרֶשֶׁת, lareshet) connects to the broader biblical theme of inheriting the land, yet in this context, it refers to the Danites' taking possession for their own settlement through violent conquest.
Judges 18 9 Bonus section
The phrase "it is very good" (טוֹבָה מְאֹד, tovah me'od) strongly echoes Genesis 1:31, where God describes His completed creation as "very good." The usage here is significant: while in Genesis it denotes divine perfection and order, in Judges 18:9, it is applied by human spies to a land for selfish acquisition, anticipating a violent seizure. This subtle linguistic parallel might highlight a profound difference between God's definition of "good" and mankind's self-serving perception during the era of the Judges. The Danites, by being "slothful" in fully dispossessing their original inheritance as commanded by God (Jdg 1:34), now act with swift violence to acquire a land through a method born of expediency rather than covenant fidelity. This illustrates the moral drift in Israel, where even actions that appear superficially similar to past divine commands (i.e., taking the land) are driven by significantly different, and morally dubious, motivations.
Judges 18 9 Commentary
Judges 18:9 encapsulates a pragmatic and utilitarian assessment by the Danite spies, driven by their tribe's pressing need for territory and opportunity. The call to "Arise" and "not be slothful" is a direct and forceful exhortation to act on a self-perceived opportunity, fueled by the observation that the land is "very good" and its inhabitants unprepared. This human evaluation of the land's quality mirrors divine declarations of goodness in creation, yet the motivations here are born out of tribal necessity and expediency rather than specific divine decree for this particular conquest. The urgency underscores the period's "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" ethos, where pragmatic self-interest often overshadowed adherence to Yahweh's covenant principles. While possessing the land was a long-standing divine promise, this specific acquisition for the Danites appears driven more by opportunistic seizure of an undefended, peaceful people than by faithfulness to their initial God-given inheritance or a call to eradicate evil. It represents a pivot from covenantal faithfulness to a more utilitarian, self-serving, and ultimately violent endeavor.