Judges 18:24 - Printer Friendly

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?’"

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?’ "

NASB: And he said, 'You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away; what more do I have? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’?'

CSB: He said, "You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s the matter with you?’"

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!'

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?

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?’ ”

A traveling convoy from the tribe of Dan has stolen all the supposedly sacred items from Micah's house (Judges 18:14–20), along with his Levite priest (Judges 17:7–13). The Danites know Micah understands they are responsible. With a group of his neighbors, Micah has chased them down as they journey north and has now caught up to them (Judges 18:21–23). The Danites asked why Micah has aggressively approach with so many men. With a sarcastic sort of intimidation, they have asked "what is the matter with you?"

Micah can't believe they are pretending not to know why he has come. The desperate response reveals how deeply he has been trusting in his homemade religion. He seems genuinely surprised that his false idols and hired cleric could not protect him from harm and bring him blessing. His belief is real, in a sense, but incredibly foolish. He has been worshipping something he created and expecting it to take care of him (Isaiah 2:8). Centuries later, the silversmiths of Ephesus will complain that Paul is ruining their idol-making business by teaching everyone that "gods made with hands are not gods" (Acts 19:26). Micah would have known this truth already if he had paid attention to the commands of the Lord or if his priest had told him about them (Exodus 20:3–17).

Judges 18:14–31 describes how the migrating people of the tribe of Dan steal from Micah (Judges 18:1–5). They take his collection of expensive idols and religious totems. His hired Levite priest accepts the Danites' invitation to come along with the raiders. Micah and his neighbors desperately chase, but the Danite forces are too large to risk attacking. The Danites arrive at Laish, in the north, and slaughter its peaceful, unprepared Sidonian occupants. They take possession of the town, rename it Dan, and establish a nexus of false worship.

The people of the tribe of Dan want to relocate because they failed to take their allotted territory in the Promised Land. They send five scouts to find land. The men stop at Micah's home (Judges 17:1–5, 13) and meet his priest before continuing north. They find Laish and realize it's a soft, vulnerable, peaceful town. A six hundred-man army and their families stop at Micah's home to steal his house gods and hired priest. When they arrive at Laish, the Danites slaughter the Sidonians living there, burn the city, rebuild it, and move in. Dan becomes a center of false worship.

In the prior chapter, Micah hires a personal cleric for his family religion. Judges 18 describes how he loses all his religious objects and that priest to raiders from the tribe of Dan. That convoy continues north to their target, the town of Laish. This town was selected, in part, for being helpless against attackers. The raiders rename the city "Dan." The people and the priest establish a center for false worship which lasts for centuries. Joshua 19:40–48 describes how Dan moved from their allotted land into this unapproved territory (Joshua 17).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).