Judges 18:27
in Judges 18After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
KJV
And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The things which Micah had made - Rather, from Jdg 18:24, “the gods which Micah had made.” See Jdg 18:31; Deu 27:15; Exo 20:4.
This site's exposition
the things which Micah had made
on Judges 18:27-28
The wording is the conquest's own, smote them with the edge of the sword and burnt the city with fire, which is what Joshua 6:24 and 11:11 say of Jericho and Hazor. What those accounts carry and this one does not is a command, since no word from God, no priest of Aaron's line and no prophet is recorded anywhere in the chapter. There was no deliverer is the sharper sentence, because deliverer is this book's own word for the man God raises up at 3:9 and 3:15, and the two things that kept Laish safe, distance from Zidon and having no business with any man, are what leave it with nobody to call.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), and, for aught that appears, herein they met with no resistance; for the measure of the iniquity of the Canaanites was full, that of the Danites was but beginning to fill.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they took the things which Micah had made,....
Note, Many are brought to destruction by their security. Satan gets advantage against us when we are careless and off our watch. Happy therefore is the man that feareth always.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they . . . came unto Laish . . . smote them--the inhabitants. and burnt the city--"We are revolted by this inroad and massacre of a quiet and secure people. Nevertheless, if the original grant of Canaan to the Israelites gave them the warrant of a divine commission and command for this enterprise, that sanctifies all and legalizes all" [CHALMERS].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2490: “The Danger of Carnal Security” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
I HAVE for this evening's discourse what some of you may consider to be rather an amazing text. Let me, therefore, begin by briefly stating the circumstances surrounding it. The tribe of Dan found its portion to be rather too small, so the people held a council to decide what was to be done. They resolved to send a small body of men to spy out the land—these spies came, in due time, to a place called Laish, which they found to be inhabited by certain people who dwelt there carelessly, in supposed security, "after the manner of the Sidonians."
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2490: “The Danger of Carnal Security” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
I HAVE for this evening's discourse what some of you may consider to be rather an amazing text. Let me, therefore, begin by briefly stating the circumstances surrounding it. The tribe of Dan found its portion to be rather too small, so the people held a council to decide what was to be done. They resolved to send a small body of men to spy out the land—these spies came, in due time, to a place called Laish, which they found to be inhabited by certain people who dwelt there carelessly, in supposed security, "after the manner of the Sidonians." They were attacked without any notice and the tribe of Dan took their territory and added it to their own. I do not, in the least degree, commend the action of these people. What I have to do with the narrative is to use it for the purpose of drawing from it lessons suited to the present time. I suppose that these people, who were living at Laish, were originally a colony of Sidonians, and they had settled in a very fat, fertile valley—according to the tenth verse, a place where there was no lack of anything. They did not care to trade with others, they were not at all an enterprising or busy people. Finding every luxury growing out of their own soil, they had no care to do business with any other men whatever. They kept no guard or watch, for, although they knew that, in common with all the other inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they had been doomed to fall by the sword of Israel, yet the Israelites had been very slow in conquering the country. Many years had passed since Joshua had died. Many judges had come and gone and they had never been troubled. Therefore they rested in perfect ease, neither drilling themselves, nor exercising any warlike arts, but feeling altogether secure, living luxuriously in a fools' paradise.
Unto a people - at quiet and secure - They found the report given by the spies to be correct. The people were apprehensive of no danger, and were unprepared for resistance; hence they were all put to the sword, and their city burnt up.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֵ֨מָּה | vehemah | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| לָקְח֜וּ | lakechu | they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֵ֧ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֣ה | ʾasah | he had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִיכָ֗ה | mikhah | Micah | H4318 → | 33 times |
| וְֽאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֹּהֵן֮ | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָיָה־ | hayah- | he belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לוֹ֒ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לַ֗יִשׁ | layish | Laish | H3919 → | 7 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַם֙ | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שֹׁקֵ֣ט | shoket | at peace | H8252 → | 41 times |
| וּבֹטֵ֔חַ | uvoteach | and secure | H982 → | 120 times |
| וַיַּכּ֥וּ | vaiyaku | and they struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אוֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְפִי־ | lefi- | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| חָ֑רֶב | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| שָׂרְפ֥וּ | sarefu | they burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָאֵֽשׁ׃ | vaesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
וְהֵ֨מָּהand they
vehemahH1992 →553 times
לָקְח֜וּthey took
lakechuH3947 →966 times
אֵ֧ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֣הhe had made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
מִיכָ֗הMicah
mikhahH4318 →33 times
וְֽאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַכֹּהֵן֮the priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָיָה־he belonged
hayah-H1961 →3559 times
לוֹ֒to <the> him
lo
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לַ֗יִשׁLaish
layishH3919 →7 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עַם֙a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
שֹׁקֵ֣טat peace
shoketH8252 →41 times
וּבֹטֵ֔חַand secure
uvoteachH982 →120 times
וַיַּכּ֥וּand they struck
vaiyakuH5221 →499 times
אוֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
לְפִי־to [the] mouth of
lefi-H6310 →498 times
חָ֑רֶב[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
שָׂרְפ֥וּthey burned
sarefuH8313 →117 times
בָאֵֽשׁ׃with <the> fire
vaeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 18:7So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive…
it leads to
- Joshua 19:47
(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 3:13
I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
- Judges 18:27–28
After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
- Joshua 19:47
Through
Judges 18:10When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Judges 18:7
So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive…
- Deuteronomy 11:11–12
But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven.
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Through
Joshua 11:11The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.
it leads to
- Joshua 10:40
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the…
- Joshua 10:40
Through
Joshua 19:47(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there,…
it leads to
- Judges 1:34–35
The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the plain.
- Judges 1:34–35
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2490: “The Danger of Carnal Security” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.