Judges 18:9
in Judges 18They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said, Arise, and let us 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 in to possess the land.
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.
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol
on Judges 18:8-10
The report runs opposite to Numbers 13:31-33, where the men who had seen a good land said it could not be taken. These five say “it is very good” and press their brothers, “Do not hesitate”. Verse 10 turns the priest's word into a promise, “God has delivered it into your hand”, the language God uses at Joshua 6:2 and 8:1, spoken here with no word from God behind it.
This site's exposition
we have seen the land, and it is very good
Henry sets the report against the crowded hill country where the Philistines had penned Dan in. Clarke calls the speech plain and forceful. It moved the tribe at once, and Gill hears in it a call to go up to war with the land already counted as theirs.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), better than this mountainous country into which we are here crowded by the Philistines. You need not doubt of living comfortably in it, for it is a place where there is no want of any thing, "
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
They represent the place as desirable: "If you will trust our judgments, we have seen the land, and we are agreed in our verdict upon the view, that, behold, it is very good (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And they said, arise, that me may go up against them,.... That is, prepare for war, and go up in an hostile manner against the present possessors of the land, not doubting of being masters of it easily: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The place was very secluded--the soil rich in the abundance and variety of its produce, and the inhabitants, following the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, lived in their fertile and sequestered valley, according to the Zidonian style of ease and security, happy among themselves, and maintaining little or no communication with the rest of the world.
Arise, etc. - This is a very plain and nervous address; full of good sense, and well adapted to the purpose. It seems to have produced an instantaneous effect.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ק֚וּמָה | kumah | arise ! | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְנַעֲלֶ֣ה | venaaleh | so we may go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רָאִ֙ינוּ֙ | rainu | we have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| טוֹבָ֖ה | tovah | [it is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וְאַתֶּ֣ם | veatem | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מַחְשִׁ֔ים | machshim | [are] inactive | H2814 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּעָ֣צְל֔וּ | teatzelu | you hesitate | H6101 → | |
| לָלֶ֥כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לָבֹ֖א | lavo' | to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לָרֶ֥שֶׁת | lareshet | to take possession of | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
ק֚וּמָהarise !
kumahH6965 →628 times
וְנַעֲלֶ֣הso we may go up
venaalehH5927 →890 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֔םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רָאִ֙ינוּ֙we have seen
rainuH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
טוֹבָ֖ה[it is] good
tovahH2896 →538 times
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
וְאַתֶּ֣םand you
veatemH859 →1094 times
מַחְשִׁ֔ים[are] inactive
machshimH2814 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֵּעָ֣צְל֔וּyou hesitate
teatzeluH6101 →
לָלֶ֥כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
לָבֹ֖אto go
lavo'H935 →2568 times
לָרֶ֥שֶׁתto take possession of
lareshetH3423 →231 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 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
John 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…
it leads to
- Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- Isaiah 55:2
Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the…
- John 6:54
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
- 2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- John 6:40
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- Colossians 3:2
Through
Numbers 13:30Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
it leads to
- Numbers 14:24
But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Numbers 14:24
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.