Judges 19:30
in Judges 19And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
KJV
And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
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This verse in Judges 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThere was no such deed done nor seen - They were all struck with the enormity of the crime; and considered it a sovereign disgrace to all the tribes of Israel. Consider of it - Literally, Put it to yourselves; take counsel upon it; and speak. This was the prelude to the council held, and the subsequent operations, which are mentioned in the following chapter. I Have passed over the abominable transactions of this chapter as lightly as I could, and shall make no apology to the learned or unlearned reader for leaving some things untranslated.
This site's exposition
he picked up a knife
on Judges 19:29-30
The twelve pieces summon the tribes, as Saul's oxen do at 1 Samuel 11:7, sent from Gibeah itself. Verse 30 is the nation's own measure, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt”. The chapter ends in three imperatives, “Think it over, take counsel, and speak up”, and chapter 20 is the answer.
This site's exposition
Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!
Clarke renders think it over as put it to yourselves, and he reads take counsel and speak up as the call to the council of chapter 20. All Israel took it as a disgrace.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Our sufferings have been dreadful beyond endurance, and it is impossible to describe them in suitable terms; but in order that the dreadful nature of the events which have taken place may be more readily apprehended, I have thought it good to remind you of a history out of the Scriptures.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The Levite Benighted at Gibeah. 1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah. 2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there four whole months.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-3
And it was so, that all that saw it,....
It was a complicated crime, loaded and blackened with all possible aggravations. They were not such fools as to make a mock at this sin, or turn the story off with a jest.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה | vehayah | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרֹאֶ֗ה | haroeh | <the> [one who] saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְאָמַר֙ | veamar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִהְיְתָ֤ה | nihyetah | it has occurred | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִרְאֲתָה֙ | niratah | it has been seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כָּזֹ֔את | kazot | like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לְמִיּ֞וֹם | lemiyom | <to> from [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עֲל֤וֹת | alot | came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| שִֽׂימוּ־ | simu- | set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| לָכֶ֥ם | lakhem | for <the> yourselves | ||
| עָלֶ֖יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֻ֥צוּ | ʾutzu | take counsel | H5779 → | |
| וְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃ פ | vedaberu | and speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וְהָיָ֣הand it was
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כָל־every
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרֹאֶ֗ה<the> [one who] saw
haroehH7200 →1300 times
וְאָמַר֙and he said
veamarH559 →5305 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִהְיְתָ֤הit has occurred
nihyetahH1961 →3559 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִרְאֲתָה֙it has been seen
niratahH7200 →1300 times
כָּזֹ֔אתlike this
kazotH2063 →603 times
לְמִיּ֞וֹם<to> from [the] day
lemiyomH3117 →2304 times
עֲל֤וֹתcame up
alotH5927 →890 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
שִֽׂימוּ־set
simu-H7760 →584 times
לָכֶ֥םfor <the> yourselves
lakhem
עָלֶ֖יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
עֻ֥צוּtake counsel
ʾutzuH5779 →
וְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃ פand speak
vedaberuH1696 →1141 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
Proverbs 15:22Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:18
Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 11:14
For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:18
Through
Proverbs 11:14For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.
it leads to
- Proverbs 24:6
Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:22
Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.
- Proverbs 24:6
Through
Proverbs 13:10Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
- Proverbs 12:15–16
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- Proverbs 19:20
Through
Proverbs 20:18Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
it leads to
- Luke 14:31
Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
- Luke 14:31
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, ENCYCLICAL LETTER 1; 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.