Judges 18:19
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)““Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?””
A short, plain-language explanation of Judges 18:19 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
““Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?””
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?”
King James Version · Public Domain“And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“and they say to him, `Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Judges 18:19 — 10 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Judges 17:10“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” So the Levite went in
- 2 Kings 6:21And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- 2 Kings 8:8So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- 2 Kings 13:14When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
- Job 21:5Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
- Job 29:9The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
- Job 40:4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
- Proverbs 30:32If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.
- Micah 7:16Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
- Matthew 23:9And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).