Bible Strands
Judges 18:23
When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Danites, fleeing with stolen idols and a priest, are pursued by neighbors mobilized from nearby houses. When the pursuers shout after them, the Danites turn around and address Micah directly.
The words — וַֽ/יִּקְרְאוּ֙ (va/yikre'u) translates literally as "and they called out," and וַ/יַּסֵּ֖בּוּ (va/yassevu) means "and they turned round." The Hebrew records the pursuers' vocal pursuit and the Danites' physical reversal before any speech occurs.
The thread — The phrase “What is the matter with you?” appears in Genesis 21:17, 1 Samuel 11:5, and 2 Samuel 14:5, where figures ask why others are weeping, troubled, or acting abruptly.
Why it lands — The text reports the Danites' dismissive question before noting Micah's subsequent defense of his stolen property and priest. It requires the reader to see how the verse frames a legitimate grievance as an inconvenience, demanding attention to the power dynamic between the pursuer and the dispossessed.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
Cross-references
- Genesis 21:17 Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
- 1 Samuel 11:5 Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
- 2 Samuel 14:5 “What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
- 2 Kings 6:28 Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’
- Psalms 114:5 Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,
- Isaiah 22:1 This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,