Judges 19:30

19:30 Everyone who saw the sight ¹  said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since ²  the Israelites left the land of Egypt! ³  Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

Joshua 9:14

9:14 The men examined ⁴  some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord’s advice. ⁵ 

Proverbs 20:18

20:18 Plans ⁶  are established by counsel,

so ⁷  make war ⁸  with guidance.

Proverbs 24:6

24:6 for with guidance you wage your war,

and with numerous advisers there is victory. ⁹ 

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

[19:30]  ¹ tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[19:30]  ² tn Heb “from the day.”

[19:30]  ³ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”

[9:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “took.” This probably means they tasted some of the food to make sure it was stale.

[9:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “but they did not ask the mouth of the Lord.” This refers to seeking the Lord’s will and guidance through an oracle.

[20:18]  ⁶ tn The noun form is plural, but the verb is singular, suggesting either an abstract plural or a collective plural is being used here.

[20:18]  ⁷ tn The clause begins with vav (ו) on “with guidance.” But the clause has an imperative for its main verb. One could take the imperfect tense in the first colon as an imperfect of injunction, and then this clause would be also instructional. But the imperfect tense is a Niphal, and so it is better to take the first colon as the foundational clause and the second colon as the consequence (cf. NAB): If that is true, then you should do this.

[20:18]  ⁸ sn There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinations. But there is no need and little justification for such interpretations. The proverb simply describes the necessity of taking counsel before going to war.

[24:6]  ⁹ sn The point of the saying is that wise counsel is necessary in war. Victory, strategy, and counsel are more important than mere military strength – many great armies have been destroyed because of their unwise leaders. See on this theme 11:14; 20:18; and 21:22.