Judges 18

1 In those days, there was no king in Israel. And the tribe of Dan sought a possession for themselves, so that they might live in it. For even to that day, they had not received their lot among the other tribes.

In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the Danites were looking for a heritage for themselves, to be their living-place; for up to that time no distribution of land had been made to them among the tribes of Israel.

2 Therefore, the sons of Dan sent five very strong men, of their stock and family, from Zorah and Eshtaol, so that they might explore the land and diligently inspect it. And they said to them, “Go, and consider the land.” And after traveling, they arrived at mount Ephraim, and they entered into the house of Micah. There they rested.

So the children of Dan sent five men from among their number, strong men, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to take a look at the land and make a search through it; and they said to them, Go and make a search through the land; and they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, where they made a stop for the night.

3 And they recognized the speech of the youth who was a Levite. And while making use of an inn with him, they said to him: “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? For what reason did you want to come here?”

When they were near the house of Micah, hearing a voice which was not strange to them, that of the young Levite, they went out of their road to his place, and said to him, How did you come here? and what are you doing in this place? and why are you here?

4 And he answered them, “Micah has offered me one thing and another, and he has paid me wages, so that I may be his priest.”

And he said to them, This is what Micah did for me, and he gave me payment and I became his priest.

5 Then they begged him to consult the Lord, so that they might be able to know whether the journey they undertook would be prosperous, and whether the matter would have success.

Then they said, Do get directions from God for us, to see if the journey on which we are going will have a good outcome.

6 And he responded to them, “Go in peace. The Lord looks with favor on your path, and on the journey that you have undertaken.”

And the priest said to them, Go in peace: your way is guided by the Lord.

7 And so the five men, going on, arrived at Laish. And they saw the people, living in it without any fear, according to the custom of the Sidonians, secure and peaceful, having hardly anyone to oppose them, and with great wealth, and living separately, far from Sidon and from all men.

Then the five men went on their way and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, living without thought of danger, like the Zidonians, quiet and safe; for they had everything on earth for their needs, and they were far from the Zidonians and had no business with Aram.

8 And they returned to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, who questioned them as to what they had done. And they responded:

So they came back to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, What news have you?

9 “Rise up. Let us ascend to them. For we have seen that the land is very wealthy and fruitful. Do not delay; do not refrain. Let us go out and possess it. There will be no difficulty.

And they said, Up! and let us go against Laish; for we have seen the land, and it is very good: why are you doing nothing? Do not be slow to go in and take the land for your heritage.

10 We shall enter to those who dwell securely, in a very wide region, and the Lord will deliver the place to us, a place in which there is no lack of anything that grows upon the earth.”

When you come there you will come to a people living without thought of danger; and the land is wide, and God has given it into your hands: a place where there is everything on earth for man's needs.

11 And so, those of the kindred of Dan set out, that is, six hundred men from Zorah and Eshtaol, girded with the weapons of warfare.

So six hundred men of the Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol went out armed with instruments of war.

12 And going up, they stayed at Kiriath-jearim of Judah. And so the place, from that time, received the name the Camp of Dan, and it is behind the back of Kiriath-jearim.

And they went up and put up their tents in Kiriath-jearim in Judah: so that place is named Mahaneh-dan to this day. It is to the west of Kiriath-jearim.

13 From there, they crossed over to mount Ephraim. And when they had arrived at the house of Micah,

From there they went on to the hill-country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

14 the five men, who before had been sent to consider the land of Laish, said to the rest of their brothers: “You know that in these houses there is an ephod and theraphim, and a molten idol and a graven image. Consider what it may please you to do.”

Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the country of Laish, said to their brothers, Have you knowledge that in these houses there is an ephod and family gods and a pictured image and a metal image? So now you see what to do.

15 And when they had turned aside a little, they entered the house of the Levite youth, who was in the house of Micah. And they greeted him with peaceful words.

And turning from their road they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and said to him, Is it well with you?

16 Now the six hundred men, who were all armed, were standing before the door.

And the six hundred armed men of the Danites took their places by the doorway.

17 But those who had entered the house of the youth strove to take away the graven image, and the ephod, and the theraphim, and the molten idol. But the priest was standing in front of the door, with the six hundred very strong men waiting not far away.

Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the land, went in and took the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image; and the priest was by the doorway with the six hundred armed men.

18 And so, those who had entered took away the graven image, the ephod, and the theraphim, and the molten idol. And the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

And when they went into Micah's house and took out the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?

19 And they responded to him: “Be silent and place your finger over your mouth. And come with us, so that we may have you as a father as well as a priest. For which is better for you: to be a priest in the house of one man, or in one tribe and family in Israel?”

And they said to him, Be quiet; say nothing, and come with us and be our father and priest; is it better for you to be priest to one man's house or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

20 And when he had heard this, he agreed to their words. And he took the ephod, and the idols, and the graven image, and he set out with them.

Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the family gods and the pictured image and went with the people.

21 And while traveling, they had also sent the children, and the cattle, and all that was valuable to go ahead of them.

So they went on their way again, putting the little ones and the oxen and the goods in front of them.

22 And when they were far from the house of Micah, the men who were living in the houses of Micah, crying out together, followed them.

When they had gone some way from the house of Micah, the men from the houses near Micah's house came together and overtook the children of Dan,

23 And they began to shout behind their backs. And when they had looked back, they said to Micah: “What do you want? Why are you crying out?”

Crying out to them. And the Danites, turning round, said to Micah, What is your trouble, that you have taken up arms?

24 And he responded: “You have taken away my gods, which I made for myself, and the priest, and all that I have. And do you say, ‘What is it that you want?’”

And he said, You have taken my gods which I made, and my priest, and have gone away; what is there for me now? Why then do you say to me, What is your trouble?

25 And the sons of Dan said to him, “Take care that you no longer speak to us, otherwise men with a mind for violence may overwhelm you, and you yourself would perish with all your house.”

And the children of Dan said to him, Say no more, or men of bitter spirit may make an attack on you, causing loss of your life and the lives of your people.

26 And so, they continued on the journey that they had begun. But Micah, seeing that they were stronger than he was, returned to his house.

Then the children of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were stronger than he, he went back to his house.

27 Now the six hundred men took the priest, and the things we stated above, and they went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and they struck them down with the edge of the sword. And they burned the city with fire.

And they took that which Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish, to a people living quietly and without thought of danger, and they put them to the sword without mercy, burning down their town.

28 For no one at all sent reinforcements, because they lived far away from Sidon, and they had no association or business with any man. Now the city was situated in the region of Rehob. And building it up again, they lived in it,

And they had no saviour, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with Aram; and it was in the valley which is the property of Beth-rehob. And building up the town again they took it for their living-place.

29 calling the name of the city Dan, according to the name of their father, who had been born of Israel, though before it was called Laish.

And they gave the town the name of Dan, after Dan their father, who was the son of Israel: though the town had been named Laish at first.

30 And they established for themselves the graven image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, with his sons, were priests in the tribe of Dan, even until the day of their captivity.

(And the children of Dan put up the pictured image for themselves; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites till the day when the ark was taken prisoner.)

31 And the idol of Micah remained with them during the entire time that the house of God was in Shiloh. In those days, there was no king in Israel.

And they put up for themselves the image which Micah had made, and it was there all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.