Judges 18

1 At that time Israel didn't have a king. The tribe of Dan was looking for territory where they could live, because up until then they hadn't gained possession of the land granted to them among the tribes of Israel.

Pada masa itu di Israel tidak ada raja. Suku Dan masih mencari-cari daerah untuk menjadi wilayah mereka, sebab mereka belum juga mendapat tanah bersama suku-suku lainnya di dalam bangsa Israel.

2 So the Danites chose from among them five leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. When the men came to the hill country of Ephraim, they arrived at Micah's house where they spent the night.

Karena itu mereka memilih lima orang yang gagah dari antara semua kaum dalam suku mereka yang tinggal di Zora dan Esytaol, lalu memberi tugas kepada kelima orang itu untuk menyelidiki negeri itu. Maka berangkatlah orang-orang itu, dan tiba di daerah pegunungan di wilayah Efraim. Di sana mereka menginap di rumah Mikha.

3 While they were there, they recognized the young Levite's accent, so they went to him and asked him, “So who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

Ketika hendak memasuki rumah itu mereka mendengar pemuda Lewi itu berbicara, dan mereka mengenali logatnya. Jadi, mereka mendatangi dia dan bertanya, "Mengapa kau di sini? Apa urusanmu? Siapa yang membawamu?"

4 “Micah arranged things for me, and he hired me as his priest,” he told them.

Orang muda itu menjawab, "Saya di sini karena Mikha. Dialah yang mengangkat saya menjadi imamnya, dan memberi gaji kepada saya."

5 “Please ask the Lord for us so we can find out if our journey will be successful,” they asked him.

Lalu kata mereka kepadanya, "Kalau begitu, tolong tanyakan kepada Allah apakah perjalanan kami ini akan berhasil atau tidak."

6 “Go in peace,” the priest replied. “The journey you are taking is being observed by the Lord.”

Jawab imam itu, "Jangan khawatir. TUHAN telah merestui perjalanan kalian ini."

7 The five men left and went to the town of Laish. They observed that the people there lived in safety, and followed the customs of the Sidonians. The people were unsuspecting and confident of their security, at home in a productive land. They didn't have a strong ruler, they lived a long way from the Sidonians, and had no other allies to help them.

Setelah itu berangkatlah kelima orang itu lalu pergi ke Lais. Di situ mereka memperhatikan penduduknya. Nyatalah bahwa cara hidup penduduk Lais itu seperti cara hidup bangsa Sidon. Walaupun mereka terpencil, dan jauh dari bangsa Sidon, mereka hidup aman dan tentram, tidak mempunyai musuh, makmur, serta tidak kurang sesuatu apa pun.

8 The men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you…?”

Ketika kelima orang itu kembali kepada orang-orang sesukunya di Zora dan Esytaol, mereka diminta memberikan laporan.

9 “Come on, let's go and attack them!” the men interrupted. “We've surveyed the land, and it's excellent! Aren't you going to do something? Don't put off going there and occupying the land!

Mereka pun berkata, "Mari kita menyerang Lais. Kami sudah ke sana, dan melihat bahwa tanahnya baik, luas dan makmur, segalanya ada. Jangan tetap saja di sini dan tidak berbuat apa-apa. Cepatlah ke sana dan merebut negeri itu. Kalian akan mendapati bahwa penduduknya sama sekali tidak menyangka akan diserang. Kami yakin Allah telah memberikan negeri itu kepada kalian."

10 When you get there you'll find the people are unsuspecting and the land is extensive. God has given you a place where there's no shortage of anything!”

11 So six hundred Danite armed men left Zorah and Eshtaol, ready to attack.

Karena itu, berangkatlah dari Zora dan Esytaol 600 orang suku Dan. Dengan senjata lengkap,

12 En route they camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That's why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called the Camp of Dan to this very day.

mereka pergi ke bagian barat Kiryat-Yearim di wilayah Yehuda lalu berkemah di situ. Itulah sebabnya tempat itu masih dinamakan Perkemahan Dan.

13 Then they left from there and went into the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.

Dari sana mereka berjalan terus ke daerah pegunungan Efraim sampai ke rumah Mikha.

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told the other tribesmen, “Do you realize that here in these houses there's an ephod, household gods, and a carved idol, an image made with molten silver? So you know what you should do.”

Kelima orang mata-mata yang dahulu diutus itu berkata kepada kawan-kawannya, "Tahukah kalian bahwa di salah satu rumah ini ada patung yang berlapis perak? Ada juga patung-patung lain dan efod. Coba pikirkan apa yang harus kita buat."

15 The five men left the road and went to where the young Levite was living in Micah's home to ask how he was.

Lalu mereka pergi ke rumah Mikha, tempat pemuda Lewi itu tinggal, dan menanyakan keadaannya.

16 The six hundred Danite armed men stood at the entrance by the gate.

Pada waktu itu keenam ratus prajurit suku Dan, yang bersenjata lengkap itu, sedang berdiri di depan pintu gerbang.

17 The five men went inside and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the image made with molten silver. The priest was standing by the gate with the six hundred armed men.

Kelima mata-mata itu langsung masuk ke dalam rumah, lalu mengambil patung kayu yang berlapis perak itu bersama dengan patung-patung lainnya, dan efod. Pemuda Lewi itu sedang berdiri dengan keenam ratus prajurit itu di pintu gerbang.

18 When the priest saw them taking all the religious objects from Micah's home, he asked them, “What are you doing?”

Ketika kelima orang itu masuk ke rumah Mikha dan mengambil efod serta patung-patung berhala itu, pemuda Lewi itu bertanya, "Apa ini yang kalian lakukan?"

19 “Be quiet! Don't say anything! Come with us, and you can be our ‘father’ and priest. Wouldn't it be better for you if instead of being a priest for just one man's household that you were the priest of an Israelite tribe and family?”

Mereka menjawab, "Diam! Jangan bertanya. Ikut saja dengan kami, nanti engkau menjadi imam dan penasihat kami. Daripada menjadi imam untuk satu keluarga saja, lebih baik menjadi imam untuk satu suku!"

20 This seemed like a good idea to the priest and he left with them. Carrying the ephod, the household idols, and the image made with molten silver, he marched with the people all around him.

Pemuda Lewi itu senang dengan saran itu. Jadi, ia mengambil efod dan patung-patung berhala itu lalu ikut dengan mereka.

21 They continued their journey, putting their children, livestock, and possessions ahead of them.

Kemudian rombongan itu meneruskan perjalanan mereka, didahului oleh anak-anak, ternak dan barang-barang mereka.

22 The Danites were already quite a way from Micah's home when men from Micah's village caught up with them,

Ketika mereka sudah jauh, Mikha memanggil tetangga-tetangganya lalu bersama-sama mengejar orang-orang suku Dan itu. Setelah dekat dengan mereka,

23 shouting at them. The Danites turned around to face them and asked Micah, “What's the matter with you? Why call out these men to come after us?”

Mikha dan orang-orangnya itu berteriak-teriak kepada mereka. Orang-orang suku Dan itu menoleh dan bertanya kepada Mikha, "Ada apa? Mengapa datang dengan begitu banyak orang?"

24 “You stole the gods I made, and my priest too, and then left. What have you left me with? How can you ask me, ‘What's the matter with you?’”

Mikha menjawab, "Kamu melarikan patung-patung saya dan imamnya, sehingga saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa lagi, lalu kamu berkata, 'Ada apa!'"

25 “Don't complain to us!” Danites replied. “Otherwise some hot-tempered people here might attack you and you and your family will lose your lives!”

Kata orang-orang suku Dan itu, "Lebih baik tutup mulut; jangan sampai orang-orang ini menjadi marah lalu menyerang engkau. Nanti engkau dan seluruh keluargamu mati."

26 The Danites carried on their way. Micah saw that they were too strong for him to fight so he turned around and went back home.

Setelah mengatakan demikian, orang-orang suku Dan itu meneruskan perjalanan mereka. Mikha melihat bahwa mereka jauh lebih kuat dari dia, karena itu ia membalik lalu pulang.

27 So the Danites took with them the idols that Micah had made, as well as his priest. They attacked Laish with its peaceful and unsuspecting people, killed them with swords, and burned down the town.

Sesudah orang-orang suku Dan itu melarikan imam itu serta barang-barang ibadat buatan Mikha itu, mereka pergi menyerang Lais, kota yang penduduknya hidup aman dan tentram. (Kota itu berada dalam satu lembah dengan kota Bet-Rehob). Orang-orang Dan itu membunuh seluruh penduduk Lais lalu membakar kota itu. Tidak ada yang datang menolong orang-orang Lais itu karena tempat mereka terpencil dan jauh dari Sidon. Setelah itu orang-orang Dan membangun kembali kota itu kemudian tinggal di sana.

28 No one could save them because they were a long way from Sidon and had no other allies to help them. The town was in the valley belonging to Beth-rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

29 They renamed the city Dan after their forefather, the son of Israel. Laish was its former name.

Nama kota itu mereka ganti menjadi Dan, menurut nama bapak leluhur mereka, yaitu Dan, anak Yakub.

30 The Danites erected the carved idol to worship, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons became priests for the tribe of Dan until the time when the people went into captivity from the land.

Patung berhala yang mereka bawa itu, mereka dirikan di kota itu lalu mengangkat Yonatan, anak Gersom, cucu Musa, menjadi imam mereka. Keturunan Gersom ini tetap menjadi imam suku Dan itu sampai masa umat Israel diangkut dan dibuang ke negeri lain.

31 They worshiped the carved idol that Micah had made the whole time God's Temple was at Shiloh.

Patung berhala buatan Mikha itu tetap di Lais selama Kemah Tuhan berada di Silo.