Judges 18

1 In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking an inheritance to inhabit for itself, for [that] has not fallen to it to that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance.

In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

2 And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five of their men—men, sons of valor—from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say to them, “Go, search the land”; and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodge there.

So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

3 They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, “Who has brought you here? And what are you doing in this [place]? And why are you here?”

And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

4 And he says to them, “Thus and thus has Micah done to me; and he hires me, and I am for a priest to him.”

“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”

5 And they say to him, “Please ask of God, and we know whether our way on which we are going is prosperous.”

Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”

6 And the priest says to them, “Go in peace; before YHWH [is] your way in which you go.”

And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

7 And the five men go, and come to Laish, and see the people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with [any] man.

So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

8 And they come to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers say to them, “What [did] you [find]?”

When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

9 And they say, “Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold—very good; and you are keeping silent! Do not be slothful to go—to enter to possess the land.

They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land!

10 When you go, you come to a confident people, and the land [is] large on both hands, for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in the land.”

When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”

11 And there journey there, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.

So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

12 And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, “Camp of Dan,” until this day; behold, behind Kirjath-Jearim.

They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.

13 And they pass over there [to] the hill-country of Ephraim, and come to the house of Micah.

And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

14 And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say to their brothers, “Have you known that in these houses there is an ephod, and teraphim, and carved image, and molten image? And now, know what you do.”

Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

15 And they turn aside there, and come to the house of the young man, the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare—

So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

16 (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate)—

The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

17 indeed, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up—they have come in there—they have taken the carved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image—and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war—

And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

18 indeed, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest says to them, “What are you doing?”

When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19 And they say to him, “Keep silent, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be for a father and for a priest to us: is it better your being a priest for the house of one man, or your being priest for a tribe and for a family in Israel?”

“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?”

20 And the heart of the priest is glad, and he takes the ephod, and the teraphim, and the carved image, and goes into the midst of the people,

So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

21 and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the livestock, and the baggage, before them.

Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

22 They have been far off from the house of Micah—and the men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,

After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

23 and call to the sons of Dan, and they turn their faces around, and say to Micah, “What [is this] to you that you have been called together?”

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?”

24 And he says, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and you go; and what more do I [have]? And what [is] this you say to me, What [is this] to you?”

He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”

25 And the sons of Dan say to him, “Do not let your voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall on you, and you have gathered your life, and the life of your household”;

The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

26 and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah sees that they are stronger than he, and turns, and goes back to his house.

So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

27 And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and strike them by the mouth of the sword, and have burned the city with fire,

After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.

28 and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Sidon, and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it,

There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

29 and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of their father Dan, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the name of the city at the first.

They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

30 And the sons of Dan raise up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests for the tribe of the Danite, until the day of the expulsion of [the people] of the land.

The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 And they appoint for themselves the carved image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.