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 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.

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.

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.

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 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?”

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.”

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.”

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

“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.

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.”

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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.”

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.”

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—

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.

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)—

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

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—

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.

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?”

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?”

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?”

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?”

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,

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.

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

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

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,

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.

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?”

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?”

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?”

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?’”

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”;

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.”

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.

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.

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,

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.

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,

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.