Judges 18

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was looking for an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

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 The people of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed 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 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned in that direction, and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? And what is your business 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 He said to them, "Thus and so has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest."

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

5 They said to him, "Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."

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

6 The priest said to them, "Go in peace. The LORD will watch over you on your journey."

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

7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were there, and how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority that might trouble them in anyway, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with Aram.

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 They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"

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

9 They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have entered and journeyed in the land as far as Laish, and we saw the people how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, and they were far from the Sidonians, and they had no dealings with Aram. But arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and look, it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go and to enter in 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 shall come to a secure people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth."

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 Then the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war, set forth from there.

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

12 They went up, and camped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan to this day; look, it is behind Kiriath 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 They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

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

14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to 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 They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

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

16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the people of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

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

17 The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed 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 And these went into Micah's house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest said 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 They said to him, "Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and 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 The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and the molten image, and went in 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 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.

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

22 They were some distance from the house of Micah, and look, Micah and the men who were in the houses near Micah's house gathered together and overtook the people 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 They cried to the people of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, "What's wrong with you, that you come with such a company?"

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 He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made for myself, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, 'What's wrong with 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 The people of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or angry men will attack you, and you lose your life, with the lives 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 The people of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went 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 They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt 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 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived there.

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 They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel. However the name of the city was originally Laish.

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

30 The people of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile from 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 So they set up for themselves Micah's engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was 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.