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.

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.

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 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.

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?"

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?”

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

“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!

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 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 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 Danite armed men left Zorah and Eshtaol, ready to attack.

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.

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.

13 They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

Then they left from there and went into 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 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.”

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.

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

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 Danite armed men stood at the entrance by the gate.

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.

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.

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 the priest saw them taking all the religious objects from Micah's home, he asked 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! 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?”

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.

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.

21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.

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

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.

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

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?"

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?”

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?'"

“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?’”

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."

“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!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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