Judges 18

1 At that time the Israelis had no king. Also at that time, the tribe of Dan was still searching for some land where they could live. The other Israeli tribes had [been able to] ([capture/take possession of]) [the] land that had been allotted to them, but the tribe of Dan had not been able to do that.

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

2 So they chose five soldiers from their clans, men who lived in Zorah and Eshtaol [cities], to go through the land and explore it [and try to find some land where their tribe could live]. They came to Micah’s house in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived, and they stayed there that night.

The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

3 While they were in his house and they heard the young man who had become Micah’s priest talking, they recognized from (his accent/the way that he talked) [that he was from the southern part of Israel]. So they went to him and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why did you come here?”

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; so they went over there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”

4 He told them the things that Micah had done for him. And he said, “Micah (has hired me/is paying me to work for him), and I have become his priest.”

He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”

5 So they said to him, “Please ask God if we will succeed [in what we are trying to do] on this journey.”

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

6 The young man replied, “Things will go well for you. Yahweh will go with you on this journey.”

The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before the LORD.”

7 [The next day] the five men left. When they came to Laish [city], they saw that the people there lived safely, like the people in Sidon [city] did. The people there thought that they were safe/protected [from any enemies], and they had plenty of [good fertile] land. They lived very far from the people of Sidon, [so the people of Sidon would not be able to help defend/protect them]. They had no other (allies/groups nearby that would help them in battles).

Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in safety, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone else.

8 When those five men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them “What did you find out?”

They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers asked them, “What do you say?”

9 They replied, “We have found some land, and it is very good. We should go and attack the people [who live there]. Why are you staying here and doing nothing [RHQ]? Do not wait any longer! We should go immediately and take possession of that land!

They said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Do not be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

10 When you go there, you will see that there is plenty of land, and it has everything [that we will need]. The people there are not expecting anyone to attack them. Surely God is giving that land to us.”

When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol, carrying their weapons.

The family of the Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol with six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

12 On their way they set up their tents near Kiriath-Jearim [city] in [the area where the tribe of] Judah [lives]. That is why the area west of Kiriath-Jearim was named ‘Camp of Dan’, and that is still its name.

They went up and encamped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.

13 From there, they went to the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lives. And they arrived at Micah’s house.

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

14 The five men who had explored the land near Laish said to their fellow Israelis, “Do you know that in one of these houses there is a sacred vest, several idols, and a statue? [We think that] you know what you should do.” [RHQ]

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 a carved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

15 So they went to the house where the man from the tribe of Levi lived, which was the house where Micah lived, and they greeted the young man from the tribe of Levi [who had become Micah’s priest].

They went over there and came to the house of the young Levite man, even to the house of Micah, and asked him how he was doing.

16 The 600 men of the tribe of Dan stood outside the gate of the house, carrying their weapons.

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

17 The five men who had explored the land went into Micah’s house, and took all the idols, the sacred vest, and the statue. While they did that, the 600 men stood outside the gate, [talking] with the priest.

The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, the ephod, 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.

18 When the priest saw them bringing out the idols and the sacred vest and the statue, he said to them, “What are you doing?”

When these went into Micah’s house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19 They replied, “Be quiet! Do not say anything! You come with us and be [like] a father to us and a priest for us. Is it better for you to [stay here and] be a priest for the people in the house of one man, or to be a priest for a clan, and a priest for a whole tribe of Israelis?” [RHQ]

They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. 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?”

20 The priest liked what they were suggesting. So he took the sacred vest and the idols, and he [prepared to] go with the men from the tribe of Dan.

The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.

21 They all put their little children and their animals and everything else that they owned in front of them.

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

22 After they had gone a little distance from Micah’s house, Micah [saw what was happening. He] quickly summoned the men who lived near him, and they ran and caught up with the men from the tribe of Dan.

When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

23 They shouted at them. The men of the tribe of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What is the problem? Why have you gathered these men [to pursue us]?”

As they called to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

24 Micah shouted, “You took the silver idols that were made for me! You also took my priest! I do not have anything left [RHQ]! So why do you ask me, ‘What is the problem?’”

He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away! What more do I have? How can you ask me, ‘What ails you?’”

25 The men from the tribe of Dan replied, “You should not shout loudly like that! One of our angry men might attack you and kill you and your family!”

The children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

26 Then the men from the tribe of Dan continued walking. Micah realized that there was a very large group of them, [so that it would be useless for him to try to fight them]. So he turned around and went home.

The children of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

27 The men of the tribe of Dan were carrying the things that had been made for Micah, and they also took his priest, and they continued traveling to Laish. They attacked the people who were peacefully living there, and killed them with their swords, and then they burned everything in the city.

They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; then they burned the city with fire.

28 Laish was far from [the city of] Sidon, [so the people of Sidon could not rescue the people of Laish]. And the people of Laish had no other allies. Laish was in a valley near Beth-Rehob [town]. The people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the city and started to live there.

There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone else; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city and lived in it.

29 They gave to the city a [new] name, Dan, in honor of their ancestor Dan, who was one of the sons of Jacob.

They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be Laish.

30 The people of the tribe of Dan set up [in the city] the idols [that had been made for Micah]. Jonathan, who was the son of Gershom and the grandson of Moses, was appointed to be their priest. His descendants continued to be priests until the Israelis were captured and taken [to Assyria].

The children 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 captivity of the land.

31 After the people of the tribe of Dan set up the idols that had been made for Micah, [they worshiped those idols, even though] the Sacred Tent [where they had been commanded to worship] God, was at Shiloh.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s engraved image which he made, and it remained all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.