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; and in those days the tribe of Dan sought for itself an inheritance to inhabit, because no inheritance had fallen to it until that day in the midst of the tribes of the children 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.

And the sons of Dan sent from their families five men of valour, from Saraa and from Esthaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, Go and search out the land. And they came as far as the mount of Ephraim to the house of Michaias and they 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?”

in the house of Michaias, and they recognized the voice of the young man the Levite, and turned in there; and said to him, Who brought you in hither? and what do you in this place? and what have you 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.”

And he said to them, Thus and thus did Michaias to me, and he hired me, and I became 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.”

And they said to him, Enquire now of God, and we shall know whether our way will prosper, on which we are going.

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

And 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).

And the five men went on, and came to Laisa; and they saw the people in the midst of it dwelling securely, at ease as [is] the manner of the Sidonians, and there is no one perverting or shaming a matter in the land, no heir extorting treasures; and they are far from the Sidonians, and they have no intercourse with any one.

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

And the five men came to their brethren to Saraa and Esthaol, and said to their brethren, Why sit you here [idle]?

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!

And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and, behold, [it is] very good, yet you are still: delay not to go, an 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.”

And whenever you shall go, you shall come in upon a people secure, and the land [is] extensive, for God has given it into your hand; a place where there is no lack of anything that the earth affords.

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

And there departed thence of the families of Dan, from Saraa and from Esthaol, six hundred men, girded 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.

And they went up, and encamped in Cariathiarim in Juda; therefore it was called in that place the camp of Dan, until this day: behold, [it is] behind Cariathiarim.

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

And they went on thence to the mount of Ephraim, and came to the house of Michaias.

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]

And the five men who went to spy out the land of Laisa answered, and said to their brethren, You know that there is in this place an ephod, and theraphin, and a graven and a molten image; and now consider what you shall 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].

And they turned aside there, and went into the house of the young man, the Levite, [even] into the house of Michaias, and asked him how he was.

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

And the six hundred men of the sons of Dan who were girded with their weapons of war stood by the door 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.

And the five men who went to spy out the land went up, and entered into the house of Michaias, and the priest stood.

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?”

And they took the graven image, and the ephod, and the theraphin, and the molten image; and 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]

And they said to him, Be silent, lay your hand upon your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest: [is it] better for you to be the priest of the house of one man, or to be the priest of a tribe and house for a family of 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.

And the heart of the priest was glad, and he took the ephod, and the theraphin, and the graven image, and the molten image, and went in the midst of 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 their children and their property and their baggage 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.

They went some distance from the house of Michaias, and, behold, Michaias and the men in the houses near Michaias' house, cried out, 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]?”

And the children of Dan turned their face, and said to Michaias, What is the matter with you that you have cried out?

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?’”

And Michaias said, Because you have taken my graven image which I made, and my priest, and are gone; and what have I remaining? and what [is] this [that] you say to me, Why cry 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!”

And the children of Dan said to him, Let not your voice be heard with us, lest angry men run upon you, and take away your life, and the lives of your house.

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.

And the children of Dan went their way; and Michaias saw that they were stronger than himself, and he returned 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.

And the children of Dan took what Michaias had made, and the priest that he had, and they came to Laisa, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and burnt 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.

And there was no deliverer, because [the city] is far from the Sidonians, and they have no intercourse with men, and it [is] in the valley of the house of Raab; and 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.

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and the name of the city was Ulamais before.

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].

And the children of Dan set up the graven image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gerson son of Manasse, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan till the time of the carrying away of the nation.

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.

And they set up for themselves the graven image which Michaias made, all the days that the house of God was in Selom; and it was so in those days [that] there was no king in Israel.