Iudicum 18
1 in diebus illis non erat rex in Israhel et tribus Dan quaerebat possessionem sibi ut habitaret in ea usque ad illum enim diem inter ceteras tribus sortem non acceperat
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 miserunt igitur filii Dan stirpis et familiae suae quinque viros fortissimos de Saraa et Esthaol ut explorarent terram et diligenter inspicerent dixeruntque eis ite et considerate terram qui cum pergentes venissent in montem Ephraim et intrassent domum Micha requieverunt ibi
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 et agnoscentes vocem adulescentis Levitae utentesque illius diversorio dixerunt ad eum quis te huc adduxit quid hic agis quam ob causam huc venire voluisti
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 qui respondit eis haec et haec praestitit mihi Michas et me mercede conduxit ut sim ei sacerdos
He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
5 rogaveruntque eum ut consuleret Dominum et scire possent an prospero itinere pergerent et res haberet effectum
They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
6 qui respondit eis ite cum pace Dominus respicit viam vestram et iter quo pergitis
The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before the LORD.”
7 euntes itaque quinque viri venerunt Lais videruntque populum habitantem in ea absque ullo timore iuxta Sidoniorum consuetudinem securum et quietum nullo eis penitus resistente magnarumque opum et procul a Sidone atque a cunctis hominibus separatum
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 reversique ad fratres suos in Saraa et Esthaol et quid egissent sciscitantibus responderunt
They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers asked them, “What do you say?”
9 surgite et ascendamus ad eos vidimus enim terram valde opulentam et uberem nolite neglegere nolite cessare eamus et possideamus eam nullus erit labor
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 intrabimus ad securos in regionem latissimam tradetque nobis Dominus locum in quo nullius rei est penuria eorum quae gignuntur in terra
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 profecti igitur sunt de cognatione Dan id est de Saraa et Esthaol sescenti viri accincti armis bellicis
The family of the Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol with six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
12 ascendentesque manserunt in Cariathiarim Iudae qui locus ex eo tempore castrorum Dan nomen accepit et est post tergum Cariathiarim
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 inde transierunt in montem Ephraim cumque venissent ad domum Micha
They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 dixerunt quinque viri qui prius missi fuerant ad considerandam terram Lais ceteris fratribus suis nostis quod in domibus istis sit ephod et therafin et sculptile atque conflatile videte quid vobis placeat
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 et cum paululum declinassent ingressi sunt domum adulescentis Levitae qui erat in domo Micha salutaveruntque eum verbis pacificis
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 sescenti autem viri ita ut erant armati stabant ante ostium
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 at illi qui ingressi fuerant domum iuvenis sculptile et ephod et therafin atque conflatile tollere nitebantur et sacerdos stabat ante ostium sescentis viris fortissimis haut procul expectantibus
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 tulerunt igitur qui intraverant sculptile ephod et idola atque conflatile quibus dixit sacerdos quid facitis
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 cui responderunt tace et pone digitum super os tuum venique nobiscum ut habeamus te patrem et sacerdotem quid tibi melius est ut sis sacerdos in domo unius viri an in una tribu et familia in Israhel
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 quod cum audisset adquievit sermonibus eorum et tulit ephod et idola ac sculptile et cum eis profectus est
The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.
21 qui cum pergerent et ante se ire fecissent parvulos et iumenta et omne quod erat pretiosum
So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods before them.
22 iamque a domo Michae essent procul viri qui habitabant in aedibus Michae conclamantes secuti sunt
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 et post tergum clamare coeperunt qui cum respexissent dixerunt ad Micham quid tibi vis cur clamas
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 qui respondit deos meos quos mihi feci tulistis et sacerdotem et omnia quae habeo et dicitis quid tibi est
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 dixeruntque ei filii Dan cave ne ultra loquaris ad nos et veniant ad te viri animo concitati et ipse cum omni domo tua pereas
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 et sic coepto itinere perrexerunt videns autem Micha quod fortiores se essent reversus est in domum suam
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 sescenti autem viri tulerunt sacerdotem et quae supra diximus veneruntque in Lais ad populum quiescentem atque securum et percusserunt eos in ore gladii urbemque incendio tradiderunt
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 nullo penitus ferente praesidium eo quod procul habitarent a Sidone et cum nullo hominum haberent quicquam societatis ac negotii erat autem civitas sita in regione Roob quam rursum extruentes habitaverunt in ea
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 vocato nomine civitatis Dan iuxta vocabulum patris sui quem genuerat Israhel quae prius Lais dicebatur
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 posueruntque sibi sculptile et Ionathan filium Gersan filii Mosi ac filios eius sacerdotes in tribu Dan usque ad diem captivitatis suae
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 mansitque apud eos idolum Michae omni tempore quo fuit domus Dei in Silo in diebus illis non erat rex in Israhel
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.
