18
1 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 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 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 said
to them, “Thus
and thus has
Micah dealt with
me, and he
has hired me,
and I have
become 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.”
6 The
priest said to
them, “Go in
peace. Your way
in which you
go is before
the LORD.”
7 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 They came
to their brothers at
Zorah and Eshtaol;
and their brothers
asked them, “What
do you say?”
9 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? Don’t
be slothful to
go and to
enter in to
possess the land.
10 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 The
family of the
Danites set out
from Zorah
and Eshtaol with
six hundred men
armed with weapons
of war.
12 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 They
passed from there
to the hill
country of Ephraim,
and came to
the house of
Micah.
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 a carved
image, and a
molten image? Now
therefore consider
what you have
to do.”
15 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
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
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
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
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’s heart was
glad, and he
took the ephod,
the teraphim, and
the engraved image,
and went with
the people.
21 So
they turned and
departed, and put
the little ones,
the livestock, and
the goods before
them.
22 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 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 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
children of Dan
said to him, “Don’t
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 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 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 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
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
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 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.