Judges 18
18
1In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. 2And the children 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 unto them, Go, search the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 4And he said unto them, Thus and thus hath Micah dealt with me, and he hath hired me, and I am become his priest. 5And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 6And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way wherein ye go.
7Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none 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 any man. 8And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 9And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land. 10When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and the land is large; for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.
11And there set forth from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war. 12And they went up, and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan, unto this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath-jearim. 13And they passed thence unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
14Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. 15And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 16And the six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven 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 girt with weapons of war. 18And when these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said unto them, What do ye? 19And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? 20And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
21So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them. 22When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 23And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24And he said, ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee? 25And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. 26And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
27And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire. 28And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built the city, and dwelt therein. 29And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31So they set them up Micah’s graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
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Judges 18: ASV
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Judges 18
18
Micah Brings Idolatry to the Tribe of Dan
1In those days Israel didn’t have a king. And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. Up to that time they had not received land as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel as they should have. 2So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, “Go and explore the land!”
They came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there. 3While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s voice. So they stopped to ask him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”
4The Levite told them what Micah had done for him and added, “Micah hired me, so I became his priest.”
5They said to him, “Please find out from God if our journey will be successful.”
6The priest told them, “Go in peace. The Lord approves of your journey.”
7The five men left there and came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived without a care. These people were like the people of Sidon. They were peaceful and secure. There was no one around who threatened to take away their property by force. They were far from the people of Sidon and totally independent.
8The men went back to their relatives in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”
9They replied, “Get up, let’s attack Laish. We saw the land. It’s very good!
“Don’t just sit there! Go at once and take the land. 10When you get there, you will come to a secure people. The land is wide open to you. God will hand it over to you. It’s a place where you will have everything you could want.”
11So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol armed for war. 12They camped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place just west of Kiriath Jearim is still called Mahaneh Dan [The Camp of Dan] today. 13From there they marched to the mountains of Ephraim as far as Micah’s house. 14Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, “Do you know that there’s an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?”
15So they stopped and entered Micah’s house and greeted the young Levite. 16The 600 armed men from Dan stood at the entrance to the city. 17The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men. 18When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”
19They told him, “Keep quiet! Don’t say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man’s house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?”
20The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people. 21When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.
22When they had already gone some distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors were called together to help him catch up to the people of Dan. 23They shouted at them. But the people of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s your problem? Why did you call your neighbors together to attack us?”
24Micah answered, “You’ve taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s your problem?’ ”
25The people of Dan replied, “Don’t make another sound, or some violent men will attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives.” 26The people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were stronger than he was, so he turned around and went home.
27The people of Dan took what Micah had made and the man who had become his priest and went to the city of Laish. They attacked a peaceful and secure people, killed them all with swords, and burned their city. 28There was no one to rescue them because their city was far from Sidon and totally independent. The city was in the valley that belonged to Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29They named the city Dan in honor of their ancestor Dan, Israel’s son. Originally, the city was called Laish.
30The people of Dan set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses) and his descendants were priests for Dan’s tribe until the people living in that land were taken captive. 31So they set up for themselves the carved idol Micah had made. It stayed there the whole time the house of God was at Shiloh.
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