Judges 18
Danites Take the Levite and the Idol
1 aIn those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days bthe tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, cfrom Zorah and from Eshtaol, dto spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came eto the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: fhe has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5And they said to him, g“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6And the priest said to them, h“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.” 7Then the five men departed and came to iLaish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, jquiet and unsuspecting, lacking ▼▼Compare 18:10; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how lthey were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8And when they came to their brothers at mZorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9They said, n“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. oAnd will you do nothing? pDo not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10As soon as you go, you will come to an qunsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, ra place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.” 11So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, sarmed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called tMahaneh-dan ▼▼ Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan
to this day; behold, it is west of vKiriath-jearim. 13And they passed on from there to wthe hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. 14Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that xin these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and yasked him about his welfare. 16Now the 600 men of the Danites, zarmed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17And aathe five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took abthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18And when these went into Micah’s house and took acthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19And they said to him, “Keep quiet; adput your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us aea father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. 21So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and afthe goods in front of them. 22When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24And he said, ag“You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home. 27But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people ahquiet and unsuspecting, and aistruck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28And there was no deliverer because it was ajfar from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to akBeth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29And they named the city alDan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but amthe name of the city was Laish at the first. 30And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, anson of Moses, ▼▼Or Manasseh
apand his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day aqof the captivity of the land. 31So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, aras long as the house of God was at Shiloh.
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