Judges
Chapter Eighteen
1 ¶ In those days
there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was
seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance
among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them.
2 So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory,
men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They
said to them, "Go, search the land." So they went to the mountains
of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
3 While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young
Levite. They turned aside and said to him, "Who brought you here? What
are you doing in this place? What do you have here?"
4 He said to them, "Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and
I have become his priest."
5 So they said to him, "Please inquire of God, that we may know whether
the journey on which we go will be prosperous."
6 And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The presence of the LORD be
with you on your way."
7 ¶ So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who
were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and
secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything.
They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.
8 Then the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their
brethren said to them, "What is your report?"
9 So they said, "Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the
land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go,
and enter to possess the land.
10 "When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For
God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything
that is on the earth."
11 And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah
and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.
12 Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they
call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.)
13 And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house
of Micah.
14 ¶ Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered
and said to their brethren, "Do you know that there are in these houses
an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore,
consider what you should do."
15 So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man-to
the house of Micah-and greeted him.
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 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there,
they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image.
The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were
armed with weapons of war.
18 When these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod,
the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, "What
are you doing?"
19 And they said to him, "Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and
come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest
to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family
in Israel?"
20 So the priest's heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols,
and the carved image, and took his place among the people.
21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and
the goods in front of 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 And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said
to Micah, "What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?"
24 So he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest,
and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, 'What
ails you?'"
25 And the children of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard
among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives
of your household!"
26 Then 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 ¶ So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged
to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them
with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties
with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt
the city and dwelt there.
29 And 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 formerly was Laish.
30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan
the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe
of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the
time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Go to Chapter Ninteen
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