Parallel Bible results for "judges 18"

Judges 18

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the Danites were looking for a heritage for themselves, to be their living-place; for up to that time no distribution of land had been made to them among the tribes of Israel.

2 So the children of Dan sent five men from among their number, strong men, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to take a look at the land and make a search through it; and they said to them, Go and make a search through the land; and they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, where they made a stop for the night.

3 When they were near the house of Micah, hearing a voice which was not strange to them, that of the young Levite, they went out of their road to his place, and said to him, How did you come here? and what are you doing in this place? and why are you here?

4 And he said to them, This is what Micah did for me, and he gave me payment and I became his priest.

5 Then they said, Do get directions from God for us, to see if the journey on which we are going will have a good outcome.

6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace: your way is guided by the Lord.

7 Then the five men went on their way and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, living without thought of danger, like the Zidonians, quiet and safe; for they had everything on earth for their needs, and they were far from the Zidonians and had no business with Aram.

8 So they came back to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, What news have you?

9 And they said, Up! and let us go against Laish; for we have seen the land, and it is very good: why are you doing nothing? Do not be slow to go in and take the land for your heritage.

10 When you come there you will come to a people living without thought of danger; and the land is wide, and God has given it into your hands: a place where there is everything on earth for man's needs.

11 So six hundred men of the Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol went out armed with instruments of war.

12 And they went up and put up their tents in Kiriath-jearim in Judah: so that place is named Mahaneh-dan to this day. It is to the west of Kiriath-jearim.

13 From there they went on to the hill-country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

14 Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the country of Laish, said to their brothers, Have you knowledge that in these houses there is an ephod and family gods and a pictured image and a metal image? So now you see what to do.

15 And turning from their road they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and said to him, Is it well with you?

16 And the six hundred armed men of the Danites took their places by the doorway.

17 Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the land, went in and took the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image; and the priest was by the doorway with the six hundred armed men.

18 And when they went into Micah's house and took out the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?

19 And they said to him, Be quiet; say nothing, and come with us and be our father and priest; is it better for you to be priest to one man's house or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

20 Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the family gods and the pictured image and went with the people.

21 So they went on their way again, putting the little ones and the oxen and the goods in front of them.

22 When they had gone some way from the house of Micah, the men from the houses near Micah's house came together and overtook the children of Dan,

23 Crying out to them. And the Danites, turning round, said to Micah, What is your trouble, that you have taken up arms?

24 And he said, You have taken my gods which I made, and my priest, and have gone away; what is there for me now? Why then do you say to me, What is your trouble?

25 And the children of Dan said to him, Say no more, or men of bitter spirit may make an attack on you, causing loss of your life and the lives of your people.

26 Then the children of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were stronger than he, he went back to his house.

27 And they took that which Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish, to a people living quietly and without thought of danger, and they put them to the sword without mercy, burning down their town.

28 And they had no saviour, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with Aram; and it was in the valley which is the property of Beth-rehob. And building up the town again they took it for their living-place.

29 And they gave the town the name of Dan, after Dan their father, who was the son of Israel: though the town had been named Laish at first.

30 (And the children of Dan put up the pictured image for themselves; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites till the day when the ark was taken prisoner.)

31 And they put up for themselves the image which Micah had made, and it was there all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Good News Translation GNT

1 There was no king in Israel at that time. In those days the tribe of Dan was looking for territory to claim and settle in because they had not yet received any land of their own among the tribes of Israel.

2 So the people of Dan chose five qualified men out of all the families in the tribe and sent them from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol with instructions to explore the land and spy on it. When they arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they stayed at Micah's house.

3 While they were there, they recognized the accent of the young Levite, so they went up to him and asked, "What are you doing here? Who brought you here?"

4 He answered, "I have an arrangement with Micah, who pays me to serve as his priest."

5 They said to him, "Please ask God if we are going to be successful on our trip."

6 The priest answered, "You have nothing to worry about. The Lord is taking care of you on this trip."

7 So the five men left and went to the town of Laish. They saw how the people there lived in security like the Sidonians. They were a peaceful, quiet people, with no argument with anyone; they had all they needed. They lived far away from the Sidonians and had no dealings with any other people.

8 When the five men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, the people asked them what they had found out.

9 "Come on," they replied. "Let's attack Laish. We saw the land, and it's very good. Don't stay here doing nothing; hurry! Go on in and take it over!

10 When you get there, you will find that the people don't suspect a thing. It is a big country; it has everything a person could want, and God has given it to you."

11 So six hundred men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol, ready for battle.

12 They went up and camped west of Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place is still called Camp of Dan.

13 They went on from there and came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

14 Then the five men who had gone to spy on the country around Laish said to their companions, "Did you know that here in one of these houses there is a wooden idol covered with silver? There are also other idols and an ephod. What do you think we should do?"

15 So they went into Micah's house, where the young Levite lived, and asked the Levite how he was getting along.

16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danite soldiers, ready for battle, were standing at the gate.

17 The five spies went straight on into the house and took the wooden idol covered with silver, the other idols, and the ephod, while the priest stayed at the gate with the six hundred armed men.

18 When the men went into Micah's house and took the sacred objects, the priest asked them, "What are you doing?"

19 They told him, "Keep quiet. Don't say a word. Come with us and be our priest and adviser. Wouldn't you rather be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for the family of one man?"

20 This made the priest very happy, so he took the sacred objects and went along with them.

21 They turned around and started off, with their children, their livestock, and their belongings going ahead.

22 They had traveled a good distance from the house when Micah called his neighbors out for battle. They caught up with the Danites

23 and shouted at them. The Danites turned around and asked Micah, "What's the matter? Why all this mob?"

24 Micah answered, "What do you mean, "What's the matter?' You take my priest and the gods that I made, and walk off! What have I got left?"

25 The Danites told him, "You had better not say anything else unless you want these men to get angry and attack you. You and your whole family would die."

26 Then the Danites went on. Micah saw that they were too strong for him, so he turned and went back home.

27 After the Danites had taken the priest and the things that Micah had made, they went and attacked Laish, that town of peaceful, quiet people which was in the same valley as Bethrehob. They killed the inhabitants and burned the town. There was no one to save them, because Laish was a long way from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any other people. The Danites rebuilt the town and settled down there.

29 They changed its name from Laish to Dan, after their ancestor Dan, the son of Jacob.

30 The Danites set up the idol to be worshiped, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom and grandson of Moses, served as a priest for the Danites, and his descendants served as their priests until the people were taken away into exile.

31 Micah's idol remained there as long as the Tent where God was worshiped remained at Shiloh.