Parallel Bible results for "judges 18"

Judges 18

Lexham English Bible LEB

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites [was] seeking territory for itself to live in, because until that day it had not been allotted territory among the tribes of Israel.

2 The descendants of Dan sent from the whole number of their clan five {capable men} from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, "Go, explore the land." And they went to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there.

3 While they [were] with the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, and they turned aside there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What [are] you doing in this place, and {what is your business here}?"

4 And he said to them, "Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest."

5 And they said to him, "Please inquire of God that we may know whether our journey that we [are] going on will be successful."

6 And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. Yahweh [is] in front of you on the journey you want to go on."

7 And the five men went and came to Laish, and they observed the people who [were] living according to the customs of [the] Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, and lacking nothing in the land, and possessing restraint. And they [were] far from [the] Sidonians and had no word with anyone.

8 They came to their relatives [at] Zorah and Eshtaol, and their relatives said to them, "What [do] you [report]?"

9 And they said to them, "Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and [it is] very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to possess the land.

10 When you go you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land {is spread out on all sides}; God has given a place into your hands where there is no lack of anything that [is] on the earth."

11 Six hundred men from the clan of the Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed [with] weapons of war, set out from there.

12 They went up and encamped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they called this place Camp of Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath Jearim.

13 From there they crossed [over to] the hill country of Ephraim, and they came to the house of Micah.

14 And the five men that went out to spy out the land ([that is], Laish) responded and said to their relatives, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? So then, consider what you must do."

15 So they turned to that direction, and they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and {they greeted him}.

16 And six hundred men from the descendants of Dan, armed [with] their weapons of war, [were] standing [at] the entrance of the gate.

17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and they entered there [and] took the carved divine image, ephod, teraphim, and the molten image. The priest [was] standing [at] the entrance of the gate [with] the six hundred men armed [with] the weapons of war.

18 When these went to Micah's house, they took the divine carved image, ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priest asked them, "What [are] you doing?"

19 And they said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be for us a father and a priest. Is it better being a priest for a house of one man or being a priest for a tribe and clan in Israel?"

20 {The priest accepted the offer}, and he took the ephod, teraphim, and molten image and went along with the people.

21 And they turned and went and put the little children, the livestock, and the valuable property in front of them.

22 When they were at a distance from the house, Micah and the men who [were] in the houses that [were] near the house of Micah cried out, and they overtook the descendants of Dan.

23 And they called to the descendants of Dan, who turned around to face them, and they said to Micah, "What is the matter with you that you assembled together?"

24 He said, "You took away my gods that I had made, and the priest, and then you go [away]. What [is] now left for me? How can you say to me, 'What is the matter?'"

25 And the descendants of Dan said to him, "You should not let your voice be heard among us, so that {ill-tempered men} {will not attack you}, {and take your life} and the lives of your household."

26 And the descendants of Dan went their way. When Micah saw that they [were] stronger than him, he turned to return to his house.

27 And they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and they came to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and {they put them to the sword} and burned the city with fire.

28 There was no deliverer, because it [was] far from Sidon, and {they had had no dealings with anyone}. It [was] in the valley that belonged to Beth-rehob, and they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the former name of the city [was] Laish.

30 And the descendants of Dan set up for themselves the carved divine image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land.

31 So they set up for themselves the carved divine image that Micah had made, all the days that the house of God [was] in Shiloh.

New International Version NIV

1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

2 So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.” So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

4 He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”

5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

6 The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD’s approval.”

7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

8 When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, “How did you find things?”

9 They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over.

10 When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.”

11 Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.

12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day.

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

14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.”

15 So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him.

16 The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate.

17 The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.

18 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19 They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?”

20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.

21 Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

22 When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites.

23 As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”

24 He replied, “You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ ”

25 The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

26 So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

27 Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city.

28 There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.

29 They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish.

30 There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land.

31 They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.