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Judges 18

New Revised Standard NRS

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a territory to live in; for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them.

2 So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number of their clan, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, "Go, explore the land." When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they stayed there.

3 While they were at Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?"

4 He said to them, "Micah did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I have become his priest."

5 Then they said to him, "Inquire of God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed."

6 The priest replied, "Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the Lord."

7 The five men went on, and when they came to Laish, they observed the people who were there living securely, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing on earth, and possessing wealth. Furthermore, they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.

8 When they came to their kinsfolk at Zorah and Eshtaol, they said to them, "What do you report?"

9 They said, "Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land.

10 When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad—God has indeed given it into your hands—a place where there is no lack of anything on earth."

11 Six hundred men of the Danite clan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol,

12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

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

14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land (that is, Laish) said to their comrades, "Do you know that in these buildings there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? Now therefore consider what you will do."

15 So they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and greeted him.

16 While the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate,

17 the five men who had gone to spy out the land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim. The priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

18 When the men went into Micah's house and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

19 They said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one person, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?"

20 Then the priest accepted the offer. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the people.

21 So they resumed their journey, putting the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.

22 When they were some distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the Danites.

23 They shouted to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter that you come with such a company?"

24 He replied, "You take my gods that I made, and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then can you ask me, "What is the matter?' "

25 And the Danites said to him, "You had better not let your voice be heard among us or else hot-tempered fellows will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household."

26 Then the Danites went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

27 The Danites, having taken what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, put them to the sword, and burned down the city.

28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with Aram. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city, and lived in it.

29 They named the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was formerly Laish.

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

31 So they maintained as their own Micah's idol that he had made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

The Message Bible MSG

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. But also in those days, the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to settle down. They hadn't yet occupied their plot among the tribes of Israel.

2 The Danites sent out five robust warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to look over the land and see what was out there suitable for their families. They said, "Go and explore the land."

3 As they neared Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They went over and said to him, "How on earth did you get here? What's going on? What are you doing here?"

4 He said, "One thing led to another: Micah hired me and I'm now his priest."

5 They said, "Oh, good - inquire of God for us. Find out whether our mission will be a success."

6 The priest said, "Go assured. God's looking out for you all the way."

7 The five men left and headed north to Laish. They saw that the people there were living in safety under the umbrella of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. They had everything going for them. But the people lived a long way from the Sidonians to the west and had no treaty with the Arameans to the east.

8 When they got back to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked, "So, how did you find things?"

9 They said, "Let's go for it! Let's attack. We've seen the land and it is excellent. Are you going to just sit on your hands? Don't dawdle! Invade and conquer!

10 When you get there, you'll find they're sitting ducks, totally unsuspecting. Wide open land - God is handing it over to you, everything you could ever ask for."

11 So 600 Danite men set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed to the teeth.

12 Along the way they made camp at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place is still today called Dan's Camp - it's just west of Kiriath Jearim.

13 From there they proceeded into the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.

14 The five men who earlier had explored the country of Laish told their companions, "Did you know there's an ephod, teraphim-idols, and a cast god-sculpture in these buildings? What do you think? Do you want to do something about it?"

15 So they turned off the road there, went to the house of the young Levite at Micah's place and asked how things had been with him.

16 The 600 Danites, all well-armed, stood guard at the entrance to the gate

17 while the five scouts who had gone to explore the land went in and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the god-sculpture. The priest was standing at the gate entrance with the 600 armed men.

18 When the five went into Micah's house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the sculpted god, the priest said to them, "What do you think you're doing?"

19 They said to him, "Hush! Don't make a sound. Come with us. Be our father and priest. Which is more important, that you be a priest to one man or that you become priest to a whole tribe and clan in Israel?"

20 The priest jumped at the chance. He took the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the idol and fell in with the troops.

21 They turned away and set out, putting the children, the cattle, and the gear in the lead.

22 They were well on their way from Micah's house before Micah and his neighbors got organized. But they soon overtook the Danites.

23 They shouted at them. The Danites turned around and said, "So what's all the noise about?"

24 Micah said, "You took my god, the one I made, and you took my priest. And you marched off! What do I have left? How can you now say, 'What's the matter?'"

25 But the Danites answered, "Don't yell at us; you just might provoke some fierce, hot-tempered men to attack you, and you'll end up an army of dead men."

26 The Danites went on their way. Micah saw that he didn't stand a chance against their arms. He turned back and went home.

27 So they took the things that Micah had made, along with his priest, and they arrived at Laish, that city of quiet and unsuspecting people. They massacred the people and burned down the city.

28 There was no one around to help. They were a long way from Sidon and had no treaty with the Arameans. Laish was in the valley of Beth Rehob.

29 When they rebuilt the city they renamed it Dan after their ancestor who was a son of Israel, but its original name was Laish.

30 The Danites set up the god-figure for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his descendants were priests to the tribe of Dan down to the time of the land's captivity.

31 All during the time that there was a sanctuary of God in Shiloh, they kept for their private use the god-figure that Micah had made.