Parallel Bible results for "judges 18"

Judges 18

Third Millennium Bible TMB

1 In those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in, for until that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their borders, men of valor from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. And they said unto them, "Go, search the land," who, when they came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned in thither and said unto him, "Who brought thee hither? And what makest thou in this place? And what hast thou here?"

4 And he said unto them, "Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me and hath hired me, and I am his priest."

5 And they said unto him, "Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."

6 And the priest said unto them, "Go in peace. Your way wherein ye go is before the LORD."

7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they dwelt free from care, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. And there was no magistrate in the land who might put them to shame in any thing, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no business with any man.

8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brethren said unto them, "What say ye?"

9 And they said, "Arise, that we may go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And are ye still? Be not slothful to go and to enter to possess the land.

10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure and to a large land. For God hath given it into your hands, a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth."

11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

12 And they went up and pitched camp in Kirjathjearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day; behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

13 And they passed from thence unto Mount Ephraim and came unto the house of Micah.

14 Then answered the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, "Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod and teraphim, and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore consider what ye have to do."

15 And they turned in that direction, and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

17 And the five men who went to spy out the land went up and came in thither, and took the graven image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image; and the priest stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were appointed with weapons of war.

18 And these went into Micah's house and fetched the carved image, the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, "What do ye?"

19 And they said unto him, "Hold thy peace. Lay thine hand upon thy mouth and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?"

20 And the priest's heart was glad; and he took the ephod and the teraphim and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and their baggage in front of them.

22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

23 And they cried unto the children of Dan; and they turned their faces and said unto Micah, "What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?"

24 And he said, "Ye have taken away my gods which I made and the priest, and ye have gone away. And what have I more? And what is this that ye say unto me, `What aileth thee?'"

25 And the children of Dan said unto him, "Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy household."

26 And the children of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

27 And they took the things which Micah had made and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people who were at quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city and dwelt therein;

29 and they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel. However, the name of the city was Laish at the first.

30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 And they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 In those days Israel didn't have a king. And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. Up to that time they had not received land as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel as they should have.

2 So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, "Go and explore the land!" They came to Micah's house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there.

3 While they were at Micah's house, they recognized the young Levite's voice. So they stopped to ask him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

4 The Levite told them what Micah had done for him and added, "Micah hired me, so I became his priest."

5 They said to him, "Please find out from God if our journey will be successful."

6 The priest told them, "Go in peace. The LORD approves of your journey."

7 The five men left there and came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived without a care. These people were like the people of Sidon. They were peaceful and secure. There was no one around who threatened to take away their property by force. They were far from the people of Sidon and totally independent.

8 The men went back to their relatives in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, "What did you find?"

9 They replied, "Get up, let's attack Laish. We saw the land. It's very good! "Don't just sit there! Go at once and take the land.

10 When you get there, you will come to a secure people. The land is wide open to you. God will hand it over to you. It's a place where you will have everything you could want."

11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol armed for war.

12 They camped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place just west of Kiriath Jearim is still called Mahaneh Dan [The Camp of Dan] today.

13 From there they marched to the mountains of Ephraim as far as Micah's house.

14 Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, "Do you know that there's an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?"

15 So they stopped and entered Micah's house and greeted the young Levite.

16 The 600 armed men from Dan stood at the entrance to the city.

17 The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men.

18 When these men entered Micah's house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, 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 father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man's house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?"

20 The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people.

21 When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.

22 When they had already gone some distance from Micah's house, Micah's neighbors were called together to help him catch up to the people of Dan.

23 They shouted at them. But the people of Dan turned around and said to Micah, "What's your problem? Why did you call your neighbors together to attack us?"

24 Micah answered, "You've taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, 'What's your problem?'"

25 The people of Dan replied, "Don't make another sound, or some violent men will attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives."

26 The people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were stronger than he was, so he turned around and went home.

27 The people of Dan took what Micah had made and the man who had become his priest and went to the city of Laish. They attacked a peaceful and secure people, killed them all with swords, and burned their city.

28 There was no one to rescue them because their city was far from Sidon and totally independent. The city was in the valley that belonged to Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city and lived in it.

29 They named the city Dan in honor of their ancestor Dan, Israel's son. Originally, the city was called Laish.

30 The people of Dan set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses) and his descendants were priests for Dan's tribe until the people living in that land were taken captive.

31 So they set up for themselves the carved idol Micah had made. It stayed there the whole time the house of God was at Shiloh.