Judges, 18

1. In those days there was no king in Israel. Now in those days the tribe of Dan was in search of a territory to live in, for until then no territory had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

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

2. From their clan the Danites sent five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol to reconnoitre the country and explore it. They said to them, 'Go and explore the country.' The five men came to the highlands of Ephraim, as far as Micah's house, and spent the night there.

2. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, 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 near Micah's house, they recognised the voice of the young Levite and, going nearer, said to him, 'Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is keeping you here?'

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. He replied, 'Micah has made certain arrangements with me. He pays me a wage and I act as his priest.'

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

5. They replied, 'Then consult God, so that we may know whether the journey we are on will lead to success.'

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. The priest replied, 'Go in peace; Yahweh is watching over your journey.'

6. And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD [is] your way wherein ye go.

7. The five men then left and, arriving at Laish, saw that the people living there had an untroubled existence, according to the customs of the Sidonians, peaceful and trusting, that there was no lack or shortage of any sort in the territory, that they were a long way away from the Sidonians and that they had no contact with the Aramaeans.

7. Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that [were] therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and [there was] no magistrate in the land, that might put [them] to shame in [any] thing; and they [were] far from the Zidonians, and had no business with [any] man.

8. They then went back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol and, when the latter asked them, 'What have you to report?'

8. And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What [say] ye?

9. they said, 'Up! we must go against them, since we have looked at the country and it is excellent, though you take no action! Waste no time in setting out and taking possession of the country.

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 you get there, you will find a trusting people. The country is wide, and God has put it at your mercy. It is a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.'

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. From these places, consequently, from the clan of Danites at Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men set out equipped for war.

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. They went up and camped at Kiriath-Jearim in Judah; and for this reason the place is still called the Camp of Dan today. It lies to the west of Kiriath-Jearim.

12. And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, [it is] behind Kirjathjearim.

13. From there they entered the highlands of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.

13. And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

14. The five men who had been to reconnoitre the country then spoke to their brothers. 'Do you know', they said, 'that in these houses there is an ephod, some domestic images, a carved statue and an idol cast in metal? So now work out what you have got to do!

14. Then answered the five men that 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. So, turning off the road, they went to the young Levite's dwelling, to Micah's house, and greeted him peacefully.

15. And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, [even] unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

16. While the six hundred men of the Danites, equipped for war, stood at the threshold of the gate,

16. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which [were] of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

17. the five who had been to reconnoitre the country went on into the house and took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal; meanwhile the priest remained at the threshold of the gate with the six hundred men equipped for war.

17. And the five men that 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 entering of the gate with the six hundred men [that were] appointed with weapons of war.

18. These men, having entered Micah's house, took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal. The priest, however, said, 'What are you doing?'

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. 'Be quiet,' they replied. 'Put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and become our father and priest. Are you better off as domestic priest to one man, or as priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?'

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. The priest was delighted; he took the ephod, the domestic images and the carved statue, and went off among the people.

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. Resuming their original line of march, they set off, having put the women, children, livestock and baggage out in front.

21. So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

22. They had gone some distance from Micah's house, when the people living in the houses near Micah's house raised the alarm and set off in pursuit of the Danites.

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

23. As they shouted after the Danites, the latter, turning about, said to Micah, 'What is the matter with you, that you are shouting like this?'

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. He replied, 'You have taken away my god, which I have had made, and the priest as well. You are going away, and what have I got left? And now you ask me, "What is the matter?" '

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

25. The Danites said, 'Let us hear no more from you, or quick-tempered men may set about you, and this might cost you your life and the lives of your family!'

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. So the Danites went on their way; and Micah, seeing that they were the stronger, turned and went home.

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. So, having taken the god made by Micah, and the priest who had been his, the Danites marched on Laish, on a peaceful and trusting people. They put it to the sword and they burned down the town.

27. And they took [the things] which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people [that were] at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

28. There was no one to come to the rescue, since it was a long way from Sidon and had no contact with the Aramaeans. It lay in the valley running towards Beth-Rehob. They rebuilt the town and settled in it

28. And [there was] no deliverer, because it [was] far from Zidon, 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 called it Dan, from the name of Dan their ancestor who had been born to Israel; originally, however, the town had been called Laish.

29. And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city [was] Laish at the first.

30. The Danites erected the carved statue for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons after him were priests for the tribe of Dan till the day when the inhabitants of the country were carried away into exile.

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. The carved statue made by Micah they installed for their own use, and there it stayed as long as the house of God remained at Shiloh.

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