Judges 18:7-31

English Standard Version

⁷ Then the five men departed and came to ^(A)Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, ^(B)quiet and unsuspecting, lacking^[a] nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how ^(C)they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸ And when they came to their brothers at ^(D)Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” ⁹ They said, ^(E)“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. ^(F)And will you do nothing? ^(G)Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. ¹⁰ As soon as you go, you will come to an ^(H)unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, ^(I)a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

¹¹ So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, ^(J)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 ^(K)Mahaneh-dan^[b] to this day; behold, it is west of ^(L)Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ And they passed on from there to ^(M)the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that ^(N)in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” ¹⁵ And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and ^(O)asked him about his welfare. ¹⁶ Now the 600 men of the Danites, ^(P)armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ And ^(Q)the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took ^(R)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸ And when these went into Micah's house and took ^(S)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹ And they said to him, “Keep quiet; ^(T)put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us ^(U)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” ²⁰ And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

²¹ So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and ^(V)the goods in front of them. ²² When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. ²³ And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” ²⁴ And he said, ^(W)“You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵ And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” ²⁶ Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

²⁷ But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people ^(X)quiet and unsuspecting, and ^(Y)struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. ²⁸ And there was no deliverer because it was ^(Z)far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to ^(AA)Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹ And they named the city ^(AB)Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but ^(AC)the name of the city was Laish at the first. ³⁰ And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, ^(AD)son of Moses,^{[c] (AE)}and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day ^(AF)of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, ^(AG)as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.