Judges 18

1 Back in those days, Israel didn’t have a king yet, and during that time the tribe of Dan had been seeking a territorial inheritance to live in, because up until that time no territory had been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.ISV — Judges 18:1

2 So the tribe ^{a18:2 Lit. sons} of Dan sent from their families five valiant men of their number from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land and search through it. Following their orders, which were “Go and scout the land,” they came to the mountainous region ^{b18:2 Or the hill country} of Ephraim, arrived at Micah’s home, and stayed there.ISV — Judges 18:2

3 As they approached Micah’s home, they recognized the voice of the young male descendant of Levi. They turned aside from there and spoke to him, asking him, “Who brought you here? What work are you doing here? And what’s your business here?”ISV — Judges 18:3

4 He answered, “Micah did such and such for me, and has hired me, so I’ve become his priest.”ISV — Judges 18:4

5 They replied, “Go ask God, please, about whether or not we’ll be successful in this journey.”ISV — Judges 18:5

6 The priest responded to them, “Travel in peace. The mission that you’re to accomplish is from the LORD.”ISV — Judges 18:6

7 So the five men left and went to Laish, and observed the people who were living there carefree, as Sidonians tend to do, in peace and quiet. There was no ruler in the land oppressing them for any reason. They were living far away from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone. ^{c18:7 So MT; LXX reads with Syria; Symmachus reads with Aram; cf. Judg 18:28}ISV — Judges 18:7

8 When they returned to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What’s your report?” ^{d18:8 The Heb. lacks report}ISV — Judges 18:8

9 They replied, “Let’s get going and attack them. We’ve scouted out the land—and look!—it’s a very good one. Why should we sit still? We can’t wait to go back, invade, and take over the land.ISV — Judges 18:9

10 When you invade, you’ll meet a carefree people living in a spacious territory. God has given it into your control—it’s a place that lacks nothing on this earth!”ISV — Judges 18:10

11 So 600 descendants of Dan from Zorah and Eshtaol set out for battle, armed with military weapons.ISV — Judges 18:11

12 They went out and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in the territory of Judah. (That’s why they call the place Mahaneh-dan to this day. It lies west of Kiriath-jearim.)ISV — Judges 18:12

13 They proceeded from there to the mountainous region ^{e18:13 Or the hill country} of Ephraim and arrived at Micah’s house.ISV — Judges 18:13

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, “Are you aware that in these houses there’s an ephod, some household idols, ^{f18:14 Lit. teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination} a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do.”ISV — Judges 18:14

15 So they turned aside from there, went to Micah’s house, and greeted him.ISV — Judges 18:15

16 While the 600 Danite soldiers, armed with military weapons, stood guard at the entrance to the gate,ISV — Judges 18:16

17 the five men who had gone to scout out the land arrived, entered Micah’s home ^{g18:17 The Heb. lacks Micah’s home} and confiscated the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, ^{h18:17 Lit. teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination} and the cast image. Meanwhile, the priest stood outside by the entrance to the gate with the 600 men armed with military weapons.ISV — Judges 18:17

18 After they went into Micah’s home and took possession of the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, ^{i18:18 Lit. and teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination} and the cast image, the priest challenged them. “What are you doing?” he asked them.ISV — Judges 18:18

19 They told him, “Shut up and keep quiet. ^{j18:19 Lit. and put your hand over your mouth} Come with us and be our spiritual ^{k18:19 The Heb. lacks spiritual; cf. Judg 17:10} father and priest. It’s better for you, isn’t it, to be a priest to an entire ^{l18:19 The Heb. lacks entire} tribe and family in Israel than to be priest to the home of one man?”ISV — Judges 18:19

20 The priest was happy to oblige, ^{m18:20 Lit. happy in heart} so he took the ephod, the household idols, ^{n18:20 Lit. teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination} and the carved image and went along with the army.ISV — Judges 18:20

21 Then they turned around and left, sending their little ones, their livestock, and their valuables on ahead.ISV — Judges 18:21

22 When they had been gone a short distance from Micah’s home, some of Micah’s neighbors assembled a search party and overtook the descendants of Dan.ISV — Judges 18:22

23 They yelled at the descendants of Dan, who turned around to face Micah and asked, “What’s wrong ^{o18:23 The Heb. lacks wrong} with you? You’ve assembled together…?”ISV — Judges 18:23

24 Micah ^{p18:24 Lit. He} replied, “You took my gods that I crafted, along with the priest, and left! What do I have left? So what’s with this ‘What’s wrong with you?’”ISV — Judges 18:24

25 The descendants of Dan answered him, “You had better not talk to us about this, ^{q18:25 The Heb. lacks about this} or else these bad guys here will attack you. You will lose your life, along with the lives of your whole ^{r18:25 The Heb. lacks whole} household.”ISV — Judges 18:25

26 Then the descendants of Dan went on their way. Because Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back home.ISV — Judges 18:26

27 But the descendants of Dan ^{s18:27 Lit. But they} took what Micah had made, along with the priest who had worked for him, and went to Laish, to a quiet and carefree people, and killed them with swords. Then they set fire to the city.ISV — Judges 18:27

28 They had no one else to deliver them, ^{t18:28 The Heb. lacks them} because they lived far from Sidon and had no dealings with anyone. ^{u18:28 Cf. Judg 18:7} It lay in the valley near Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.ISV — Judges 18:28

29 They renamed the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who had been born in Israel. The former name of the city was Laish.ISV — Judges 18:29

30 The descendants of Dan set up the carved image, and Gershom’s son Jonathan, a descendant of Manasseh, served along with his descendants as priests to the tribe of Dan until the land was taken captive.ISV — Judges 18:30

31 Micah’s carved image, that he himself had crafted, was in place during the entire time that God’s tent was set up at Shiloh.ISV — Judges 18:31