Danites Take the Levite and the Idol

18 ^(A)In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days ^(B)the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. ² So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, ^(C)from Zorah and from Eshtaol, ^(D)to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came ^(E)to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. ³ When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ⁴ And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: ^(F)he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” ⁵ And they said to him, ^(G)“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” ⁶ And the priest said to them, ^(H)“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

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

¹¹ So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, ^(R)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 ^(S)Mahaneh-dan^[b] to this day; behold, it is west of ^(T)Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ And they passed on from there to ^(U)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 ^(V)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 ^(W)asked him about his welfare.

Saul Ravages the Church

8 And ^(A)Saul ^(B)approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^(C)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³ But ^(D)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^(E)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴ Now ^(F)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. ^5 (G)Philip went down to the city^[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ^6 (H)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^(I)and saw the signs that he did. ⁷ For ^(J)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So ^(K)there was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

⁹ But there was a man named Simon, ^(L)who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ^(M)saying that he himself was somebody great. ¹⁰ They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^(N)“This man is the power of God that is called ^(O)Great.” ¹¹ And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^(P)amazed them with his magic. ¹² But when ^(Q)they believed Philip as he preached good news ^(R)about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^(S)they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^(T)seeing signs and ^(U)great miracles^[b] performed, ^(V)he was amazed.

Witnesses to Jesus

^30 (A)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and ^(B)my judgment is just, because ^(C)I seek not my own will ^(D)but the will of him who sent me. ^31 (E)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is ^(F)another who bears witness about me, and ^(G)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ^33 (H)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴ Not that ^(I)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and ^(J)shining lamp, and ^(K)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶ But ^(L)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For ^(M)the works that the Father has given me ^(N)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, ^(O)bear witness about me that ^(P)the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me ^(Q)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, ^(R)his form you have never seen, ³⁸ and ^(S)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ^39 (T)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and ^(U)it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet ^(V)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ^41 (W)I do not receive glory from people. ⁴² But ^(X)I know that you do not have ^(Y)the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come ^(Z)in my Father's name, and ^(AA)you do not receive me. ^(AB)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and ^(AC)do not seek the glory that comes from ^(AD)the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, ^(AE)on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for ^(AF)he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But ^(AG)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”