Judges 18
King James Version
18 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 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 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: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.
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 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 in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
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 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 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 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 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 the carriage before them.
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 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 are 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 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 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 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 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 them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Judges 18
International Children’s Bible
Dan’s Family Captures Laish
18 At that time the Israelites did not have a king. The people of Dan were still looking for a land where they could live. They wanted a land of their own. The other tribes of Israel already had their own lands. But the Danites did not yet have their own land. 2 So they chose five soldiers from all their family groups. These five men were from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They sent the men to spy out and explore the land. They were told, “Go, explore the land.”
So they came to the mountains of Ephraim. They came to Micah’s house, where they spent the night. 3 When they came near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite.[a] So they stopped at Micah’s house. They asked the young Levite, “Who brought you to this place? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”
4 He told them what Micah had done for him. “He has hired me. I am his priest.”
5 They said to him, “Please ask God something for us. Will our search for a place to live be successful?”
6 The priest said to them, “Go in peace. The Lord is pleased with your journey.”
7 So the five men left. They came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived in safety. They were like the people of Sidon. They lived in peace and were not afraid of others. They had plenty of everything. They lived a long way from the Sidonians. And they had no dealings with anyone else.
8 The five men went back to Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”
9 They answered, “We have seen the land. And it is very good. We should attack them. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t wait! Let’s go and take that land! 10 When you go, you will see there is plenty of land. There is plenty of everything! The people are not expecting an attack. Surely God has given that land to us!”
11 So 600 men of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol. They were ready for war. 12 On their way they stopped near the city of Kiriath Jearim in Judah. They set up camp there. That is why the place is named Mahaneh Dan[b] to this very day. It is west of Kiriath Jearim. 13 From there they traveled on to the mountains of Ephraim. Then they came to Micah’s house.
14 So the five men who had explored the land around Laish spoke. They said to their relatives, “There is a vest for a priest in one of these houses. And there are household gods in these houses. There are also a carved idol and an idol of melted silver in these houses. You know what to do.” 15 So they stopped at the Levite’s house. This was also Micah’s house. And they greeted the Levite. 16 The 600 men of Dan stood at the gate entrance. They wore their weapons of war. 17 The five spies went into the house. They took the carved idol, the vest for a priest, the household idols and the silver idol. The priest and the 600 men ready for war stood by the gate entrance.
18 When the spies went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the vest for a priest, the household idols and the silver idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”
19 They answered, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us. Be our father and our priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for the people in one man’s house? Or is it better for you to be a priest for a tribe and family group in Israel?” 20 This made the Levite happy. So he took the vest for a priest, the household idols and the carved idol. And he went with the men of Dan. 21 They left Micah’s house. They put their little children, their animals and everything they owned in front of them.
22 The men of Dan went a long way from Micah’s house. Then the men who lived near Micah were called out. They chased the men of Dan and caught up with them. 23 The men with Micah shouted at the men of Dan. The men of Dan turned around. They said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you? Why have you called out your men to fight?”
24 Micah answered, “You took my idols! I made those idols. You have also taken my priest. What do I have left? How can you ask me, ‘What’s the matter?’”
25 The men of Dan answered, “You should not argue with us. Some of our men have hot tempers. If you shout at us, they might attack you. You and your family might be killed.” 26 Then the men of Dan went on their way. Micah knew they were too strong for him. So he turned and went back home.
27 So the men of Dan took what Micah had made. They also took his priest and went on to Laish. They attacked those peaceful people. The people of Laish had not expected an attack. The men of Dan killed them with their swords. Then they burned the city. 28 There was no one to save the people of Laish. They lived too far from Sidon. And they had no dealings with anyone else. Laish was in a valley near Beth Rehob.
The people of Dan rebuilt the city in that place. And they lived there. 29 They changed the name of Laish to Dan. They named it after their ancestor Dan. He was one of the sons of Israel.
30 The people of Dan set up the idols in the city of Dan. They made Jonathan son of Gershom their priest. Gershom was the son of Moses. Jonathan and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan. They served as priests until the Israelites were taken captive. 31 The people of Dan worshiped the idols Micah had made. They worshiped them as long as the Holy Tent of God was in Shiloh.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
