Judges 18

Wycliffe Bible

18 In those days was no king in Israel; and the lineage of Dan sought (a) possession to itself, to dwell therein; for till to that day it had not taken heritage among other lineages. (In those days there was no king in Israel; and the tribe of Dan sought a possession for themselves to live in; for unto that day they had not taken their inheritance among the other tribes.)

² Therefore the sons of Dan sent five (of) the strongest men of their generation, and family, from Zorah and Eshtaol, that they should espy the land, and behold diligently (so that they could spy out the land, and carefully look it over). And they said to them, Go ye, and behold the land. And when they going forth had come into the hill (country) of Ephraim, and had entered into the house of Micah, they rested there.

³ And they knew the voice of the young waxing deacon; and they rested in his place, and said to him, Who brought thee hither? What doest thou here? For what cause wouldest thou come hither? (And they knew the voice of the young Levite; and they rested there before him, and said to him, Who hath brought thee here? What doest thou here? For what reason wouldest thou come here?)

⁴ The which answered, Micah hath given to me these things and these, and he hath hired me for meed, that I be priest to him. (And he answered, Micah hath given these things, and other things to me, and he hath hired me for money, to be his priest.)

⁵ And they prayed him, that he should counsel with the Lord, and that they might know (so that they could know), whether they went in the way of prosperity, and that the thing of their purpose should have effect.

⁶ Which answered to them, Go ye with peace, the Lord beholdeth your way, and the journey whither ye go. (And he answered to them, Go ye in peace, the Lord watcheth over your way, and the journey on which ye go/and where ye go on the journey.)

⁷ Then those five men went forth, and came to Laish; and they saw the people dwelling therein without any dread, by the custom of Sidonians, secure and restful, for no man utterly against-stood them, and they were full rich, and dwelled far from Sidon, and were parted from all men. (Then those five men went forth, and came to Laish; and they saw the people living there without any fear, by the custom of the Sidonians, secure and at rest, for there was utterly no one who stood against them, and they were very rich, and lived far away from Sidon, and were separated from all people.)

⁸ And they turned again to their brethren in Zorah and Eshtaol; and they answered to (their) brethren, asking what they had done, (And they returned to their kinsmen in Zorah and Eshtaol; and they answered to their kinsmen, who were asking what they had done,)

⁹ and said, Rise ye, and go we up to them of Laish, for we have seen the land full rich and plenteous; do not ye be negligent, do not ye cease, (but) go we forth, and have we it into possession (and let us take the land);

¹⁰ no travail shall be to us; we shall enter to secure men, into a full large country; and the Lord shall betake to us a place, wherein is not poverty of anything of those things that be brought forth in (all) [the] earth. (it shall not be any great effort for us; for we shall go to a people who be very complacent and naive, and into a very large country; and the Lord shall deliver a place to us, where nothing is lacking of anything, of that which be brought forth in all the earth.)

¹¹ Therefore six hundred men girded with armours of battle went forth of the kindred of Dan, that is, from Zorah and Eshtaol. (And so six hundred men of the Danites, girded with arms, or with weapons, for battle, went forth from Zorah and Eshtaol.)

¹² And they went up, and dwelled in Kiriathjearim of Judah, the which place took from that time the name of [the] Tents of Dan (the which place from that time took the name of Mahanehdan), and it is behind the back of Kiriathjearim.

¹³ From thence they passed into the hill (country) of Ephraim; and when they had come to the house of Micah,

¹⁴ the five men, that were sent before to behold the land of Laish, said to their other brethren, Know ye, that ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image is in (one of) these houses; see ye what pleaseth you. (the five men, who were sent before to spy out the land of Laish, said to their other kinsmen, Know ye, that an ephod, and teraphim, and a carved idol, and a cast image be in one of these houses? see ye what pleaseth you.)

¹⁵ And when they had bowed a little aside, they entered into the house of the young deacon, that was in the house of Micah (they entered into the young Levite’s home, that is, into Micah’s house), and they greeted him with peaceable words.

¹⁶ And six hundred men stood before the door, so as they were armed. (And the six hundred armed men stood outside, in front of the door.)

¹⁷ And they, that entered into the house of the young man, enforced to take away the graven image, and the ephod, and teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood before the door, while six hundred full strong (armed) men abode not far (from) thence. (And they, who had entered into the young man’s home, that is, into Micah’s house, endeavoured to take away the carved idol, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the cast image; and the priest stood outside the door, with the six hundred very strong armed men, who waited not far from there.)

¹⁸ Therefore they that entered took the graven image, ephod, and idols, and the molten image; to whom the priest said, What do ye? (And so they who entered took the carved idol, and the ephod, and the teraphim, or the other idols, and the cast image; and the priest said to them, What be ye doing?)

¹⁹ To whom they answered, Be thou still, and put thy finger on thy mouth, and come with us, that we have thee (for a) father and (a) priest. What is better to thee, that thou be priest in the house of one man, either (a priest) in a lineage and (a) family of Israel? (What is better for thee, that thou be a priest in the house of one man, or a priest in a tribe and a family of Israel?)

²⁰ And when he had heard this, he assented to their words, and he took the ephod, and idols, and the graven image, and went forth with them. (And when he had heard this, he agreed with what they said, and he himself took hold of the ephod, and the carved idol, and the teraphim, and the cast image, and went away with them.)

²¹ And when they went forth, and had made their little children, and their work beasts, and all thing that was precious, to go before them; (And so they all went forth, and made their little children, and their work beasts, and all the things that were precious to them, to go before them;)

²² and when they were now far from the house of Micah, [the] men that dwelled in the houses of Micah cried together, and followed (after them), (and when they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, Micah gathered together the men who lived in the houses nearby; and they followed after the Danites,)

²³ and began to cry after the back(s) (of them). Which when they had beheld, [they] said to Micah, What wilt thou to thee? why criest thou? (and shouted at them behind their backs. And when the Danites had seen them, they said to Micah, What is the matter with thee? why shoutest thou at us?)

²⁴ Which answered, Ye have taken away my gods, which I made to me, and the priest, and what dwelleth over? and ye say, What is (it) to thee? (And Micah answered, Ye have taken away my gods, which I had made for me, and my priest, and now what do I have left? and ye say, What is the matter with thee?)

²⁵ And the sons of Dan said to him, Beware, lest thou speak [any] more to us, and men stirred in soul come to thee, and thou perish with all thine house.

²⁶ And so (the sons of) Dan went forth in the journey begun. And Micah saw, that they were stronger than he, and [he] turned again into his house (and so he returned to his house, along with all of his neighbours).

²⁷ Forsooth six hundred men took the priest, and the things which we before-said, and came into Laish to the people resting and secure; and they smited them by the sharpness of sword, and betook the city to burning, (And the six hundred men took the priest, and all the things which we spoke of, and came into Laish to the people there, who were secure and at rest, yea, without a care in the world; and they struck them down with their sharp swords, and burned down the city,)

²⁸ while no man utterly gave help (to them), for they dwelled far from Sidon, and had not anything of fellowship and cause with any men. And the city was set in the country(side) of Bethrehob; the which city Dan builded again, and dwelled therein; (while utterly no one gave them any help, for they lived far from Sidon, and the city was set in the countryside of Bethrehob, and they had nothing of fellowship, or dealings, with anyone. And then the Danites rebuilt the city, and lived there;)

²⁹ and the name of the city was called Dan, by the name of their father (after the name of their father), whom Israel had begat, the which city was called Laish before.

³⁰ And Dan setted there the graven image (And the Danites set up Micah’s idol), and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, [the] son of Moses, and Jonathan’s sons, (were) the priests, in the lineage of Dan, till into the day of their captivity.

³¹ And the idol of Micah dwelled with them, in all [the] time that the house of God was in Shiloh. (And Micah’s idol stayed with them, all the time that the House of God was in Shiloh.)