The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry

18 In ^(A)those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days ^(B)the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. ² So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from ^(C)Zorah and Eshtaol, ^(D)to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the ^(E)house of Micah, and lodged there. ³ While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”

⁴ He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has ^(F)hired me, and I have become his priest.”

⁵ So they said to him, “Please ^(G)inquire ^(H)of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”

⁶ And the priest said to them, ^(I)“Go in peace. ^[a]The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.”

⁷ So the five men departed and went to ^(J)Laish. They saw the people who were there, ^(K)how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the ^(L)Sidonians, and they had no ties ^[b]with anyone.

⁸ Then the spies came back to their brethren at ^(M)Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?”

⁹ So they said, ^(N)“Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you ^(O)do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. ¹⁰ When you go, you will come to a ^(P)secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, ^(Q)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

¹¹ And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. ¹² Then they went up and encamped in ^(R)Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place ^(S)Mahaneh Dan^[c] to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) ¹³ And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to ^(T)the house of Micah.

^14 (U)Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that ^(V)there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” ¹⁵ So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him. ¹⁶ The ^(W)six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ Then ^(X)the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took ^(Y)the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸ When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ And they said to him, “Be quiet, ^(Z)put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; ^(AA)be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” ²⁰ So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.

²¹ Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. ²² When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. ²³ And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, ^(AB)“What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?”

²⁴ So he said, “You have ^(AC)taken away my ^[d]gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’ ”

²⁵ And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest ^[e]angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!” ²⁶ Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

Danites Settle in Laish

²⁷ So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; ^(AD)and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. ²⁸ There was no deliverer, because it was ^(AE)far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs ^(AF)to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. ²⁹ And ^(AG)they called the name of the city ^(AH)Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

³⁰ Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of ^[f]Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan ^(AI)until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, ^(AJ)all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

The Levite’s Concubine

19 And it came to pass in those days, ^(A)when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from ^(B)Bethlehem in Judah. ² But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. ³ Then her husband arose and went after her, to ^(C)speak ^[a]kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. ⁴ Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

⁵ Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, ^(D)“Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”

⁶ So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” ⁷ And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again. ⁸ Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.

⁹ And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get ^[b]home.”

¹⁰ However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite ^(E)Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. ¹¹ They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city ^(F)of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”

¹² But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on ^(G)to Gibeah.” ¹³ So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in ^(H)Ramah.” ¹⁴ And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. ¹⁵ They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would ^(I)take them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶ Just then an old man came in from ^(J)his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. ¹⁷ And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”

¹⁸ So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to ^(K)the house of the Lord. But there is no one who will take me into his house, ¹⁹ although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.”

²⁰ And the old man said, ^(L)“Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; ^(M)only do not spend the night in the open square.” ^21 (N)So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. ^(O)And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

Gibeah’s Crime

²² As they were ^(P)enjoying themselves, suddenly ^(Q)certain men of the city, ^(R)perverted^[c] men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, ^(S)“Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”

²³ But ^(T)the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, ^(U)do not commit this outrage. ^24 (V)Look, here is my virgin daughter and ^[d]the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. ^(W)Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!” ²⁵ But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they ^(X)knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.

²⁶ Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.

²⁷ When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But ^(Y)there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.

²⁹ When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and ^(Z)divided her into twelve pieces, ^[e]limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. ³⁰ And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, ^(AA)confer, and speak up!”

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^(B)made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, ^(C)he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Christ Is Preached in Samaria

⁴ Therefore ^(D)those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. ⁵ Then ^(E)Philip went down to ^[a]the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶ And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For ^(F)unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith

⁹ But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously ^(G)practiced ^[b]sorcery in the city and ^(H)astonished the ^[c]people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his ^[d]sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things ^(I)concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴ Now when the ^(J)apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵ who, when they had come down, prayed for them ^(K)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For ^(L)as yet He had fallen upon none of them. ^(M)They had only been baptized in ^(N)the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then ^(O)they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because ^(P)you thought that ^(Q)the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your ^(R)heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God ^(S)if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are ^(T)poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴ Then Simon answered and said, ^(U)“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵ So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian^(V)

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord spoke to ^(W)Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is ^[e]desert. ²⁷ So he arose and went. And behold, ^(X)a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and ^(Y)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

³⁴ So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, ^(AD)and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. ^(AE)What hinders me from being baptized?”

^37 [f]Then Philip said, ^(AF)“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, ^(AG)“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹ Now when they came up out of the water, ^(AH)the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at ^[g]Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to ^(AI)Caesarea.