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.

35 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

² Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

³ Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

⁴ And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

⁵ And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

⁶ But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

⁷ Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

⁸ Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

⁹ Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

¹⁰ But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

¹¹ But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

¹² Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

¹³ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord.

¹⁴ The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

¹⁵ I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

¹⁶ Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:

¹⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

¹⁸ And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

¹⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

13 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

² Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

⁴ For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

⁵ Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

⁶ For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

⁷ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

⁸ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

⁹ For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

¹³ Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

¹⁴ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

44 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

² How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

³ For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

⁴ Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

⁵ Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

⁶ For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

⁷ But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

⁸ In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

⁹ But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

¹⁰ Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

¹¹ Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

¹² Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

¹³ Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

¹⁴ Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

¹⁵ My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

¹⁶ For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

¹⁷ All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

¹⁸ Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

¹⁹ Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

²¹ Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

²² Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³ Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

²⁴ Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵ For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

²⁶ Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

¹³ In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

¹⁴ Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.