¹⁷ The five men who had gone out to investigate the land then arrived there. They took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim and the molten image. The priest stood at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred men who were armed for war. ¹⁸ When they went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim and the molten image, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹ They said to him, “Be quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us to be a father and a priest to us. Is it better to be a father and a priest to one man’s household, or to be father and priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel?” ²⁰ This pleased the priest. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the carved image and traveled with those people. ²¹ They then turned and departed, with their children, their cattle, and their possessions in the front of the march.

²⁷ They took away the things that Micah had made and his priest, and they arrived in Laish. This land was quiet, with people who lived in security, and they put them to the sword and burned the city down.