Judges 18
Revised Standard Version
The Migration of Dan
18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in; for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the Danites sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Esh′ta-ol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of E′phraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; and they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Inquire of God, we pray thee, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”
7 Then the five men departed, and came to La′ish, and saw the people who were there, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sido′nians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking[a] nothing that is in the earth, and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sido′nians and had no dealings with any one. 8 And when they came to their brethren at Zorah and Esh′ta-ol, their brethren said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very fertile. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, and enter in and possess the land. 10 When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad; yea, God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
11 And six hundred men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set forth from Zorah and Esh′ta-ol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kir′iath-je′arim in Judah. On this account that place is called Ma′haneh-dan[b] to this day; behold, it is west of Kir′iath-je′arim. 13 And they passed on from there to the hill country of E′phraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of La′ish said to their brethren, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 16 Now the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate; 17 and the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up, and entered and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet, put your hand upon your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and family in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad; 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, putting the little ones and the cattle and the goods in front of them. 22 When they were a good way from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the Danites. 23 And they shouted to the Danites, who turned round and said to Micah, “What ails you that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, “You take my gods which I made, and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What ails you?’” 25 And the Danites said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the Danites went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.
The Danites Settle in Laish
27 And taking what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, the Danites came to La′ish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any one. It was in the valley which belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city, and dwelt in it. 29 And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was La′ish at the first. 30 And the Danites set up the graven image for themselves; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses,[c] and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s graven image which he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.
Footnotes
- Judges 18:7 Cn Compare 18.10. The Hebrew text is uncertain
- Judges 18:12 That is Camp of Dan
- Judges 18:30 Another reading is Manasseh
Judges 18
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Judges 18:6 Lit. The Lord is before the way in which you go
- Judges 18:7 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX with Syria
- Judges 18:12 Lit. Camp of Dan
- Judges 18:24 idols
- Judges 18:25 Lit. bitter of soul
- Judges 18:30 LXX, Vg. Moses
Judges 18
English Standard Version
Danites Take the Levite and the Idol
18 (A)In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days (B)the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, (C)from Zorah and from Eshtaol, (D)to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came (E)to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: (F)he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, (G)“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, (H)“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”
7 Then the five men departed and came to (I)Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, (J)quiet and unsuspecting, lacking[a] nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how (K)they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at (L)Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, (M)“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. (N)And will you do nothing? (O)Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an (P)unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, (Q)a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, (R)armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called (S)Mahaneh-dan[b] to this day; behold, it is west of (T)Kiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to (U)the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that (V)in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and (W)asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, (X)armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And (Y)the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took (Z)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah's house and took (AA)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; (AB)put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us (AC)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.
21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and (AD)the goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, (AE)“You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.
27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people (AF)quiet and unsuspecting, and (AG)struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was (AH)far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to (AI)Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city (AJ)Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but (AK)the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, (AL)son of Moses,[c] (AM)and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day (AN)of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, (AO)as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.
Footnotes
- Judges 18:7 Compare 18:10; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Judges 18:12 Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan
- Judges 18:30 Or Manasseh
Judges 18
Easy-to-Read Version
Dan Captures the City of Laish
18 At that time the Israelites did not have a king. And the tribe of Dan was still looking for a place to live. They did not have their own land yet. The other tribes of Israel already had their land, but the tribe of Dan had not taken their land yet.
2 So the tribe of Dan sent five soldiers to look for some land. They went to search for a good place to live. These five men were from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were chosen because they were from all the families of Dan. They were told, “Go, look for some land.”
The five men came to the hill country of Ephraim. They came to Micah’s house and spent the night there. 3 When the five men came close to Micah’s house, they heard the voice of the young Levite. They recognized his voice, so they stopped at Micah’s house. They asked the young man, “Who brought you to this place? What are you doing? Why are you here?”
4 The young man told them what Micah had done for him. “Micah hired me,” he said. “I am his priest.”
5 So they said to him, “Please ask God if our search for a place to live will be successful.”
6 The priest said to the five men, “Yes. Go in peace. The Lord will lead you on your way.”
7 So the five men left. They came to the city of Laish and saw that the people of that city lived in safety. They were ruled by the people of Sidon. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The people had plenty of everything, and they didn’t have any enemies nearby to hurt them. Also they lived a long way from the city of Sidon, and they did not have any agreements with the people of Aram.[a]
8 The five men went back to the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you learn?”
9 The five men answered, “We have found some land, and it is very good. We should attack them. Don’t wait! Let’s go and take that land! 10 When you come to that place, you will see that there is plenty of land. There is plenty of everything there. You will also see that the people are not expecting an attack. Surely God has given that land to us.”
11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were ready for war. 12 On their way to the city of Laish, they stopped near the city of Kiriath Jearim in the land of Judah. They set up a camp there. That is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is named Mahaneh Dan[b] to this very day. 13 From there the 600 men traveled on to the hill country 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 an ephod in one of these houses. And there are also household gods, a carved statue, and a silver idol. You know what to do.” 15 So they stopped at Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived. They asked the young man how he was. 16 The 600 men from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate. They all had their weapons and were ready for war. 17-18 The five spies went into the house. The priest stood just outside by the gate with the 600 men who were ready for war. The men took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol. The young Levite priest said, “What are you doing?”
19 The five men answered, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us. Be our father and our priest. You must choose. Is it better for you to be a priest for just one man or for a whole tribe of Israelites with many family groups?”
20 This made the Levite happy. So he took the ephod, the household idols, and the idol. He went with the men from the tribe of Dan.
21 Then the 600 men from the tribe of Dan and the Levite priest turned and left Micah’s house. They put their little children, their animals, and all their things in front of them.
22 The men from the tribe of Dan went a long way from that place. But the people living near Micah met together. Then they began chasing the men of Dan and caught up with them. 23 The men with Micah were shouting at the men of Dan. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the problem? Why are you shouting?”
24 Micah answered, “You men from Dan took my idols. I made them for myself. You have also taken my priest. What do I have left now? How can you ask me, ‘What’s the problem?’”
25 The men from the tribe of Dan answered, “You had better not argue with us. Some of our men become angry easily. If you shout at us, they will attack you. You and your families will be killed.”
26 Then the men of Dan turned around and went on their way. Micah knew that these men were too strong for him, so he went back home.
27 So the men of Dan took the idols that Micah made. They also took the priest who had been with Micah. Then they came to Laish. They attacked the people living in Laish. Those people were at peace. They were not expecting an attack. The men of Dan killed them with their swords and then burned the city. 28 The people living in Laish did not have anyone to rescue them. They lived too far from the city of Sidon for the people there to help. And the people of Laish did not have any agreements with the people of Aram—so they did not help them. The city of Laish was in a valley, which belonged to the town of Beth Rehob. The people from Dan built a new city in that place, and it became their home. 29 The people of Dan gave the city a new name. That city had been called Laish, but they changed the name to Dan. They named the city after their ancestor Dan, one of the sons of Israel.
30 The people of the tribe of Dan set up the idol in the city of Dan. They made Jonathan son of Gershom their priest. Gershom was the son of Moses.[c] Jonathan and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time when the Israelites were taken into captivity. 31 The people of Dan set up for themselves the idol that Micah had made. That idol was there the whole time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Footnotes
- Judges 18:7 they did not have … Aram Or “they did not have any dealings with people.”
- Judges 18:12 Mahaneh Dan This name means “The Camp of Dan.”
- Judges 18:30 Moses Or “Manasseh.”
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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