Judges 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Danites Seek an Inheritance
18 (A)In those days there was no king of Israel; and (B)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day the land among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them as an inheritance. 2 So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, [a]men of valor from (C)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to (D)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 They were near the house of Micah, and they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4 And he said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me, and (E)I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Ask of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” 6 So the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going is before Yahweh.”
7 Then the five men went forth and came to (F)Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the [b]manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no [c]oppressive conqueror dishonoring them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 So they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you be silent? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you enter, you will come to a secure people and a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, (G)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war set out. 12 And they went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place [d](H)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is [e]west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 Then they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
Danites Take Micah’s Idols
14 And the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their relatives, “Do you know that there are in these houses (I)an ephod and [f]household idols and a graven image and a molten image? So now, know what you should do.” 15 Then they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were standing by the entrance of the gate. 17 Then the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took (J)the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image. And the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 Now these had entered into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Be silent; (K)put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be to us (L)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was merry, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and entered among the people.
21 Then they turned and went away and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. 22 They had gone some distance from the house of Micah, and the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were summoned and then overtook the sons of Dan. 23 And they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned [g]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you were summoned together?” 24 And he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men, bitter of soul, fall upon you and you [h]lose your life, with the lives of your household.” 26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 Now they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and they came to (M)Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no one to deliver them because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near (N)Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 (O)And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. 30 Then the sons of Dan set up for themselves (P)the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of (Q)Gershom, the son of [i]Moses, (R)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the (S)house of God was at Shiloh.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Judges 18:2 Lit men, sons of valor
- Judges 18:7 Lit judgment
- Judges 18:7 Lit the one who possesses oppression
- Judges 18:12 Lit the camp of Dan
- Judges 18:12 Or behind
- Judges 18:14 Heb teraphim, so through v 20
- Judges 18:23 Lit their faces
- Judges 18:25 Lit gather
- Judges 18:30 As in some Heb mss, LXX, and Vg.; M.T. Manasseh
Judges 18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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 a territory to live in, for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them.(A) 2 So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number of their clan, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it, and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they stayed there.(B) 3 While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 He said to them, “Micah did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I have become his priest.”(C) 5 Then they said to him, “Inquire of God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed.”(D) 6 The priest replied, “Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the Lord.”(E)
7 The five men went on, and when they came to Laish, they observed the people who were there living securely, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking[a] nothing on earth, and possessing wealth.[b] Furthermore, they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.[c](F) 8 When they came to their kinsfolk at Zorah and Eshtaol, they said to them, “What do you report?”(G) 9 They said, “Come, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land.(H) 10 When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad—God has indeed given it into your hands—a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.”(I)
11 Six hundred men of the Danite clan, 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 Mahaneh-dan[d] to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.(J) 13 From there they passed on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.(K)
14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land (that is, Laish) said to their comrades, “Do you know that in these buildings there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? Now, therefore, consider what you will do.”(L) 15 So they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. 16 While the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate,(M) 17 the five men who had gone to spy out the land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim.[e] The priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.(N) 18 When the men went into Micah’s house and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 They said to him, “Keep quiet! Put your hand over 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 person or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?”(O) 20 Then the priest accepted the offer. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol and went along with the people.
21 So they resumed their journey, putting the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. 22 When they were some distance 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 They shouted to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter that you come with such a company?” 24 He replied, “You take my gods that I made and the priest and go away, and what have I left? How then can you ask me, ‘What is the matter?’ ”(P) 25 And the Danites said to him, “You had better not let your voice be heard among us, or else hot-tempered fellows will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household.” 26 Then the Danites went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.
The Danites Settle in Laish
27 The Danites, having taken what Micah had made and the priest who belonged to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, put them to the sword, and burned down the city.(Q) 28 There was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with Aram.[f] It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.(R) 29 They named the city Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel, but the name of the city was formerly Laish.(S) 30 Then the Danites set up the idol for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom son of Moses[g] and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.(T) 31 So they maintained as their own Micah’s idol that he had made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.(U)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.