Jesus at a Pharisee’s House^(A)

14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,^(B) he was being carefully watched.^{(C) 2} There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law,^(D) “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”^{(E) 4} But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

⁵ Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child^[a] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”^{(F) 6} And they had nothing to say.

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table,^(G) he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^(H)

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,^{(I) 14} and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”^(J)

The Parable of the Great Banquet^(K)

¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast^(L) in the kingdom of God.”^(M)

¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’^(N)

²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”^(O)

Micah’s Idols

17 Now a man named Micah^(A) from the hill country of Ephraim ² said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels^[a] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”

Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you,^(B) my son!”

³ When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver.^(C) I will give it back to you.”

⁴ So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels^[b] of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol.^(D) And it was put in Micah’s house.

⁵ Now this man Micah had a shrine,^(E) and he made an ephod^(F) and some household gods^(G) and installed^(H) one of his sons as his priest.^{(I) 6} In those days Israel had no king;^(J) everyone did as they saw fit.^(K)

⁷ A young Levite^(L) from Bethlehem in Judah,^(M) who had been living within the clan of Judah, ⁸ left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way^[c] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹ Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,^(N)” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

¹⁰ Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father^(O) and priest,^(P) and I’ll give you ten shekels^[d] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” ¹¹ So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. ¹² Then Micah installed^(Q) the Levite, and the young man became his priest^(R) and lived in his house. ¹³ And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”^(S)

The Danites Settle in Laish

18 In those days Israel had no king.^(T)

And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.^{(U) 2} So the Danites^(V) sent five of their leading men^(W) from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out^(X) the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.”^(Y)

So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah,^(Z) where they spent the night. ³ When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite;^(AA) so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

⁴ He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.^(AB)”

⁵ Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God^(AC) to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

⁶ The priest answered them, “Go in peace^(AD). Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”

⁷ So the five men^(AE) left and came to Laish,^(AF) where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure.^(AG) And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous.^[e] Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians^(AH) and had no relationship with anyone else.^[f]

⁸ When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, “How did you find things?”

⁹ They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over.^{(AI) 10} When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing^(AJ) whatever.^(AK)”

¹¹ Then six hundred men^(AL) of the Danites,^(AM) armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹² On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim^(AN) in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan^[g](AO) to this day. ¹³ From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.^(AP)

¹⁴ Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish^(AQ) said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod,^(AR) some household gods and an image overlaid with silver?^(AS) Now you know what to do.” ¹⁵ So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. ¹⁶ The six hundred Danites,^(AT) armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods^(AU) while the priest and the six hundred armed men^(AV) stood at the entrance of the gate.

¹⁸ When the five men went into Micah’s house and took^(AW) the idol, the ephod and the household gods,^(AX) the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They answered him, “Be quiet!^(AY) Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest.^(AZ) Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan^(BA) in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” ²⁰ The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. ²¹ Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

²² When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. ²³ As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”

²⁴ He replied, “You took^(BB) the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”

²⁵ The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” ²⁶ So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him,^(BC) turned around and went back home.

²⁷ Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure.^(BD) They attacked them with the sword and burned^(BE) down their city.^{(BF) 28} There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon^(BG) and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.^(BH)

The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. ²⁹ They named it Dan^(BI) after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish.^{(BJ) 30} There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom,^(BK) the son of Moses,^[h] and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. ³¹ They continued to use the idol Micah had made,^(BL) all the time the house of God^(BM) was in Shiloh.^(BN)