Micah’s False Gods

17 A man named Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim. ² He said to his mother, “Someone took 28 pounds of silver from you. I heard you curse the one who took it. I have the silver with me. I’m the one who took it.”

Then his mother said, “My son, may the Lord bless you!”

³ He gave the 28 pounds of silver back to his mother. She said to him, “I’m making a promise to set apart my silver to the Lord. My son, I want you to use it to cover a statue of a god made out of wood or stone. That’s why I’ll give the silver back to you.”

⁴ Micah gave the silver back to his mother. Then she gave five pounds of it to a skilled worker who made things out of silver. He used the silver for the statue. The statue was put in Micah’s house.

⁵ That same Micah had a small temple. He made a sacred linen apron and some statues of his family gods. He appointed one of his sons to serve as his priest. ⁶ In those days Israel didn’t have a king. The people did anything they thought was right.

⁷ A young Levite had been living in land that belonged to the tribe of Judah. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. ⁸ He left that town to look for some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house. It was in the hill country of Ephraim.

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

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

¹⁰ Then Micah said to him, “Live with me. Be my father and priest. I’ll give you four ounces of silver a year. I’ll also give you clothes and food.” ¹¹ So the Levite agreed to live with him. The young man became just like one of Micah’s sons to him. ¹² Then Micah appointed the Levite to serve as his priest. He lived in Micah’s house. ¹³ Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. This Levite has become my priest.”

The People of Dan Make Their Homes in Laish

18 In those days Israel didn’t have a king.

And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place where they could make their homes. They hadn’t been able to take over their own share of land among the tribes of Israel. ² So the people of Dan sent out five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They told the men to look over the land and check it out. Those men did it for all the people of Dan. Those people told the men, “Go. Check out the land.”

So they entered the hill country of Ephraim. They went to the house of Micah. That’s where they spent the night. ³ When they came near Micah’s house, they recognized a voice. It was the voice of the young Levite. So they turned off the road and stopped there. They asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

⁴ The Levite told them what Micah had done for him. He said, “He has hired me. I’m his priest.”

⁵ Then they said to him, “Please ask God for advice. Try to find out whether we’ll have success on our journey.”

⁶ The priest answered them, “Go in peace. The Lord is pleased with your journey.”

⁷ So the five men left. They came to Laish. There they saw that the people felt secure. They were living in safety. Like the people in Sidon, they were at peace. Their land had everything they needed. Things were going very well for them. They lived a long way from the people of Sidon. And they didn’t think they would ever need help from anyone else.

⁸ The men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol. Their people asked them, “What did you find out?”

⁹ They answered, “Come on! Let’s attack them! We’ve seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t wait any longer. Go there and take it over. ¹⁰ When you get there, you will find people who aren’t expecting anything bad to happen to them. Their land has plenty of room. God has handed it over to you. It’s a land that has everything you will ever need.”

¹¹ So 600 men from the tribe of Dan started out from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were prepared for battle. ¹² On their way they set up camp. Their camp was near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That’s why the place is called Mahaneh Dan to this day. It’s west of Kiriath Jearim. ¹³ From there they went to the hill country of Ephraim. They came to Micah’s house.

¹⁴ Then the five men who had looked over the land of Laish spoke to the other members of their tribe. They said, “Don’t you know that one of these houses has a sacred linen apron in it? Some statues of family gods are there. That house also has another statue of a god covered with silver. Now you know what to do.” ¹⁵ So they turned off the road and stopped there. They went to the house of the young Levite. He was at Micah’s place. They greeted the young man. ¹⁶ The 600 men from Dan stood at the entrance of the gate. They were prepared for battle. ¹⁷ The five men who had looked over the land went inside. They took the statue covered with silver. They also took the family gods and the linen apron. During that time, the priest stood at the entrance of the gate. The 600 men stood there with him. They were prepared for battle.

¹⁸ When the five men went into Micah’s house and took all those things, the priest spoke to them. He asked, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us. Be our father and priest. You can serve a whole tribe and family group in Israel as our priest. Isn’t that better than serving just one man’s family?” ²⁰ The priest was very pleased. He took the linen apron and the family gods. He also took the statue of the god that was covered with silver. Then the priest left with the people. ²¹ They put their little children and their livestock in front of them. They also put everything else they owned in front of them. And they turned and went on their way.

²² The men who lived near Micah were called together. Then they left and caught up with the people of Dan. That’s because Dan’s people hadn’t gone very far from Micah’s house. ²³ Those who lived near Micah shouted at them. The people of Dan turned around and asked Micah, “What’s the matter with you? Why did you call out your men to fight against us?”

²⁴ He replied, “You took away the gods I made. And you took away my priest. What do I have left? So how can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ ”

²⁵ The people of Dan answered, “Don’t argue with us. Some of the men may get angry and attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives.” ²⁶ So the people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw that they were too strong for him. So he turned around and went back home.

²⁷ The people of Dan took what Micah had made. They also took his priest. They continued on their way to Laish. They went there to fight against a people who were at peace and secure. The people of Dan struck them down with their swords. They burned down their city. ²⁸ No one could save those people and their city. They lived a long way from Sidon. And they didn’t think they would ever need help from anyone else. Their city was located in a valley near Beth Rehob.

The people of Dan rebuilt the city. Then they made their homes there. ²⁹ They named it Dan. That’s because they traced their family line back to Dan. He was a son of Israel. The city used to be called Laish. ³⁰ There the people of Dan set up for themselves the statue of the god that was covered with silver. Jonathan and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan. Jonathan was the son of Gershom, the son of Moses. Jonathan and his sons were priests until the time when the land was captured. ³¹ The people of Dan continued to use the statue Micah had made. They used it during the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the signs you are doing.”

³ Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “They can’t go back inside their mother! They can’t be born a second time!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom unless they are born with water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶ People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born with the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus. “Don’t you understand these things? ¹¹ What I’m about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We are witnesses about what we have seen. But still you people do not accept what we say. ¹² I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I speak about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven. He is the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. In the same way, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. ¹⁵ Then everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. ¹⁷ God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Anyone who believes in him is not judged. But anyone who does not believe is judged already. They have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ Here is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. They loved darkness because what they did was evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil deeds hates the light. They will not come into the light. They are afraid that what they do will be seen. ²¹ But anyone who lives by the truth comes into the light. They live by the truth with God’s help. They come into the light so that it will be easy to see their good deeds.