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III. Further Stories of the Tribes of Dan and Benjamin
Chapter 17
Micah and the Levite. 1 There was a man from the mountain region of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 [a]He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you pronounced a curse and even said it in my hearing—I have that silver. I took it. So now I will restore it to you.” Then his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord!” 3 When he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my own hand on behalf of my son to make an idol overlaid with silver.”[b](A) 4 So when he restored the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them an idol overlaid with silver. So it remained in the house of Micah. 5 The man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim,[c](B) and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.(C) 6 [d]In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.(D)
7 There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite residing there.(E) 8 The man set out from the city, Bethlehem of Judah, to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his journey he came into the mountain region of Ephraim as far as the house of Micah. 9 “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He answered him, “I am a Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to take up residence wherever I can find a place.” 10 “Stay with me,” Micah said to him. “Be father and priest to me,(F) and I will give you ten silver pieces a year, a set of garments, and your living.” He pressed the Levite, 11 and he agreed to stay with the man. The young man became like one of his own sons. 12 [e]Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, remaining in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, since I have the Levite as my priest.”
Chapter 18
Migration of the Danites. 1 In those days there was no king in Israel.(G) In those days the tribe of the Danites were in search of a heritage to dwell in, for up to that time no heritage had been allotted[f] to them among the tribes of Israel.(H)
2 So the Danites sent from their clans five powerful men of Zorah and Eshtaol, to reconnoiter the land and scout it. “Go, scout the land,” they were told. They went into the mountain region of Ephraim, and they spent the night there. 3 While they were near the house of Micah,(I) they recognized the voice[g] of the young Levite,(J) so they turned aside. They asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is your interest here?” 4 “This is what Micah has done for me,” he replied to them. “He has hired me and I have become his priest.”(K) 5 They said to him, “Consult God, that we may know whether the journey we are making will lead to success.”(L) 6 The priest said to them, “Go in peace! The journey you are making is under the eye of the Lord.”
7 So the five men went on and came to Laish. They saw the people there living securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting, with no lack of any natural resource. They were distant from the Sidonians and had no dealings with the Arameans.[h] 8 When the five returned to their kin in Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked, “What do you have to report?” 9 They replied, “Come, let us attack them, for we have seen the land and it is very good. Are you going to hesitate? Do not be slow to go in and take possession of the land! 10 When you go you will come to a trusting people. The land stretches out in both directions, and God has indeed given it into your power—a place where no natural resource is lacking.”(M)
11 So six hundred of the clan of the Danites, men armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 They marched up into Judah and encamped near Kiriath-jearim; for this reason the place is called Mahaneh-dan[i] to this day (it lies west of Kiriath-jearim).(N)
13 From there they passed on into the mountain region of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. 14 Then the five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land spoke up and said to their kindred, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol overlaid with silver?(O) Now decide what you must do!” 15 So turning in that direction, they went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. 16 The six hundred Danites stationed themselves at the entrance of the gate armed with weapons of war. 17 The five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land went up 18 and entered the house of Micah with the priest standing there. They took the idol, the ephod, the teraphim and the metal image. When the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 they said to him, “Be still! Put your hand over your mouth! Come with us and be our father and priest.(P) Is it better for you to be priest for the family of one man or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?” 20 The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the troops. 21 As they turned to depart, they placed their little ones, their livestock, and their goods at the head of the column.
22 (Q)When the Danites had gone some distance from the house of Micah, Micah and the men in the houses nearby mustered and overtook them. 23 They called to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, “What do you want that you have called this muster?” 24 “You have taken my god, which I made for myself, and you have gone off with my priest as well,” he answered. “What is left for me? How, then, can you ask me, ‘What do you want?’” 25 The Danites said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard near us, or aggravated men will attack you, and you will have forfeited your life and the lives of your family!” 26 Then the Danites went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned back and went home.
27 (R)Having taken what Micah had made and his priest, they marched against Laish, a quiet and trusting people; they put them to the sword and destroyed the city by fire. 28 No one came to their aid, since the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with the Arameans; the city was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. The Danites then rebuilt the city and occupied it. 29 They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel.(S) But Laish was the name of the city formerly. 30 [j]The Danites set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses,(T) and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity. 31 They maintained the idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.[k]
Chapter 3
Nicodemus.[a] 1 (A)Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.[b] 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”(B) 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born[c] from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”(C) 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.(D) 6 What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.(E) 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind[d] blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”(F) 9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? 11 Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.(G) 12 If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?(H) 13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.(I) 14 And just as Moses lifted up[e] the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,(J) 15 [f]so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave[g] his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.(K) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn[h] the world, but that the world might be saved through him.(L) 18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.(M) 19 [i]And this is the verdict,(N) that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.(O) 21 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.(P)
Psalm 104[a]
Praise of God the Creator
I
1 Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
2 robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;(A)
3 setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.[b]
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.(B)
II
5 [c]You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
6 The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.
7 At your rebuke they took flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled.(C)
8 They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You set a limit they cannot pass;
never again will they cover the earth.(D)
III
10 You made springs flow in wadies
that wind among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;(E)
here wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your chambers;
from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.
14 You make the grass grow for the cattle
and plants for people’s work
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 wine to gladden their hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread to sustain the human heart.
16 [d]The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the stork in the junipers, its home.(F)
18 The high mountains are for wild goats;
the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.
IV
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,(G)
the sun that knows the hour of its setting.
20 You bring darkness and night falls,
then all the animals of the forest wander about.
21 Young lions roar for prey;
they seek their food from God.(H)
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and settle down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work,
to their labor till evening falls.
V
24 How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.(I)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.