Judges 18
They Took the Priest and the Gods and Went
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Dan Seeks an Inheritance
18:1In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of Dan was seeking an inheritance in which to dwell, because until those days no inheritance had fallen to it among Israel’s tribes.
18:2The sons of Dan sent five men from their kindred, from among their number, men of strength from Zorah and Eshtaol, to inspect and explore the land. They said to them, “Go, search out the land.” They came to Ephraim’s hill country, to Micah’s house, and rested there.
18:3While they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young man, the younger Levite. They turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What do you have here?”
18:4He said to them, “Micah has done such and such for me. He hired me, and I became his priest.”
18:5They said to him, “Please inquire of God, so that we may know whether the journey we are making will succeed.”
18:6The priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey you are making is before the Lord.”
The Spies at Laish
18:7The five men went and came to Laish. They saw the people dwelling there living in confidence, after the Sidonians’ pattern, resting in confidence and unable to speak a word, because they were far from Sidon and had no dealings with Syria.
18:8The five men came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol. Their brothers said to them, “Why are you sitting?”
18:9They said, “Arise, let us go up against them, for we entered and walked about in the land as far as Laish. We saw the people dwelling there in confidence after the Sidonians’ pattern, far from Sidon and without dealings with Syria. But arise, let us go up against them, for we have found the land, and look, it is very good. Are you remaining silent? Do not hesitate to go in and inherit the land.
18:10When you enter, you will come to a confident people, and the land is spacious. God has handed it into your hands, a place lacking nothing that is on the earth.”
Six Hundred Men Pass Micah’s House
18:11Six hundred men from Dan’s kindred set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, girded with equipment for war.
18:12They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore that place was called Dan’s Camp to this day; look, it is behind Kiriath-jearim.
18:13They passed from there, came to Ephraim’s hill country, and reached Micah’s house.
18:14The five men who had gone to inspect the land spoke to their brothers, saying, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, a carved image, and a cast image? Now consider what you will do.”
18:15They turned aside there and entered the young Levite’s house, Micah’s house, and greeted him.
The Image and the Priest Taken
18:16The six hundred men from the sons of Dan, girded with equipment for war, stood firmly at the gateway entrance.
18:17The five men who had gone to inspect the land went up, entered there, and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the cast image. The priest stood firmly at the gateway entrance with the six hundred men girded with equipment for war.
18:18These men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the cast image. The priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
18:19They said to him, “Be silent. Put your hand over your mouth and come with us. You shall be a father and priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to one man’s household, or to become priest to a tribe and kindred in Israel?”
18:20The priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod, the teraphim, the carved image, and the cast image, and went into the midst of the people.
18:21They turned and left, placing the whole household and his valuable property ahead of them.
Micah Pursues and Turns Back
18:22They had gone far from Micah’s house when Micah and the men with his household cried out behind the sons of Dan.
18:23The sons of Dan turned their faces and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you cried out?”
18:24Micah said, “You took my carved image that I made for myself, and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘Why are you shouting?’”
18:25The sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men distressed in soul fall upon you, and you add your life and your household’s lives.”
18:26The sons of Dan went their way. Micah saw that they were stronger than he, so he withdrew and returned to his house.
Laish Taken and Renamed Dan
18:27They took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, against a quiet and confident people. They struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city.
18:28There was no rescuer, because it was far from the Sidonians and they had no dealings with people. It was in the valley belonging to the house of Rehob. They built the city and dwelt in it.
18:29They called the city Dan, after the name of their father, who was born to Israel. Previously the city’s name was Laish.
18:30The sons of Dan set up Micah’s carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the land’s deportation.
18:31They established for themselves Micah’s carved image that he had made, throughout the days when God’s house was in Shiloh.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V2 · working draft awaiting specialist review.