Judges 18

18 ¹In those days Israel had no king. The tribe of Dan was seeking territory to settle in, for until then no inheritance had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. ²The Danites sent five brave men from their clan, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout and explore the land. They told them, "Go, explore the land." They reached the hill country of Ephraim, to Micah's house, and stayed the night there.

³Near Micah's house they recognized the young Levite's voice, so they turned in there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?"

⁴He told them, "Micah did such and such for me; he hired me, and I became his priest."

⁵They said to him, "Please ask our Father, so we'll know whether the journey we're taking will succeed."

⁶The priest told them, "Go in peace. Your journey is under the watch of our Father."

⁷So the five men went to Laish and saw its people living safely, like the Sidonians—quiet and secure—lacking nothing in the land and possessing wealth. They were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸When they returned to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked, "What did you find?"

⁹They said, "Get up, let's attack them! We've seen the land—it's very good. Will you do nothing? Don't delay to go take the land. ¹⁰When you arrive, you'll reach an unsuspecting people in a spacious land. Our Father has handed it to you—a place lacking nothing on earth."

¹¹600 men of the Danite clan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why it's called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it lies west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³From there they crossed to the hill country of Ephraim and reached Micah's house.

¹⁴Then the five men who had scouted the land of Laish said to their relatives, "Do you know these houses hold an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol? Now decide what to do." ¹⁵So they turned in and came to the young Levite's house, Micah's house, and greeted him. ¹⁶The 600 armed Danite men stood at the gate's entrance. ¹⁷The five men who had scouted the land went in and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol, while the priest stood at the gate entrance with the 600 armed men.

¹⁸When these men entered Micah's house and took the carved image, ephod, household idols, and cast idol, the priest asked them, "What are you doing?"

¹⁹They said, "Quiet! Put your hand on your mouth, come with us. Be our father and priest. Better for you to be priest to one man's house, or to a tribe and clan in Israel?"

²⁰The priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went among the people. ²¹Then they turned and set out, putting the children, the livestock, and their goods in front of them. ²²When they had left Micah's house, the men near it were summoned and caught up with the Danites. ²³They shouted to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, "What's wrong with you, calling out your men?"

²⁴He said, "You took the gods I made and the priest, and left. What do I have left? How can you ask me, 'What's wrong with you?'"

²⁵The Danites told him, "Don't let your voice be heard among us, or angry men will attack you, and you'll lose your life and your household's lives."

²⁶The Danites went on their way; and when Micah saw they were too strong for him, he turned back home. ²⁷They took what Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish—a quiet, unsuspecting people—struck them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. ²⁸No one could rescue them, for the city lay far from Sidon with no ties to anyone. It sat in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. ²⁹They named the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, Israel's son; but the city was formerly named Laish. ³⁰The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the land's captivity. ³¹They set up for themselves the carved image Micah had made, the whole time the house of our Father was at Shiloh.