Judges 18

1In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the Danite tribe was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in, for until that day their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

2The sons of Dan sent five men from their family—from their borders, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol—to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, "Go, search the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to Micah's house, and stayed there.

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

4He said to them, “Micah has done this and that to me—he hired me, and I became his priest.”

5They said to him, "Please ask God, that we may know whether our way which we are going on will prosper."

6The priest said to them, "Go in peace. Your way lies before Yahweh, on which you go."

7The five men went and reached Laish, where they saw the people living there securely, like the custom of the Sidonians—quiet and confident—for no one in the land possessed restraining authority to shame them in any matter, and they were far from the Sidonians with no dealings with anyone.

8They came to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"

9They said, "Arise, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good; and you, why hold back? Do not be slothful to go, to enter, to possess the land."

10When you go, you will come to a secure people, and the land is spacious—for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the land.

11From there six hundred men armed with battle weapons set out from the Danite clan, out of Zorah and Eshtaol.

12They went up and camped in Kiriath-jearim in Judah, so they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it lies behind Kiriath-jearim.

13They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.

14The five men who had spied out the land of Laish replied to their kinsmen, "Do you know that these houses contain an ephod, teraphim, a carved image, and a molten image? Now know what you must do."

15They turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, Micah's house, and greeted him.

16The six hundred men from the sons of Dan, girded with their battle weapons, stood at the gate entrance.

17The five men who went to spy out the land climbed up there, entered, and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood at the gate entrance with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war.

18These entered Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

19They said to him, “Keep silent, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us; be a father and priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to one man's house, or to be priest to a tribe and family in Israel?”

20The priest's heart was pleased, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the carved image, and went among the people.

21They turned and set out, putting the children, the livestock, and the baggage before them.

22When they had gone some distance from Micah's house, the men living in the houses near Micah's house were called out and caught up with the sons of Dan.

23They called to the sons of Dan. They turned their faces and said to Micah, "What's the matter with you, that you cry out?"

24He said, "You took my gods, which I made, and the priest, and went away—what more do I have? And what is this you say to me, 'What is it to you?'"

25The sons of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest hot-tempered men fall upon you and you lose your life along with the lives of your household."

26The sons of Dan went on their way, and when Micah saw that they were stronger than he was, he turned and returned to his house.

27They took what Micah had made and the priest whom he had, came upon Laish—a people at rest and confident—and struck them with the sword's edge, then burned the city with fire.

28There was no rescuer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no relations with anyone; it was in the valley of Beth-rehob. They built the city and lived in it.

29They named the city Dan, after the name of their father Dan who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city was formerly Laish.

30The sons of Dan set up the 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 captivity.

31They set up for themselves the carved image of Micah that he made, all the days the house of God was in Shiloh.