Judges 18

18 ¹ In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance to settle in, for until that day no inheritance had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. ² So the people of Dan sent five men from their clan, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and spent the night there.

³ While they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. So they turned aside there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? And what is your business here?"

⁴ He said to them, "Micah has done such and such for me; he has hired me, and I have become his priest."

⁵ They said to him, "Please inquire of our Father, so that we may know whether the journey we are making will be successful."

⁶ The priest said to them, "Go in peace. The journey you are making is under the watch of our Father."

⁷ So the five men went and came to Laish. They saw that the people there lived in safety, after the manner of 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. ⁸ When they came back to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, "What did you find?"

⁹ They answered, "Get up, let us go up against them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Are you going to do nothing? Do not hesitate to go and take possession of the land." ¹⁰ "When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is spacious. Our Father has given it into your hands—a place where nothing on earth is lacking."

¹¹ So six hundred men of the clan of the Danites, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹² They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it lies west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ From there they passed on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

Dan Seizes Micah's Idols

¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish said to their relatives, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol? Now consider what you should do." ¹⁵ So they turned in there and came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him. ¹⁶ The six hundred Danite men, armed with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ The five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered there and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

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

¹⁹ They said to him, "Be quiet! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us. Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or to be a priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?"

²⁰ The priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went along among the people. ²¹ Then they turned and departed, putting the little ones, the livestock, and their goods in front of them. ²² When they had gone some distance from Micah's house, the men who lived near Micah's house were called together and overtook the people of Dan. ²³ They shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you have called out your men?"

²⁴ He said, "You have taken the gods I made and the priest, and you have gone away. What do I have left? How can you ask me, 'What is the matter with you?'"

²⁵ The people of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or angry men will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household."

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