Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound    

          DASV: Judges 18    

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. It was a time
when the Danite tribe was seeking for a land inheritance to
settle in; for until that day they had not been allotted a
land inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
2 The Danites sent from all their clans five valiant men,
from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out and explore the land.
They told them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the
hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed
there.
3 When they approached Micah's house, they recognized the
voice of the young Levite. So they went over there, and
asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing here?
What business do you have here?"
4 He answered, "This is the way Micah dealt with me: he
hired me, and I am his priest."
5 They said to him, "Please inquire of God whether the journey
we are making will succeed."
6 The priest said to them, "Go in peace. The LORD will be
with you on your journey."

7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish. There they
saw the people were living in security, like the Sidonians,
peaceful and secure. The people were wealthy because
the land was fertile. They lived far from the Sidonians
and had no alliances with anyone.
8 When they returned to their relatives in Zorah and
Eshtaol, they asked them, "How did it go?"
9 They said, "Come on, let's attack them; for we have
seen the land and it is very good. Why are you just
sitting there? Don't be lazy but go, invade and
conquer the land.
10 When you get there, you will come on an unsuspecting
people. The land is spacious and does not lack anything
on earth. God is handing it over to you!"

11 So the Danite tribe sent from Zorah and Eshtaol, 600 men,
armed with weapons of war.
12 They went up and camped in Kiriath-jearim in Judah.
That is why they call the place west of Kiriath-jearim,
Mahaneh-dan [Camp of Dan] to this day.
13 From there they passed on to the hill country of
Ephraim, and arrived at the house of Micah.
14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish,
said to their comrades, "Do you know that there is in
these houses an ephod, household gods, and carved and
cast metal idols? Now think about what you should do."
15 So they stopped in there, and came to the house of
the young Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked
how he was doing.
16 The six hundred Danites armed with their weapons of war,
stood by the entrance of the gate.
17 The five men who originally spied out the land went up,
broke in and stole the carved idol, the ephod, the
household gods and the cast metal idol while the priest
and the 600 men armed with weapons of war stood by
the entrance of the gate.
18 When these went into Micah's house, and stole the carved
image, the ephod, the household gods and the cast metal idol,
the priest protested to them, "What are you doing?"
19 They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth,
and come with us and be a father and a priest for us.
Is it not better for you to be priest for a whole tribe
and a clan in Israel rather than for the house of just
one man?"
20 The priest's heart was pleased, so he took the ephod,
the household gods, the carved image, and went along
with the people.
21 So they turned and left, putting their children, cattle
and possessions in front of them.

22 When they were a good way off from the house of Micah,
Micah's neighbors gathered together and overtook the
Danites.
23 They cried to the Danites, who turned back and asked
Micah, "What's your problem that you come after us
with such a company?"
24 He said, "You have taken my gods that I made, along
with the priest, and have taken off, what do I have left?
How can you say to me, 'What's your problem?'"
25 The Danites rebuffed him, "You had better keep you mouth
shut around us, or someone might get angry and attack you,
and you and your family might just lose your lives."
26 Then the Danites went on their way. When Micah saw
that they were too strong for him, he turned and went
back home.

27 They took what Micah had made and his priest and came
to Laish, to a people peaceful and secure, and struck them
with the edge of the sword and burned the city.
28 There was no one to rescue them because it was far
from Sidon, and they had no alliances with anyone.
It was in the valley that is near Beth-rehob. They
rebuilt the town and settled there.
29 They called the name of the town Dan, after the name of
Dan their forefather, who was born to Israel although the
name of the town was originally Laish.
30 The Danites set up the carved idol for themselves.
Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses and his
sons were installed as priests for the Danite tribe
until the day the land went into captivity.
31 So they set up Micah's carved idols that he made,
all the time the house of God was at Shiloh.

 Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound