Judges 18 HCSB NLT Parallel

◄ Judges 18 ►

HCSB Parallel NLT [BSB CSB ESV HCS KJV ISV NAS NET NIV NLT HEB]

Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1In those days, there was no king in Israel, and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy. Up to that time no territory had been captured by them among the tribes of Israel.

1Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place where they could settle, for they had not yet moved into the land assigned to them when the land was divided among the tribes of Israel.

2So the Danites sent out five brave men from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out the land and explore it. They told them, "Go and explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there.

2So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in. When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there.

3While they were near Micah's home, they recognized the speech of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here?"

3While at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s accent, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

4He told them what Micah had done for him and that he had hired him as his priest.

4He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.

5Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God so we will know if we will have a successful journey."

5Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”

6The priest told them, "Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on."

6“Go in peace,” the priest replied. “For the LORD is watching over your journey.”

7The five men left and came to Laish. They saw that the people who were there were living securely, in the same way as the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. They were far from the Sidonians, having no alliance with anyone.

7So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure. The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.

8When the men went back to their clans at Zorah and Eshtaol, their people asked them, "What did you find out?"

8When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”

9They answered, "Come on, let's go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don't hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!

9The men replied, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to go and take possession of it.

10When you get there, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has handed it over to you. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking."

10When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!”

11Six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol armed with weapons of war.

11So 600 men from the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.

12They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is called the Camp of Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

12They camped at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah, which is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.

13From there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house.

13Then they went on from there into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

14The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, "Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image overlaid with silver in these houses? Now think about what you should do."

14The five men who had scouted out the land around Laish explained to the others, “These buildings contain a sacred ephod, as well as some household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol. What do you think you should do?”

15So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him.

15Then the five men turned off the road and went over to Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived, and greeted him kindly.

16The 600 Danite men were standing by the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

16As the 600 armed warriors from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate,

17Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land went in and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.

17the five scouts entered the shrine and removed the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol. Meanwhile, the priest was standing at the gate with the 600 armed warriors.

18When they entered Micah's house and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

18When the priest saw the men carrying all the sacred objects out of Micah’s shrine, he said, “What are you doing?”

19They told him, "Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut. Come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?"

19“Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn’t it better to be a priest for an entire tribe and clan of Israel than for the household of just one man?”

20So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people.

20The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image.

21They prepared to leave, putting their small children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.

21They turned and started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.

22After they were some distance from Micah's house, the men who were in the houses near it mobilized and caught up with the Danites.

22When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them.

23They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, "What's the matter with you that you mobilized the men?"

23They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?”

24He said, "You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, 'What's the matter with you?'"

24“What do you mean, ‘What’s the matter?’” Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”

25The Danites said to him, "Don't raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives."

25The men of Dan said, “Watch what you say! There are some short-tempered men around here who might get angry and kill you and your family.”

26The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was.

26So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.

27After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned down the city.

27Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground.

28There was no one to rescue them because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.

28There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there.

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

29They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.

30The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land.

30Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile.

31So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.

31So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.

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