New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession 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 sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged 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.

3When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have 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 said to them, "Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest."

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

5They said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous."

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

6The priest said to them, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."

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

7Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings 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 they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, "What do you report?"

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

9They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess 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.

10"When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."

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

11Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.

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. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, 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.

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

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

14Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider 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?”

15They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

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 six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

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

17Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred 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 these went into Micah's house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image, 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 said to him, "Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a 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?”

20The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and went among 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.

21Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them.

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

22When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house assembled and overtook the sons of Dan.

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 cried to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?"

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 have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, 'What is 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 sons of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else fierce men will fall upon you and you will lose your life, with the lives of your household."

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.”

26So the sons 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.

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.

27Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.

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.

28And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And 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 called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

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

30The sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of 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 graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at 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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