NET Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

1In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel.

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.

2The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, capable men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah's house.

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.

3As they approached Micah's house, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they stopped there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?"

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?"

4He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, "He hired me and I became his priest."

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

5They said to him, "Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission."

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

6The priest said to them, "Go with confidence. The LORD will be with you on your mission."

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

7So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

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.

8When the Danites returned to their tribe in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen asked them, "How did it go?"

8When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, "What do you report?"

9They said, "Come on, let's attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don't hesitate to invade and conquer the land.

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.

10When you invade, you will encounter unsuspecting people. The land is wide! God is handing it over to you--a place that lacks nothing on earth!"

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."

11So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.

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

12They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.)

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.

13From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah's house.

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

14The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do."

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."

15They stopped there, went inside the young Levite's house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing.

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.

16Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate.

16The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

17The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.

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.

18When these men broke into Micah's house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

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?"

19They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?"

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?"

20The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group.

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

21They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions.

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

22After they had gone a good distance from Micah's house, Micah's neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

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.

23When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, "Why have you gathered together?"

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?"

24He said, "You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, 'What do you want?'"

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?'"

25The Danites said to him, "Don't say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die."

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."

26The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home.

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.

27Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city.

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.

28No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it.

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.

29They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the city's name used to be Laish.

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.

30The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

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.

31They worshiped Micah's carved image the whole time God's authorized shrine was in Shiloh.

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.

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