Judges 18

¹ In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to inhabit, for [that] has not fallen to it unto that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance. ² And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of them, men, sons of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them, `Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there. ³ They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, "Who has brought you hither? and what are you doing in this [place?] and what to you here?" ⁴ And he said unto them, "Thus and thus has Micah done to me; and he hires me, and I am to him for a priest." ⁵ And they say to him, "Ask, we pray you, at Elohim, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going." ⁶ And the priest said to them, "Go in peace; over-against Yahweh [is] your way in which you go." ⁷ And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with [any] man. ⁸ And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren say to them, "What - you?" ⁹ And they say, "Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and you are keeping silent! be not slothful to go - to enter to possess the land. ¹⁰ When you go, you come in unto a people confident, and the land [is] large on both hands, for Elohim has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in the land." ¹¹ And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war. ¹² And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, "Camp of Dan", till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim. ¹³ And they pass over thence [to] the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah. ¹⁴ And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, "Have you known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what you do." ¹⁵ And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare, ¹⁶ (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate), ¹⁷ yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up - they have come in thither - they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image - and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war - ¹⁸ yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest said unto them, "What are you doing?" ¹⁹ and they say to him, "Keep silent, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better your being a priest to the house of one man, or your being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?" ²⁰ And the heart of the priest is glad, and he takes the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goes into the midst of the people, ²¹ and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them. ²² They have been far off from the house of Micah - and the men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan, ²³ and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, "What - to you that you have been called together?" ²⁴ And he said, "My elohims which I made you have taken, and the priest, and you go; and what to me more? and what [is] this you say unto me, What - to you!" ²⁵ And the sons of Dan say unto him, "Let not your voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and you have gathered your life, and the life of your household"; ²⁶ and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah sees that they are stronger than he, and turns, and goes back unto his house. ²⁷ And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire, ²⁸ and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Zidon, and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it, ²⁹ and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the name of the city at the first. ³⁰ And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of [the people] of the land. ³¹ And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of Elohim being in Shiloh.