Judges 18 - English Standard Version (ESV)

Danites Take the Levite and the Idol

18 (A)In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days (B)the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, (C)from Zorah and from Eshtaol, (D)to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came (E)to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: (F)he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, (G)“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, (H)“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

7 Then the five men departed and came to (I)Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, (J)quiet and unsuspecting, lacking[a] nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how (K)they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at (L)Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, (M)“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. (N)And will you do nothing? (O)Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an (P)unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, (Q)a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, (R)armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called (S)Mahaneh-dan[b] to this day; behold, it is west of (T)Kiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to (U)the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that (V)in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and (W)asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, (X)armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And (Y)the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took (Z)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah's house and took (AA)the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; (AB)put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us (AC)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and (AD)the goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, (AE)“You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people (AF)quiet and unsuspecting, and (AG)struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was (AH)far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to (AI)Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city (AJ)Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but (AK)the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, (AL)son of Moses,[c] (AM)and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day (AN)of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, (AO)as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 18:7 Compare 18:10; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  2. Judges 18:12 Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan
  3. Judges 18:30 Or Manasseh

Cross references

  1. Judges 18:1 : ch. 17:6; 21:25
  2. Judges 18:1 : [ch. 1:34; Josh. 19:47, 48]
  3. Judges 18:2 : ver. 8, 11; ch. 13:25
  4. Judges 18:2 : [Num. 13:17; Josh. 2:1]
  5. Judges 18:2 : ch. 17:1, 8; See Josh. 24:33
  6. Judges 18:4 : ch. 17:10
  7. Judges 18:5 : Num. 27:21
  8. Judges 18:6 : 1 Sam. 1:17; [1 Kgs. 22:6]
  9. Judges 18:7 : [Josh. 19:47]
  10. Judges 18:7 : ver. 10, 27
  11. Judges 18:7 : ver. 28
  12. Judges 18:8 : ver. 2, 11
  13. Judges 18:9 : [Num. 13:20; Josh. 2:23, 24]
  14. Judges 18:9 : 1 Kgs. 22:3
  15. Judges 18:9 : [Josh. 18:3]
  16. Judges 18:10 : ver. 7, 27
  17. Judges 18:10 : [ch. 19:19; Deut. 8:9]
  18. Judges 18:11 : ver. 16
  19. Judges 18:12 : ch. 13:25
  20. Judges 18:12 : Josh. 15:60
  21. Judges 18:13 : ver. 2
  22. Judges 18:14 : ch. 17:4, 5
  23. Judges 18:15 : Gen. 43:27
  24. Judges 18:16 : ver. 11
  25. Judges 18:17 : ver. 2, 14
  26. Judges 18:17 : ver. 14; ch. 17:4, 5
  27. Judges 18:18 : [See ver. 17 above]; ver. 14; ch. 17:4, 5
  28. Judges 18:19 : Job 21:5; 29:9; 40:4; Prov. 30:32; Mic. 7:16
  29. Judges 18:19 : ch. 17:10
  30. Judges 18:21 : [1 Sam. 17:22; Isa. 10:28]
  31. Judges 18:24 : [Gen. 31:30]
  32. Judges 18:27 : ver. 7, 10
  33. Judges 18:27 : Josh. 19:47
  34. Judges 18:28 : ver. 7
  35. Judges 18:28 : 2 Sam. 10:6; [Num. 13:21; Josh. 19:28]
  36. Judges 18:29 : ch. 20:1; Gen. 14:14; 1 Kgs. 12:29, 30; 15:20
  37. Judges 18:29 : ver. 7
  38. Judges 18:30 : Ex. 2:22; 18:3
  39. Judges 18:30 : [ch. 17:12]
  40. Judges 18:30 : ch. 13:1; 1 Sam. 4:2, 3, 10, 11; See Ps. 78:60-64
  41. Judges 18:31 : Josh. 18:1; 1 Sam. 1:3

You Might Also Like:

Judges 18 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

18 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] hath 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 the...
Read More

Judges 18 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

18 In those days was no king in Israel; and the lineage of Dan sought (a) possession to itself, to dwell therein; for till to that day it had not taken heritage among other lineages. (In those days there was no king in Israel; and the tribe of Dan sought a possession for themselves to live in; for u...
Read More

Judges 18 - World English Bible (WEB)

18 In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. 2 The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, fr...
Read More

Judges 18 - The Voice (VOICE)

18 During this period, Israel had no king, and the tribe of Dan was searching for a territory they could call their own because at that time they had not been assigned land among the other peoples of Israel. 2 So the people of Dan chose five brave men from out of the entire tribe, men from the town...
Read More

Judges 18 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

The Danites Seek a New Home18 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking an inheritance for itself to settle in, for to that day no territory had fallen to them for an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. 2 So the children of Dan sent five...
Read More

Judges 18 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Migration of Dan18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in; for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the Danites sent five able men from the whole number of t...
Read More

Judges 18 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Migration of Dan18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in; for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the Danites sent five able men from the whole number of t...
Read More

Judges 18 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Migration of Dan18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a territory to live in; for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them. 2 So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number ...
Read More

Judges 18 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Migration of Dan18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a territory to live in, for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them.(A)2 So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number...
Read More

Judges 18 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Idolatry in the Tribe of Dan18 Now 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. 2 So the men of Dan chose from their clans fiv...
Read More

Judges 18 - New Life Version (NLV)

Micah and the Danites18 There was no king of Israel in those days. At that time the family of the Danites was looking for their own land to live in. For no land had been given to them yet among the families of Israel. 2 So the people of Dan sent five men from all those in their family. They were me...
Read More

Judges 18 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry18 In (A)those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days (B)the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 2 So the children of Dan sent f...
Read More

Judges 18 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The Danites settle in Laish18 In those days Israel had no king.And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zora...
Read More

Judges 18 - New International Version (NIV)

The Danites Settle in Laish18 In those days Israel had no king.(A)And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.(B) 2 So the Danites(C) sent five of their leading men(D...
Read More

Judges 18 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The People of Dan Make Their Homes in Laish18 In those days Israel didn’t have a king.And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place where they could make their homes. They hadn’t been able to take over their own share of land among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the people of Dan sent out ...
Read More

Judges 18 - New English Translation (NET)

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance18 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place[a] to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel.[b] 2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five r...
Read More