Judges 18 - GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Micah Brings Idolatry to the Tribe of Dan

18 In those days Israel didn’t have a king. And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. Up to that time they had not received land as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel as they should have. 2 So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, “Go and explore the land!”

They came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there. 3 While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s voice. So they stopped to ask him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

4 The Levite told them what Micah had done for him and added, “Micah hired me, so I became his priest.”

5 They said to him, “Please find out from God if our journey will be successful.”

6 The priest told them, “Go in peace. The Lord approves of your journey.”

7 The five men left there and came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived without a care. These people were like the people of Sidon. They were peaceful and secure. There was no one around who threatened to take away their property by force. They were far from the people of Sidon and totally independent.

8 The men went back to their relatives in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”

9 They replied, “Get up, let’s attack Laish. We saw the land. It’s very good!

“Don’t just sit there! Go at once and take the land. 10 When you get there, you will come to a secure people. The land is wide open to you. God will hand it over to you. It’s a place where you will have everything you could want.”

11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol armed for war. 12 They camped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place just west of Kiriath Jearim is still called Mahaneh Dan [The Camp of Dan] today. 13 From there they marched to the mountains of Ephraim as far as Micah’s house. 14 Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, “Do you know that there’s an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?”

15 So they stopped and entered Micah’s house and greeted the young Levite. 16 The 600 armed men from Dan stood at the entrance to the city. 17 The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men. 18 When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”

19 They told him, “Keep quiet! Don’t say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man’s house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?”

20 The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people. 21 When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.

22 When they had already gone some distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors were called together to help him catch up to the people of Dan. 23 They shouted at them. But the people of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s your problem? Why did you call your neighbors together to attack us?”

24 Micah answered, “You’ve taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s your problem?’ ”

25 The people of Dan replied, “Don’t make another sound, or some violent men will attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives.” 26 The people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were stronger than he was, so he turned around and went home.

27 The people of Dan took what Micah had made and the man who had become his priest and went to the city of Laish. They attacked a peaceful and secure people, killed them all with swords, and burned their city. 28 There was no one to rescue them because their city was far from Sidon and totally independent. The city was in the valley that belonged to Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 They named the city Dan in honor of their ancestor Dan, Israel’s son. Originally, the city was called Laish.

30 The people of Dan set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses) and his descendants were priests for Dan’s tribe until the people living in that land were taken captive. 31 So they set up for themselves the carved idol Micah had made. It stayed there the whole time the house of God was at Shiloh.

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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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