1 In those dayes there was no King in Israel, and at the same time the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in: for vnto that time all their inheritance had not fallen vnto them among the tribes of Israel. 2 Therefore the children of Dan sent of their familie, fiue men out of their coastes, euen men expert in warre, out of Zorah and Eshtaol, to viewe the lande and search it out, and saide vnto them, Goe, and search out the lande. Then they came to mount Ephraim to the house of Michah and lodged there. 3 When they were in the house of Michah, they knewe the voyce of the yong man the Leuite: and being turned in thither, they saide vnto him, Who brought thee hither? or what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou to doe here? 4 And he answered them, Thus and thus dealeth Michah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his Priest. 5 Againe they said vnto him, Aske counsell nowe of God, that we may knowe whether the way which we goe, shalbe prosperous. 6 And the Priest sayde vnto them, Goe in peace: for the Lord guideth your way which ye goe. 7 Then the fiue men departed and came to Laish, and sawe the people that were therein, which dwelt carelesse, after the maner of the Zidonians, quiet and sure, because no man made any trouble in the lande, or vsurped any dominion: also they were farre from the Zidonians, and had no businesse with other men. 8 So they came againe vnto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren saide vnto them, What haue ye done? 9 And they answered, Arise, that we may goe vp against them: for we haue seene the lande, and surely it is very good, and doe ye sit stil? be not slouthfull to goe and enter to possesse the lande: 10 (If ye will goe, ye shall come vnto a carelesse people, and the countrey is large) for God hath giuen it into your hande. It is a place which doeth lacke nothing that is in the worlde. 11 Then there departed thence of the familie of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, sixe hundreth men appointed with instruments of warre. 12 And they went vp, and pitched in Kiriath-iearim in Iudah: wherefore they called that place, Mahaneh-Dan vnto this day: and it is behinde Kiriath-iearim. 13 And they went thence vnto mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Michah. 14 Then answered the fiue men, that went to spie out the countrey of Laish, and said vnto their brethren, Knowe ye not, that there is in these houses an Ephod, and Teraphim, and a grauen and a molten image? Nowe therefore consider what ye haue to doe. 15 And they turned thitherward and came to the house of the yong man the Leuite, euen vnto the house of Michah, and saluted him peaceably. 16 And the six hundreth men appointed with their weapons of warre, which were of the children of Dan, stoode by the entring of the gate. 17 Then the fiue men that went to spie out the land, went in thither, and tooke the grauen image and the Ephod, and the Teraphim, and the molten image: and the Priest stoode in the entring of the gate with the sixe hundreth men, that were appointed with weapons of warre, 18 And the other went into Michahs house and fet the grauen image, the Ephod, and the Teraphim, and the molten image. Then saide the Priest vnto them, What doe ye? 19 And they answered him, Holde thy peace: lay thine hande vpon thy mouth, and come with vs to be our father and Priest. Whether is it better that thou shouldest be a Priest vnto ye house of one man, or that thou shouldest be a Priest vnto a tribe and to a familie in Israel? 20 And the Priestes heart was glad, and hee tooke the Ephod and the Teraphim, and the grauen image, and went among the people. 21 And they turned and departed, and put the children, and the cattell, and the substance before them. 22 When they were farre off from the house of Michah, the men that were in the houses neere to Michahs house, gathered together, and pursued after the children of Dan, 23 And cryed vnto the children of Dan: who turned their faces, and said vnto Michah, What ayleth thee, that thou makest an outcrie? 24 And hee saide, Yee haue taken away my gods, which I made, and the Priest, and go your wayes: and what haue I more? howe then say ye vnto me, what ayleth thee? 25 And the children of Dan sayde vnto him, Let not thy voyce be heard among vs, least angrie fellowes runne vpon thee, and thou lose thy life with the liues of thine housholde. 26 So the children of Dan went their wayes: and when Michah saw that they were too strong for him, hee turned, and went backe vnto his house. 27 And they tooke the things which Michah had made, and the Priest which he had, and came vnto Laish, vnto a quiet people and without mistrust, and smote them with the edge of the sworde, and burnt the citie with fire: 28 And there was none to helpe, because Laish was farre from Zidon, and they had no businesse with other men: also it was in the valley that lyeth by Beth-rehob. After, they built the citie, and dwelt therein, 29 And called the name of the citie Dan, after the name of Dan their father which was borne vnto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the beginning. 30 Then the children of Dan set them vp the grauen image: and Ionathan the sonne of Gershom, the sonne of Manasseh and his sonnes were the Priestes in the tribe of the Danites vntil the day of the captiuitie of the lande. 31 So they set them vp the grauen image, which Michah had made, all the while the house of God was in Shiloh.
Micah and the Tribe of Dan
1 There was no king in Israel at that time. In those days the tribe of Dan was looking for territory to claim and settle in because they had not yet received any land of their own among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the people of Dan chose five qualified men out of all the families in the tribe and sent them from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol with instructions to explore the land and spy on it. When they arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they stayed at Micah's house. 3 While they were there, they recognized the accent of the young Levite, so they went up to him and asked, “What are you doing here? Who brought you here?”
4 He answered, “I have an arrangement with Micah, who pays me to serve as his priest.”
5 They said to him, “Please ask God if we are going to be successful on our trip.”
6 The priest answered, “You have nothing to worry about. The Lord is taking care of you on this trip.”
7 So the five men left and went to the town of Laish. They saw how the people there lived in security like the Sidonians. They were a peaceful, quiet people, with no argument with anyone; they had all they needed. They lived far away from the Sidonians and had no dealings with any other people. 8 When the five men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, the people asked them what they had found out. 9 “Come on,” they replied. “Let's attack Laish. We saw the land, and it's very good. Don't stay here doing nothing; hurry! Go on in and take it over! 10 When you get there, you will find that the people don't suspect a thing. It is a big country; it has everything a person could want, and God has given it to you.”
11 So six hundred men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol, ready for battle. 12 They went up and camped west of Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place is still called Camp of Dan. 13 They went on from there and came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.
14 Then the five men who had gone to spy on the country around Laish said to their companions, “Did you know that here in one of these houses there is a wooden idol covered with silver? There are also other idols and an ephod. What do you think we should do?” 15 So they went into Micah's house, where the young Levite lived, and asked the Levite how he was getting along. 16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danite soldiers, ready for battle, were standing at the gate. 17 The five spies went straight on into the house and took the wooden idol covered with silver, the other idols, and the ephod, while the priest stayed at the gate with the six hundred armed men.
18 When the men went into Micah's house and took the sacred objects, 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 priest and adviser. Wouldn't you rather be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for the family of one man?” 20 This made the priest very happy, so he took the sacred objects and went along with them.
21 They turned around and started off, with their children, their livestock, and their belongings going ahead. 22 They had traveled a good distance from the house when Micah called his neighbors out for battle. They caught up with the Danites 23 and shouted at them. The Danites turned around and asked Micah, “What's the matter? Why all this mob?”
24 Micah answered, “What do you mean, ‘What's the matter?’ You take my priest and the gods that I made, and walk off? What have I got left?”
25 The Danites told him, “You had better not say anything else unless you want these men to get angry and attack you. You and your whole family would die.” 26 Then the Danites went on. Micah saw that they were too strong for him, so he turned and went back home.
27-28 After the Danites had taken the priest and the things that Micah had made, they went and attacked Laish, that town of peaceful, quiet people which was in the same valley as Bethrehob. They killed the inhabitants and burned the town. There was no one to save them, because Laish was a long way from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any other people. The Danites rebuilt the town and settled down there. 29 They changed its name from Laish to Dan, after their ancestor Dan, the son of Jacob. 30 The Danites set up the idol to be worshiped, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom and grandson of Moses, served as a priest for the Danites, and his descendants served as their priests until the people were taken away into exile. 31 Micah's idol remained there as long as the Tent where God was worshiped remained at Shiloh.