Berean Study Bible

English Standard Version

1In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

1In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days 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.

2So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

2So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

3And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

3When 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“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”

4And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”

5Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”

5And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.”

6And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

6And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

7So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

7Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

8When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

8And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?”

9They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of 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 do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land.

10When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”

10As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

11So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

11So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol,

12They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.

12and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

13And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

13And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

14Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.”

15So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

15And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare.

16The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

16Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate.

17And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

17And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took 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.

18When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

18And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”

19And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us 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?”

20So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

20And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

21Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

21So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them.

22After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

22When 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.

23When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”

23And 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?”

24He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’ ”

24And he said, “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?’”

25The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

25And 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.”

26So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

26Then 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.

27After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.

27But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

28There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

28And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

29They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

29And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first.

30The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

30And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

31So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

31So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

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ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.