| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Back in those days, Israel didn't have a king yet, and during that time the tribe of Dan had been seeking a territorial inheritance to live in, because up until that time no territory had been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. | 1In those days, there was no king in Israel, and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy. Up to that time no territory had been captured by them among the tribes of Israel. |
| 2So the tribe of Dan sent from their families five valiant men of their number from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land and search through it. Following their orders, which were "Go and scout the land," they came to the mountainous region of Ephraim, arrived at Micah's home, and stayed there. | 2So the Danites sent out five brave men from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out the land and explore it. They told them, "Go and explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there. |
| 3As they approached Micah's home, they recognized the voice of the young male descendant of Levi. They turned aside from there and spoke to him, asking him, "Who brought you here? What work are you doing here? And what's your business here?" | 3While they were near Micah's home, they recognized the speech of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here?" |
| 4He answered, "Micah did such and such for me, and has hired me, so I've become his priest." | 4He told them what Micah had done for him and that he had hired him as his priest. |
| 5They replied, "Go ask God, please, about whether or not we'll be successful in this journey." | 5Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God so we will know if we will have a successful journey." |
| 6The priest responded to them, "Travel in peace. The mission that you're to accomplish is from the LORD." | 6The priest told them, "Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on." |
| 7So the five men left and went to Laish, and observed the people who were living there carefree, as Sidonians tend to do, in peace and quiet. There was no ruler in the land oppressing them for any reason. They were living far away from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone. | 7The five men left and came to Laish. They saw that the people who were there were living securely, in the same way as the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. They were far from the Sidonians, having no alliance with anyone. |
| 8When they returned to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, "What's your report?" | 8When the men went back to their clans at Zorah and Eshtaol, their people asked them, "What did you find out?" |
| 9They replied, "Let's get going and attack them. We've scouted out the land—and look!—it's a very good one. Why should we sit still? We can't wait to go back, invade, and take over the land. | 9They answered, "Come on, let's go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don't hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land! |
| 10When you invade, you'll meet a carefree people living in a spacious territory. God has given it into your control—it's a place that lacks nothing on this earth!" | 10When you get there, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has handed it over to you. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking." |
| 11So 600 descendants of Dan from Zorah and Eshtaol set out for battle, armed with military weapons. | 11Six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol armed with weapons of war. |
| 12They went out and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in the territory of Judah. (That's why they call the place Mahaneh-dan to this day. It lies west of Kiriath-jearim.) | 12They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is called the Camp of Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim. |
| 13They proceeded from there to the mountainous region of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house. | 13From there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house. |
| 14Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, "Are you aware that in these houses there's an ephod, some household idols, a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do." | 14The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, "Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image overlaid with silver in these houses? Now think about what you should do." |
| 15So they turned aside from there, went to Micah's house, and greeted him. | 15So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. |
| 16While the 600 Danite soldiers, armed with military weapons, stood guard at the entrance to the gate, | 16The 600 Danite men were standing by the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war. |
| 17the five men who had gone to scout out the land arrived, entered Micah's home and confiscated the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image. Meanwhile, the priest stood outside by the entrance to the gate with the 600 men armed with military weapons. | 17Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land went in and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. |
| 18After they went into Micah's home and took possession of the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image, the priest challenged them. "What are you doing?" he asked them. | 18When they entered Micah's house and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" |
| 19They told him, "Shut up and keep quiet. Come with us and be our spiritual father and priest. It's better for you, isn't it, to be a priest to an entire tribe and family in Israel than to be priest to the home of one man?" | 19They told him, "Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut. 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 for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?" |
| 20The priest was happy to oblige, so he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image and went along with the army. | 20So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people. |
| 21Then they turned around and left, sending their little ones, their livestock, and their valuables on ahead. | 21They prepared to leave, putting their small children, livestock, and possessions in front of them. |
| 22When they had been gone a short distance from Micah's home, some of Micah's neighbors assembled a search party and overtook the descendants of Dan. | 22After they were some distance from Micah's house, the men who were in the houses near it mobilized and caught up with the Danites. |
| 23They yelled at the descendants of Dan, who turned around to face Micah and asked, "What's wrong with you? You've assembled together…?" | 23They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, "What's the matter with you that you mobilized the men?" |
| 24Micah replied, "You took my gods that I crafted, along with the priest, and left! What do I have left? So what's with this 'What's wrong with you?'" | 24He said, "You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, 'What's the matter with you?'" |
| 25The descendants of Dan answered him, "You had better not talk to us about this, or else these bad guys here will attack you. You will lose your life, along with the lives of your whole household." | 25The Danites said to him, "Don't raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives." |
| 26Then the descendants of Dan went on their way. Because Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back home. | 26The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was. |
| 27But the descendants of Dan took what Micah had made, along with the priest who had worked for him, and went to Laish, to a quiet and carefree people, and killed them with swords. Then they set fire to the city. | 27After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned down the city. |
| 28They had no one else to deliver them, because they lived far from Sidon and had no dealings with anyone. It lay in the valley near Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it. | 28There was no one to rescue them because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it. |
| 29They renamed the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who had been born in Israel. The former name of the city was Laish. | 29They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish. |
| 30The descendants of Dan set up the carved image, and Gershom's son Jonathan, a descendant of Manasseh, served along with his descendants as priests to the tribe of Dan until the land was taken captive. | 30The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land. |
| 31Micah's carved image, that he himself had crafted, was in place during the entire time that God's tent was set up at Shiloh. | 31So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh. |
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