| International Standard Version | NET 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 Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own 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. | 2The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, capable men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah's house. |
| 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?" | 3As they approached Micah's house, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they stopped there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business 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, saying, "He hired me and I became his priest." |
| 5They replied, "Go ask God, please, about whether or not we'll be successful in this journey." | 5They said to him, "Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission." |
| 6The priest responded to them, "Travel in peace. The mission that you're to accomplish is from the LORD." | 6The priest said to them, "Go with confidence. The LORD will be with you on your mission." |
| 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. | 7So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. |
| 8When they returned to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, "What's your report?" | 8When the Danites returned to their tribe in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen asked them, "How did it go?" |
| 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 said, "Come on, let's attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don't hesitate to invade and conquer 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 invade, you will encounter unsuspecting people. The land is wide! God is handing it over to you--a place that lacks nothing on earth!" |
| 11So 600 descendants of Dan from Zorah and Eshtaol set out for battle, armed with military weapons. | 11So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. |
| 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 in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. 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 through the Ephraimite hill country 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 spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do." |
| 15So they turned aside from there, went to Micah's house, and greeted him. | 15They stopped there, went inside the young Levite's house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing. |
| 16While the 600 Danite soldiers, armed with military weapons, stood guard at the entrance to the gate, | 16Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. |
| 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. | 17The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. |
| 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 these men broke into Micah's house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, 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 said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?" |
| 20The priest was happy to oblige, so he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image and went along with the army. | 20The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. |
| 21Then they turned around and left, sending their little ones, their livestock, and their valuables on ahead. | 21They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. |
| 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 had gone a good distance from Micah's house, Micah's neighbors gathered together 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…?" | 23When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, "Why have you gathered together?" |
| 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 stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, 'What do you want?'" |
| 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 say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die." |
| 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; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home. |
| 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. | 27Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned 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. | 28No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied 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 it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the city's name used to be 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 worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. |
| 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. | 31They worshiped Micah's carved image the whole time God's authorized shrine was in Shiloh. |
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