King James Version

1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of Dan sought for itself a possession to dwell in, for it had not fallen to it until that day among the tribes of Israel by heritage. 2 And the sons of Dan sent out five men from their families, strong men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. And they said to them, "Go, search out the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 They were with the house of Micah, and they recognized the voice of the young Levite, and they turned there and said to him, "Who brought you here, and what are you doing here, and what do you have here?" 4 And he said to them, "Thus and thus Micah has done for me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest." 5 And they said to him, "Please inquire of God, and let us know whether our path will succeed, which we are walking on." 6 And the priest said to them, "Go in peace before the Lord; your way in which you are going will be safe." 7 And five men went and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it, living securely like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, and there was no oppressor in the land, possessing authority, and they were far from the Sidonians and did not have dealings with any man. 8 And they came to their brothers Tza'rah and Eshtaol and they said to them, "What are you?" 9 And they said, "Get up and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good, and you are hesitating; do not be lazy to go in to possess the land." 10 When you come to a secure people and a land wide in hands, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the land. 11 And they set out from there the family of the Danites from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 12 And they ascended and camped in Kiryat Yearim in Judah; therefore, they called that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kiryat Yearim. 13 And they passed from there to Mount Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. 14 And the five men who were going to spy out the land said to their brothers, "Do you know that there are ephods and teraphim and idols and molten images in these houses? And now know what you will do." 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man the Levite, to the house of Micah, and they asked him for peace. 16 And six hundred men armed with weapons of war stood at the entrance of the gate which belongs to the children of Dan. 17 And five men who were going to scout the land came there, took the idol and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image, and the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate and six hundred men, equipped with war weapons. 18 And these came to the house of Micah and took the carved image, the idol, and the molded image, and the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" 19 And they said to him, "Keep silent, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it good for you to be a priest for the house of one man or to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?" 20 And the heart of the priest was good, and he took the ephod and the teraphim and the idol, and he came into the midst of the people. 21 And they turned and went, and they put the children and the livestock and the possessions before them. 22 They distanced themselves from the house of Micah, and the men who were in the houses that were with the house of Micah cried out, and they caught the children of Dan. 23 And they called to the sons of Dan, and they turned their faces, and they said to Micah, "What is it with you that you have cried out?" 24 And he said to the God whom I have taken, and to the priest, and you shall go, and what is there for me anymore, and what will you say to me, what is there for you? 25 And the sons of Dan said to me, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men encounter you and you gather your soul and the soul of your household." 26 And the sons of Dan went on their way, and Micah saw that they were stronger than him, and he turned and went back to his house. 27 And they took what Micah had made and the priest who was with him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there is no one to save because it is far from Sidon, and they have no matter with man, and it is in the valley which belongs to Beth-Rehob, and they built the city and dwelt there. 29 And they called the name of the city Dan after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; but the city was originally named Laish. 30 And the sons of Dan set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom the son of Manasseh was a priest for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set up for themselves the idol of Micah that he had made all the days of the existence of the house of God in Shiloh.