Berean Study Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

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 of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.

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 sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search 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 near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?"

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

4He said to them, "Thus and so has Micah done to me, and 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.”

5They said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous."

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

6The priest said to them, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."

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 in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and 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?”

8When they came back 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 sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to 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.”

10"When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."

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

11Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.

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.

12They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place 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.

13They passed 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 went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do."

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

15They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

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

16The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, 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.

17Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred 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?”

18When these went into Micah's house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten 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?”

19They said to him, "Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"

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

20The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and went among the people.

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

21Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables 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 some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house assembled and overtook the sons 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?”

23They cried to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?"

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?’ ”

24He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to 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.”

25The sons of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else fierce men will fall upon you and you will 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.

26So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

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.

27Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they 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 one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And 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.

29They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

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.

30The sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he 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 for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.

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