| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them 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. |
| 2And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged 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. |
| 3When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou 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?" |
| 4And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. | 4He told them what Micah had done for him and that he had hired him as his priest. |
| 5And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. | 5Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God so we will know if we will have a successful journey." |
| 6And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. | 6The priest told them, "Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on." |
| 7Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man. | 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. |
| 8And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? | 8When the men went back to their clans at Zorah and Eshtaol, their people asked them, "What did you find out?" |
| 9And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess 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 ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the 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." |
| 11And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. | 11Six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol armed with weapons of war. |
| 12And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim. | 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. |
| 13And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah. | 13From there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house. |
| 14Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have 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." |
| 15And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him. | 15So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. |
| 16And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. | 16The 600 Danite men were standing by the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war. |
| 17And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. | 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. |
| 18And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? | 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?" |
| 19And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? | 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?" |
| 20And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. | 20So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people. |
| 21So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. | 21They prepared to leave, putting their small children, livestock, and possessions in front of them. |
| 22And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children 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. |
| 23And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? | 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?" |
| 24And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? | 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?'" |
| 25And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy 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." |
| 26And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. | 26The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was. |
| 27And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. | 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. |
| 28And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. | 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. |
| 29And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. | 29They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish. |
| 30And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. | 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. |
| 31And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in 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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