The Book of Judges

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 18 -

In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in: for unto that day they had not received their lot among the other tribes.

So the children of Dan sent five most valiant men of their stock and family from Saraa and Esthaol, to spy out the land, and to view it diligently: and they said to them: Go, and view the land. They went on their way, and when they came to mount Ephraim, they went into the house of Michas, and rested there:

And knowing the voice of the young man the Levite, and lodging with him, they said to him: Who brought thee hither? what dost thou here? why wouldst thou come hither?

He answered them: Michas hath done such and such things for me, and hath hired me to be his priest.

Then they desired him to consult the Lord, that they might know whether their journey should be prosperous, and the thing should have effect.

He answered them: Go in peace, the Lord looketh on your way, and the journey that you go.

So the five men going on came to Lais: and they saw how the people dwelt therein without any fear, according to the custom of the Sidonians, secure and easy, having no man at all to oppose them, being very rich, and living separated, at a distance from Sidon and from all men.

And they returned to their brethren in Saraa and Esthaol, who asked them what they had done? to whom they answered:

Arise, and let us go up to them: for we have seen the land which is exceeding rich and fruitful: neglect not, lose no time: let us go and possess it, there will be no difficulty.

We shall come to a people that is secure, into a spacious country, and the Lord will deliver the place to us, in which there is no want of any thing that groweth on the earth.

There went therefore of the kindred of Dan, to wit, from Saraa and Esthaol, six hundred men, furnished with arms for war,

And going up they lodged in Cariathiarim of Juda: which place from that time is called the camp of Dan, and is behind Cariathiarim.

From thence they passed into mount Ephraim. And when they were come to the house of Michas,

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

The five men, that before had been sent to view the land of Lais, said to the rest of their brethren: You know that in these houses there is an ephod, and theraphim, and a graven, and a molten god: see what you are pleased to do.

And when they had turned a little aside, they went into the house of the young man the Levite, who was in the house of Michas: and they saluted him with words of peace.

And the six hundred men stood before the door, appointed with their arms.

But they that were gone into the house of the young man, went about to take away the graven god, and the ephod, and the theraphim, and the molten god, and the priest stood before the door, the six hundred valiant men waiting not far off.

So they that were gone in took away the graven thing, the ephod, and the idols, and the molten god. And the priest said to them: What are you doing?

And they said to him: Hold thy peace and put thy finger on thy mouth and come with us, that we may have thee for a father, and a priest. Whether is better for thee, to be a priest in the house of one man, or in a tribe and family in Israel?

When he had heard this, he agreed to their words, and took the ephod, and the idols, and the graven god, and departed with them.

And when they were going forward, and had put before them the children and the cattle and all that was valuable,

And were now at a distance from the house of Michas, the men that dwelt in the houses of Michas gathering together followed them,

And began to shout out after them. They looked back, and said to Michas: What aileth thee? Why dost thou cry?

And he answered: You have taken away my gods which I have made me and the priest, and all that I have, and do you say: What aileth thee?

And the children of Dan said to him: See thou say no more to us, lest men enraged come upon thee, and thou perish with all thy house.

And so they went on the journey they had begun. But Michas seeing that they were stronger than he, returned to his house.

And the six hundred men took the priest, and the things we spoke of before, and came to Lais to a people that was quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword: and the city was burnt with fire,

There being no man at all who brought them any succour, because they dwelt far from Sidon, and had no society or business with any man. And the city was in the land of Rohob: and they rebuilt it and dwelt therein.

Calling the name of the city Dan after the name of their father, who was the son of Israel, which before was called Lais.

And they set up to themselves the graven idol, and Jonathan the son of Gersam the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests in the tribe of Dan, until the day of their captivity.

And the idol of Michas remained with them all the time that the house of God was in Silo. In those days there was no king in Israel.

In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; so they went over there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”

He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”

They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”

The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before the LORD.”

Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in safety, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone else.

They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers asked them, “What do you say?”

They said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

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

They went up and encamped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.

They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim,(a) and a carved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

They went over there and came to the house of the young Levite man, even to the house of Micah, and asked him how he was doing.

The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

When these went into Micah’s house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.

So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods before them.

When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

As they called to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away! What more do I have? How can you ask me, ‘What ails you?’”

The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

The children of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; then they burned the city with fire.

There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone else; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city and lived in it.

They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be Laish.

The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s engraved image which he made, and it remained all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.

Footnotes

(a)18:14 teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the household property.