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¹ In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for itself an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [its] inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

² And the sons of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from 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.

³ When they were by the house of Micah, they knew 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 And he said to them, Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.

⁵ And they said to him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

⁶ And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before Yahweh is your way wherein you go.

⁷ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one possessing authority that might put [them] to shame in anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with man.

⁸ And they came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, What [say] you?

⁹ And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and, look, it is very good: and are you still? don't be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

¹⁰ When you go, you shall come to a people secure, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.

¹¹ And six hundred men girded with weapons of war set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol.

¹² And they went up, and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan, to this day; look, it is behind Kiriath-jearim.

¹³ And they passed from there to the hill-country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴ Then the five men that 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 talismans, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what you have to do.

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

¹⁶ And the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

¹⁷ And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the talismans, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war.

¹⁸ And when these went into Micah's house, and fetched the graven image, the ephod, and the talismans, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?

¹⁹ And they said to him, Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: 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?

²⁰ And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the talismans, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹ So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them.

²² When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house had gathered together, and overtook the sons of Dan.

²³ And they cried to the sons of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company?

²⁴ And he said, you have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? and how then do you say to me, What ails you?

²⁵ And the sons of Dan said to him, Don't let your voice be heard among us, or else angry fellows will fall on you, and you will lose your life, with the lives of your household.

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

²⁷ And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.

²⁸ And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth-rehob. And they built the city, and dwelt therein.

²⁹ And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: nevertheless the name of the city was Laish at the first.

³⁰ And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹ So they set themselves up Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.