Judges 18:16-29
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 18
16Meanwhile, the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance of the gate. 17Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, household idols, and the cast metal image, the priest said to them, 'What are you doing?' 19And they said to him, 'Be silent, put your hand over your mouth, and go 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?' 20The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.
21Then they turned and left, and put the children, the livestock, and the valuables in front of them.
22When they had distanced themselves from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled by command and overtook the sons of Dan.
23Then they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, 'What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?'
24And he said, 'You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away; what more do I have? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’?'
25Then the sons of Dan said to him, 'Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else fierce men will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household.'
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.
27Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.
28And there was no one to save 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. So they rebuilt the city and lived in it.
29And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was previously Laish.
King James Version
Chapter 18
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. 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. 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? 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? 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.
21So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before 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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 18
16The six hundred Danite men were standing by the entrance of the city gate, armed with their weapons of war. 17Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land went in and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the city gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
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?"
20So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people.
21They prepared to leave, putting their dependents, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
22After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near it were mustered and caught up with the Danites.
23They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, "What’s the matter with you that you mustered the men?"
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."
26The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was.
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 the city.
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.
29They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish.
New Living Translation
Chapter 18
16As the 600 armed warriors from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate, 17the five scouts entered the shrine and removed the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol. Meanwhile, the priest was standing at the gate with the 600 armed warriors.
20The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image.
21They turned and started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
22When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them.
23They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, 'What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?'
25The men of Dan said, 'Watch what you say! There are some short-tempered men around here who might get angry and kill you and your family.'
26So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.
28There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there.
29They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.
English Standard Version
Chapter 18
16Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18And when these went into Micah 's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" 19And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come 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 clan in Israel?" 20And the priest 's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.
21So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them.
22When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah 's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan.
23And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?"
24And he said, "You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’"
25And the people of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household."
26Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.
27But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.
29And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first.
New International Version
Chapter 18
16The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.
19They answered him, "Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?"
20The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.
21Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.
22When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites.
23As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, "What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?"
25The Danites answered, "Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives."
26So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.
28There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.
29They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish.
New King James Version
Chapter 18
16The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.
19And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
20So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.
21Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.
22When 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.
23And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?”
25And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!”
26Then 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.
27So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.
29And 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 formerly was Laish.
