1 At that time Israel had no king. At that time the tribe of the Danites was looking for an inheritance of its own to settle in, since up to then nothing had fallen to them as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
2 The children of Dan sent five men from their clan, picked from their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout the land and search it out. They told them, "Go, search out the land." They reached the hill country of Ephraim, came to Micah's house, and lodged there.
3 While they were by Micah's house, they recognized the young Levite's voice. They turned in there and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What do you have here?"
4 He told them, "This is what Micah has done for me: he has hired me, and I am his priest."
5 They said to him, "Please ask God, so we may know whether the journey we are making will be successful."
6 The priest told them, "Go in peace. The LORD has his eye on the journey you are making."
7 The five men went on and came to Laish. They saw the people there living securely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting; there was no one in the land putting them to shame in anything, no one who held power over them. They were far from the Sidonians and had nothing to do with anyone.
8 They came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers asked them, "What news?"
9 They said, "Up, let us go up against them! We have seen the land, and it is very good indeed. And you sit still? Do not hold back from going in to take possession of the land.
10 When you get there you will come to a trusting people, and the land is broad on every side. God has handed it over to you, a place that lacks nothing that is on earth."
11 From there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men of the clan of the Danites set out, fitted with weapons of war.
12 They went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.
13 From there they crossed into the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house.
14 The five men who had gone to scout the land of Laish spoke up and said to their brothers, "Did you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household idols, a carved image and a cast image? Now think about what you will do."
15 They turned in there, came to the young Levite's house, Micah's house, and greeted him.
16 The six hundred men of the children of Dan, fitted with their weapons of war, were standing at the opening of the gate.
17 The five men who had gone to scout the land went up, went in there, and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols and the cast image, while the priest was standing at the opening of the gate with the six hundred men fitted with weapons of war.
18 These men went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols and the cast image, and the priest asked them, "What are you doing?"
19 They told him, "Be still; put your hand on your mouth and come with us. Be a father and a priest for us. Which is better, being priest to one man's household, or being priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel?"
20 The priest was pleased at heart. He took the ephod, the household idols and the carved image and went in among the people.
21 They turned and went off, putting the little ones, the livestock and the valuables at their front.
22 They were a good way from Micah's house when the men in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they caught up with the children of Dan.
23 They shouted to the children of Dan, who turned their faces around and said to Micah, "What is wrong with you that you have gathered a band?"
24 He said, "My gods that I made you have taken, and the priest, and gone off; what do I have left? So how can you ask me, 'What is wrong with you?'"
25 The children of Dan told him, "Do not let us hear your voice again, or men with bitter spirits will set upon you, and you will lose your life and your household's lives."
26 The children of Dan went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were stronger than he was, turned and went back home.
27 So they took what Micah had made, and the priest he had, and came upon Laish, a quiet and trusting people. They put them to the sword and burned the city.
28 There was no one to rescue it, since it was far from Sidon and had nothing to do with anyone; it lay in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and settled in it.
29 They named the city Dan, after their father Dan, who was born to Israel, though the city's name at first was Laish.
30 The children of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.
31 They kept Micah's carved image that he had made set up for themselves the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.