¹In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the Danite tribe was looking for an inheritance to dwell in, because up to that time no inheritance had fallen to it among the tribes of Israel. ²And the sons of Dan sent five men from their family – from their borders, valiant men – from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to search it out, and they said to them, “Go and search out the land.” And they came to Mount Ephraim, to Micah's house, and they lodged there. ³They were with Micah's household, and they recognized the voice of the Levite lad, and they went aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place, and what is your business here?” ⁴And he said to them, “Micah offered me this and that and hired me, and I became his priest.” ⁵Then they said to him, “Kindly ask God so that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” ⁶And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way on which you are going is before the Lord.” ⁷And the five men departed, and they came to Laish, and they saw the people inside it, dwelling in security, in the manner of the Sidonians, being quiet and secure, with no-one who possessed authority accusing anyone of any shame in the land. Now they were far from the Sidonians, and they had no business with any man. ⁸Then they went back to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What news have you?” ⁹And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and we have seen that it is very good. But you are silent. Do not be slack in going to enter in and to take possession of the land. ¹⁰As you arrive, you will come to a self-confident people. And the land is very wide, for God has delivered it into your hands – a place where there is no lack of anything in the land.” ¹¹Then six hundred men of the Danite family, girded with weapons of war, moved from there – from Zorah and Eshtaol – ¹²and they went up and encamped at Kiriath-Jearim in Judah, which is why they call that place Mahaneh-Dan up to this day. Its location is behind Kiriath-Jearim. ¹³And they crossed from there to Mount Ephraim, and they went up to Micah's house. ¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish spoke and said to their brothers, “Did you know that there is an ephod and amulets in these houses, and an engraved image and a cast image? So now, decide what you are going to do.” ¹⁵Then they turned aside to there, and they went to the house of the Levite lad – to Micah's house – and they asked him how he was. ¹⁶And the six hundred men, girded with their weapons of war, who were from the sons of Dan, stood at the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and went in there. They took the engraved image and the ephod and the amulets and the cast image, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate, with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war. ¹⁸So these men went to Micah's house, and they took the engraved image, the ephod and the amulets and the cast image. And the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹And they said to him, “Be silent, and put your hand to your mouth, and come with us, and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or for you to be a priest to a tribe and family in Israel?” ²⁰Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the amulets and the engraved image, and he went among the people. ²¹Then they turned around and departed, and they put the little ones and the cattle and the precious things before them. ²²When they had moved away from Micah's house, the men who were in the houses which were associated with Micah's house mobilized themselves and caught up with the sons of Dan. ²³And they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned round and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you should mobilize yourself like this?” ²⁴And he said, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have departed. So what remains for me, and what is this that you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’?” ²⁵And the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard with us in case any embittered men attack you and you gather yourself and the people of your household with the dead.” ²⁶Then the sons of Dan went their way and Micah saw that they were stronger than he, so he turned round and went back to his house. ²⁷So they took what Micah had had made, and the priest whom he had, and they came to Laish, to a quiet and self-confident people, and they struck them down with the edge of the sword, and they burnt the city with fire. ²⁸And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man, and it was in the valley which belongs to Beth-Rehob. Then they built up the city and dwelt in it. ²⁹And they called the city Dan after their father Dan who was born to Israel, but the name of the city at first was Laish. ³⁰And the sons of Dan set up the engraved image for themselves, whilst Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh – he and his sons – became priests to the Danite tribe up to the day when the land became captive. ³¹And they set up for themselves Micah's engraved image which he had had made for all the time when the house of God was in Shiloh.