Judges 18

The Tribe of Dan Out Here Looking for Turf

1 Back in them days, Israel did not have a king. And the tribe of Dan still did not have a solid place to call home.

2 So the Danites sent out five of their best soldiers from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out some new land. They told them, “Go check things out.” They ended up in the hill country of Ephraim and spent the night at Micah’s crib.

3 While they were there, they recognized the voice of the young Levite and said, “Listen, what are you doing here, How did you even get in this spot?”

4 He told them, “Micah hired me. I am his personal priest now.”

5 They said, “Aight, ask God for us. We tryna see if this mission we on is going to be successful.”

6 The priest told them, “Do not trip, the Lord’s watching you all. This mission going to pop off.”

The Danites Like What They See

7 The five men kept it moving. They reached Laish and saw the people living carefree, like they had no enemies or beef with nobody. Super chill. Rich land. Isolated.

8 The crew came back to Zorah and Eshtaol. Their brothers asked, “What is the word?”

9 They said, “Listen, let us roll. We saw the place. It is ours for the taking. Do not sleep on this.”

10 “When you all get there, it is an open spot. God blessed it. The land’s wide open, God got this lined up for us.”

Dan Sends Out 600 Soldiers

11 So 600 men from Dan strapped up for war and left Zorah and Eshtaol.

12 They camped near Kiriath-jearim in Judah, that is why that spot’s called Mahaneh-dan to this day. It is west of Kiriath-jearim.

13 Then they moved into the hill country of Ephraim and rolled up on Micah’s house again.

The Danites Rob Micah

14 The five scouts told the others, “Listen, this dude Micah got a whole setup, carved idols, a priest outfit, and a Levite. You all know what to do.”

15 So they went in, greeted the priest, and acted all friendly.

16 Meanwhile, the 600 soldiers were standing outside Micah’s gate fully armed.

17 The five men snuck into the house and grabbed the carved image, the priest’s robe, the household gods, the whole setup.

18 The priest asked, “What are y’all doing?”

19 They told him, “Shhh… keep quiet. Roll with us. Be our priest. You would rather be a priest for one man or for a whole tribe?”

20 The priest was with it. He took the idols and the gear and went with them.

Micah Gets Pressed

21 They turned and left, putting the kids, livestock, and valuables up front.

22 When they got a little distance, Micah and some neighbors rolled up on them and called them out.

23 The Danites turned around and said, “What is your problem?”

24 Micah said, “You all took everything I had, my gods, my priest, and bounced. I got nothing left!”

25 The Danites said, “Look bruh, do not raise your voice. Some hot-headed dudes might wild out and you will not make it back home.”

26 Then they kept walking. Micah saw he could not take them, so he turned around and went home.

The Danites Take Laish

27 The Danites took what Micah built and the priest with them. They pulled up on Laish, quiet, peaceful people, and wiped them out. Burned the city down.

28 Nobody came to save them, they were far from everybody, had no alliances. City was in a valley near Beth-rehob. Dan rebuilt the place and moved in.

29 They named it Dan, after their ancestor who was Jacob’s son, but it used to be called Laish.

False Worship Continues

30 The tribe of Dan set up Micah’s idols. Jonathan son of Gershom, grandson of Moses, and his sons became the tribe’s priests. They kept that job until Israel got taken into captivity.

31 So they kept worshiping the fake idol Micah made. That shrine stayed active the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.