1In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites was looking for land of their own to live in. Up to that day no land had come to them among the tribes of Israel.
2So the people of Dan sent five men from their clan, brave men from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go and explore the land." The men came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they stayed the night there.
3While they were near the house of Micah, they recognised the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned in there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?"
4He said to them, "Micah has done this and this for me. He has hired me, and I am his priest."
5They said to him, "Please ask God for us, so that we may know whether the journey we are making will go well."
6The priest said to them, "Go in peace. The journey you are making is before the LORD."
7Then the five men left and came to Laish. They saw the people who lived there, how they lived without fear, like the Zidonians, quiet and safe. There was no ruler in the land to put them to shame in anything. They were far from the Zidonians and had no dealings with anyone.
8They came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"
9They said, "Get up, and let us go up against them. We have seen the land, and look, it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go and take possession of the land."
10"When you go, you will come to a people who feel safe, and to a wide land. God has given it into your hands. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking."
11So six hundred men of the clan of the Danites set out from there, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.
12They went up and camped at Kirjathjearim, in Judah. That is why they call that place Mahanehdan to this day. Look, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish spoke up. They said to their brothers, "Do you know that in these houses there is an ephod, and teraphim, and a carved image, and a metal image? Now think about what you should do."
15So they turned that way and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, at the house of Micah, and they greeted him.
16The six hundred men of the people of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.
17The five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered there. They took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the metal image, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
18These men went into Micah's house and carried off the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the metal image. Then the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"
19They said to him, "Be quiet. Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel?"
20The priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the carved image, and went along among the people.
21So they turned and went on their way. They put the little ones, the cattle, and the goods in front of them.
22When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who lived in the houses near Micah's house gathered together and caught up with the people of Dan.
23They shouted to the people of Dan. The Danites turned round and said to Micah, "What is wrong with you, that you come with such a crowd?"
24He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, 'What is wrong with you?'"
25The people of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or angry men will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household."
26So the people of Dan went on their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27They took the things Micah had made, and the priest he had, and came to Laish, to a people who were quiet and felt safe. They struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28There was no one to rescue them, because it was far from Zidon and they had no dealings with anyone. It lay in the valley near Bethrehob. The Danites built a city there and lived in it.
29They named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. But the name of the city was Laish at first.