Judges 18:1–31

¹ In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ² So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. ³ And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” ⁴ “Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.” ⁵ Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.” ⁶ And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.” ⁷ So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone. ⁸ When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?” ⁹ They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land! ¹⁰ When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.” ¹¹ So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. ¹² They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day. ¹³ And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house. ¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.” ¹⁵ So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him. ¹⁶ The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war. ¹⁷ And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.