Judges 18:13-26

18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish ¹  said to their kinsmen, ²  “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.” 18:15 They stopped ³  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁴  and asked him how he was doing. ⁵  18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ⁶  18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ⁷  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. ⁸  18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ⁹  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser ¹⁰  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ¹¹  18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ¹² 

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ¹³  18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ¹⁴  gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ¹⁵  turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?” 18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ¹⁶  18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ¹⁷  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ¹⁸  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹⁹  they were too strong to resist, ²⁰  he turned around and went home.

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¹ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”

² tn Heb “brothers.”

³ tn Heb “turned aside.”

⁴ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

⁵ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

⁶ tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

⁷ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

⁸ tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

⁹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

¹¹ tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

¹² tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

¹³ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

¹⁷ tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

¹⁸ tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

²⁰ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”