Judges 18:1-31 5 Men of Valor Try to Talk Micah’s Priest into Coming with Them

5 Men of Valor Try to Talk Micah’s Priest into Coming with Them

Judges 18:1-31    The Book of Judges [in Smaller Chunks]

In those days, there was no king in Israel, & the tribe of Danites [searched] for an inheritance [of land for] the to [live] in, [because until then,] all their inheritance hadn’t fallen, [a.k.a. been given,] to them [yet] among the tribes of Israel.

The children, [a.k.a. people,] of Dan sent [from] their family, 5 men of [valor] from their coasts of Zorah & Eshtaol, to spy out the land, & to [examine] it. And [the Danites] said to them, Go, search the land. When they came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they [recognized] the voice of the young man, [who was a] Levite. They turned in [there,] & said to him, Who brought you [here?] What [do] you [make] in this place? And what [do] you [have] here?

And he said to them, Micah [deals] with me [like this, & that,] & [has] hired me, & I am his priest. And they said to him, We pray [that] you ask [for] counsel [from] God, & whether we may know our way [that] we go, [a.k.a. the journey we take,] shall be prosperous.

The priest said to them, Go in peace. Your way [in which] you go, is before the Lord. Then, the 5 men [left,] & came to Laish & saw the people, [who] were [in it,] & how they [lived safely like,] the Zidonians, [a.k.a. Sidonians,] quiet & secure & there was no magistrate, [a.k.a. civil officer, who enforces the law,] in the land, [who] might put them to shame [for] anything.

They were far from the Zidonians, [who] had no business with any man. And they came [back] to their brethren [in] Zorah & Eshtaol. And their brethren [asked,] What [do you have to tell us?]

And they said, Arise, [so] that we may go up against [the Zidonians,] [in battle,] for we have seen the land, & [saw] it’s very good. [Why are you waiting? Don’t] be [lazy] to go & enter to possess the land.

When you go, you shall come to a secure people, & to a large land: for the [Lord] God [has] given it into your hands. A place where there [isn’t] want [for] anything [on] the earth.

And 600 [armed] men with weapons of war [from] the family of Danites went out of Zorah & Eshtaol. They went up & pitched [tents] in Judah, in Kirjath Jearim. [For this reason,] they called that place: Mahaneh Dan to this day. [Look] it's behind Kirjath Jearim. And they passed [from there] to Mount Ephraim, & came to the house of Micah.

The 5 men [who] went to spy out the country of Laish, answered & said to their brethren, Do you know that in these houses, there is an ephod, a teraphim, a [carved] image & a [molded] image?

Therefore, now consider what you have to do. And they turned [aside,] & came to the house of the young Levite man, even to the house of Micah, & [greeted] him. The 600 [Danite] men, [armed] with weapons of war, stood by the gate [entrance.]

And the 5 men [who spied] out the land went up, came in, & took the [carved] image, the ephod, teraphim, & the [molded] image. And the priest stood in the gate [entrance] with the 600 [armed] men.

And these went into Micah’s house, [a.k.a. temple,] & [got] the: ephod, carved image, the teraphim & the [molded] image. Then, the priest [asked] them. What [are] you [doing?] They said to him, Hold your peace, & lay your hand [over] your mouth, [a.k.a. cover your mouth, & don't say anything,] & go with us to be a father & a priest to us.

Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of 1 man, that you [are] a priest [for] a tribe & a family in Israel? And the priest’s heart was glad, & he took the ephod, teraphim & [carved] image, & went [into] the midst of the people.

So, they turned & [left,] & put the little ones, cattle, & carriages [in front of] them. When they were a good [distance away] from [Micah’s] house, Micah’s [nearby neighbors] gathered together, & [caught up with] the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Dan, & cried [out] to [them.]

And [the Danites] turned [toward] Micah, & said, What [ails] you, that you [come] with such a [large] company? [Micah] said, You have taken away my gods [that] I made, & the priest, & you [have] gone away. What more [do] I have [left?] And [why do] you say to me, What [ails] you?

And the [people] of Dan said to [Micah, Don’t] let us [hear] your voice among us, lest [some] angry [men] run [to] you, & you lose your life & the lives of your household. And the [people] of Dan went [on] their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned & went back to his house.

[The people of Dan] took the things that Micah had made, & the priest [that Micah] had. And [the Danites] came to Laish, to [the] people, [who] were quiet & secure; & they [struck] them with the edge of the sword & burnt the city with fire.

It was far from Zidon, [a.k.a. Sidon,] & it was in the valley that [lies] by Beth Rehob. The [Zidonians didn’t have] [any ties] with [others, so] there was no [one to deliver, a.k.a save,] [them.] [The Danites] built a city & [lived in it there.]

They called the name of the city, Dan, after Dan their [forefather,] who was born to Israel, [a.k.a Jacob.] [However,] the name of the city was first, Laish.

The [people] of Dan set up the [carved] image ,& Jonathan, [Gershom’s] son,  [who was] the son of the of Manasseh, & he & his sons were priests [for] the tribe of Dan, until the day of the captivity of the land.

And they set up Micah’s [carved] image, [that] he made, [throughout] the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.