Judges 18-19New King James Version (NKJV)
The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry
18 In those days there was no
king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an
inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance
among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 2 So
the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of
valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to
them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the
house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 While
they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of
the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here?
What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”
4 He said to them, “Thus and so Micah
did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
5 So they said to him, “Please inquire
of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be
prosperous.”
6 And the priest said to them, “Go in
peace. The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.”
7 So the five men departed and went
to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt
safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no
rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything.
They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with
anyone.[a]
8 Then the spies came
back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them,
“What is your report?”
9 So they said, “Arise, let us go up
against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very
good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate
to go, and enter to possess the land. 10 When
you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it
into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything
that is on the earth.”
11 And six hundred men of the family
of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of
war. 12 Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath
Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan[b] to this day.
There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) 13 And
they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of
Micah.
14 Then the five men who had gone to
spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know
that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a
molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 So
they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the
house of Micah—and greeted him. 16 The six hundred
men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children
of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Then
the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they
took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image.
The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who
were armed with weapons of war.
18 When these went into Micah’s house
and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded
image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 And they said to him, “Be quiet,
put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to
us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of
one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 So
the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and
the carved image, and took his place among the people.
21 Then they turned and departed, and
put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. 22 When
they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in
the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of
Dan. 23 And they called out to the children of Dan.
So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered
such a company?”
24 So he said, “You have taken away
my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do
I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’”
25 And the children of Dan said to
him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you,
and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!” 26 Then
the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too
strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
Danites Settle in Laish
27 So they took the things Micah
had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a
people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and
burned the city with fire. 28 There was no
deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties
with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt
the city and dwelt there. 29 And they called the
name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to
Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.
30 Then the children of Dan set up
for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of
Manasseh,[c] and his sons were
priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So
they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time
that the house of God was in Shiloh.
The Levite’s Concubine
19 And it came to pass in those days, when there
was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the
remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in
Judah. 2 But his concubine played the harlot
against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in
Judah, and was there four whole months. 3 Then her
husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring
her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought
him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he
was glad to meet him. 4 Now his father-in-law, the
young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they
ate and drank and lodged there.
5 Then it came to pass on the fourth
day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young
woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of
bread, and afterward go your way.”
6 So they sat down, and the two of
them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man,
“Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And
when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there
again. 8 Then he arose early in the morning on the
fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your
heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.
9 And when the man stood to depart—he
and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father,
said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the
night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be
merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”
10 However, the man was not willing
to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus
(that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys;
his concubine was also with him. 11 They were near
Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come,
please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”
12 But his master said to him, “We
will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not
of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.” 13 So
he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and
spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14 And they
passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which
belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to
go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square
of the city, for no one would take them into his house to
spend the night.
16 Just then an old man came in from
his work in the field at evening, who also was from the
mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the
place were Benjamites. 17 And when
he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the
old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”
18 So he said to him, “We are passing
from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from
there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the
house of the Lord. But there is no one who will take me
into his house, 19 although we have both straw and
fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant,
and for the young man who is with your servant; there
is no lack of anything.”
20 And the old man said, “Peace be with
you! However, let all your needs be my
responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.” 21 So
he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed
their feet, and ate and drank.
Gibeah’s Crime
22 As they were enjoying themselves,
suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men,[d] surrounded the
house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the
house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we
may know him carnally!”
23 But the man, the master of the
house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not
act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do
not commit this outrage. 24 Look, here is my
virgin daughter and the man’s[e] concubine; let me
bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this
man do not do such a vile thing!” 25 But the men
would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out
to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the
day began to break, they let her go.
26 Then the woman came as the day was
dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till
it was light.
27 When her master arose in the
morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there
was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her
hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get
up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto
the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.
29 When he entered his house he took a
knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by
limb,[f] and sent her
throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so
it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the
day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day.
Consider it, confer, and speak up!”
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