Judges 18-19

New Living Translation

Idolatry in the Tribe of Dan

18 Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place where they could settle, for they had not yet moved into the land assigned to them when the land was divided among the tribes of Israel. ² So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in.

When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there. ³ While at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s accent, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” ⁴ He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.

⁵ Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”

⁶ “Go in peace,” the priest replied. “For the Lord is watching over your journey.”

⁷ So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure.^[a] The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.

⁸ When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”

⁹ The men replied, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to go and take possession of it. ¹⁰ When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!”

¹¹ So 600 men from the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹² They camped at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah, which is called Mahaneh-dan^[b] to this day. ¹³ Then they went on from there into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴ The five men who had scouted out the land around Laish explained to the others, “These buildings contain a sacred ephod, as well as some household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol. What do you think you should do?” ¹⁵ Then the five men turned off the road and went over to Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived, and greeted him kindly. ¹⁶ As the 600 armed warriors from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate, ¹⁷ the five scouts entered the shrine and removed the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol. Meanwhile, the priest was standing at the gate with the 600 armed warriors.

¹⁸ When the priest saw the men carrying all the sacred objects out of Micah’s shrine, he said, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ “Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn’t it better to be a priest for an entire tribe and clan of Israel than for the household of just one man?”

²⁰ The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image. ²¹ They turned and started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.

²² When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them. ²³ They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?”

²⁴ “What do you mean, ‘What’s the matter?’” Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”

²⁵ The men of Dan said, “Watch what you say! There are some short-tempered men around here who might get angry and kill you and your family.” ²⁶ So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.

²⁷ Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground. ²⁸ There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob.

Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there. ²⁹ They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.

³⁰ Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,^[c] as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile. ³¹ So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.

The Levite and His Concubine

19 Now in those days Israel had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi living in a remote area of the hill country of Ephraim. One day he brought home a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine. ² But she became angry with him^[d] and returned to her father’s home in Bethlehem.

After about four months, ³ her husband set out for Bethlehem to speak personally to her and persuade her to come back. He took with him a servant and a pair of donkeys. When he arrived at^[e] her father’s house, her father saw him and welcomed him. ⁴ Her father urged him to stay awhile, so he stayed three days, eating, drinking, and sleeping there.

⁵ On the fourth day the man was up early, ready to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have something to eat before you go.” ⁶ So the two men sat down together and had something to eat and drink. Then the woman’s father said, “Please stay another night and enjoy yourself.” ⁷ The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him to stay, so he finally gave in and stayed the night.

⁸ On the morning of the fifth day he was up early again, ready to leave, and again the woman’s father said, “Have something to eat; then you can leave later this afternoon.” So they had another day of feasting. ⁹ Later, as the man and his concubine and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, “Look, it’s almost evening. Stay the night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way.”

¹⁰ But this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two saddled donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ¹¹ It was late in the day when they neared Jebus, and the man’s servant said to him, “Let’s stop at this Jebusite town and spend the night there.”

¹² “No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in this foreign town where there are no Israelites. Instead, we will go on to Gibeah. ¹³ Come on, let’s try to get as far as Gibeah or Ramah, and we’ll spend the night in one of those towns.” ¹⁴ So they went on. The sun was setting as they came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin, ¹⁵ so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night.

¹⁶ That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin. ¹⁷ When he saw the travelers sitting in the town square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going.

¹⁸ “We have been in Bethlehem in Judah,” the man replied. “We are on our way to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim, which is my home. I traveled to Bethlehem, and now I’m returning home.^[f] But no one has taken us in for the night, ¹⁹ even though we have everything we need. We have straw and feed for our donkeys and plenty of bread and wine for ourselves.”

²⁰ “You are welcome to stay with me,” the old man said. “I will give you anything you might need. But whatever you do, don’t spend the night in the square.” ²¹ So he took them home with him and fed the donkeys. After they washed their feet, they ate and drank together.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so we can have sex with him.”

²³ The old man stepped outside to talk to them. “No, my brothers, don’t do such an evil thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and such a thing would be shameful. ²⁴ Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don’t do such a shameful thing to this man.”

²⁵ But they wouldn’t listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and pushed her out the door. The men of the town abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, at dawn they let her go. ²⁶ At daybreak the woman returned to the house where her husband was staying. She collapsed at the door of the house and lay there until it was light.

²⁷ When her husband opened the door to leave, there lay his concubine with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ He said, “Get up! Let’s go!” But there was no answer.^[g] So he put her body on his donkey and took her home.

²⁹ When he got home, he took a knife and cut his concubine’s body into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each tribe throughout all the territory of Israel.

³⁰ Everyone who saw it said, “Such a horrible crime has not been committed in all the time since Israel left Egypt. Think about it! What are we going to do? Who’s going to speak up?”