1
In those days there was no king in Yisra’el. And in those days the tribe of the Dani was seeking for itself an inheritance in which to dwell, for until that day an inheritance had not fallen to them in the midst of the tribes of Yisra’el.
2
And the sons of Dan sent from their family five men from their whole number, men of strength, from Tzorah and from Eshtaol, to search out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Efrayim, to the house of Mikhah, and lodged there.
3
When they were by the house of Mikhah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levi, and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?”
4
And he said to them, “Thus and thus Mikhah has done for me, and he hired me, and I became his kohen.”
5
And they said to him, “Please ask of Elohim, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will succeed.”
6
And the kohen said to them, “Go in shalom. Before Yahuah is your way on which you are going.”
7
And the five men went and came to Layish, and saw the people who were in its midst dwelling securely, according to the manner of the Tzidoni, quiet and secure. And there was no one in the land possessing authority who might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Tzidoni, and had no dealings with any Adam.
8
And they came to their brothers at Tzorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you say?”
9
And they said, “Rise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and see, it is exceedingly good. And will you be silent? Do not be sluggish to go, to enter and possess the land.
10
When you come, you will come to a secure people and to a broad land, for Elohim has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is upon the earth.”
11
And from there six hundred ish from the family of the Dani, armed with weapons of war, journeyed from Tzorah and from Eshtaol.
12
And they went up and encamped at Qiryat-Yearim in Yehudah. Therefore they called that place Machaneh-Dan to this day. See, it is behind Qiryat-Yearim.
13
And they passed from there to the hill country of Efrayim and came to the house of Mikhah.
14
And the five men who had gone to search out the land of Layish answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, and terafim, and a carved image, and a molten image? And now know what you should do.”
15
And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levi, to the house of Mikhah, and asked him concerning shalom.
16
And the six hundred ish from the sons of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.
17
And the five men who had gone to search out the land went up and entered there and took the carved image, and the ephod, and the terafim, and the molten image, while the kohen stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred ish armed with weapons of war.
18
And these entered the house of Mikhah and took the carved image, the ephod, and the terafim, and the molten image. And the kohen said to them, “What are you doing?”
19
And they said to him, “Be silent. Place your hand upon your mouth and go with us, and be to us as a father and as a kohen. Is it better for you to be kohen to the house of one ish, or to be kohen to a tribe and a family in Yisra’el?”
20
And the heart of the kohen was glad. And he took the ephod, and the terafim, and the carved image, and went in the midst of the people.
21
And they turned and went, and placed the little ones, and the livestock, and the possessions before their face.
22
They had gone some distance from the house of Mikhah when the men who were in the houses near the house of Mikhah were called together and overtook the sons of Dan.
23
And they cried out to the sons of Dan. And they turned their faces and said to Mikhah, “What is with you, that you have been called together?”
24
And he said, “You have taken my elohim that I made, and the kohen, and you have gone away. And what remains to me? And how then do you say to me, ‘What is with you?’”
25
And the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men bitter of being fall upon you, and you lose your being and the beings of your house.”
26
And the sons of Dan went on their way. And Mikhah saw that they were stronger than he, and he turned and went back to his house.
27
And they took what Mikhah had made, and the kohen who had belonged to him, and came against Layish, against a people quiet and secure. And they struck them with the mouth of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28
And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Tzidon, and they had no dealings with any Adam. And it was in the valley that belongs to Beit-Rechov. And they built the city and dwelt in it.
29
And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Yisra’el. But the name of the city was Layish at the first.
30
And the sons of Dan raised up for themselves the carved image. And Yehonatan son of Gershom, son of Mosheh, he and his sons were kohenim to the tribe of the Dani until the day of the captivity of the land.
31
And they set up for themselves the carved image that Mikhah had made, all the days that the house of Elohim was in Shiloh.