Jonathan

1Back then Israel had no king. The tribe of Dan was looking for land to live in. Up to that time they had not been given their own share among the tribes.

In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

NoteA tribe was a big family group in Israel. Each one came from one of Jacob's sons. When Israel took the land, each tribe got its own part to live in. Dan had not gotten a safe part yet.

2The people of Dan chose five brave men from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. "Go and look over the land," they told them. The men came to the hill country of Ephraim. They stopped at Micah's house and stayed the night.

And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

NoteZorah and Eshtaol were towns in the low hills. Ephraim was a hilly part of the land farther north.

3Near the house they heard the young Levite's voice and knew who it was. A Levite came from the family group that helped with worship. They went over and asked, "Who brought you here? What are you doing? Why are you here?"

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

NoteThe Levites were one of Israel's family groups. Their job was to help at worship. They were not given their own land like the other tribes. So many of them lived here and there among the others.

4He said, "Micah did this and that for me. He pays me to be his priest."

And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

NoteA priest led worship and offered gifts to God. Only certain men were meant to do this job.

5They said to him, "Please ask God something for us. We want to know if our trip will go well."

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

NotePeople believed a priest could ask God a question for them. Then the priest told them God's answer.

6The priest said, "Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the trip you are taking."

And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.

NoteThe LORD in big letters stands for God's own special name.

7The five men went on to a town called Laish. The people there lived quietly and felt safe, like the people of Sidon. No ruler there treated them badly, and they had all they needed. They lived far from Sidon and had no friends nearby to help them.

Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

NoteLaish was a town far to the north. Sidon was a big city by the sea. Its people were traders and lived a long way off.

8The men came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol. Their brothers asked, "What did you find out?"

And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?

9They said, "Let's go and attack them. We saw the land, and it is very good. Why are you just sitting here? Do not wait. Go and take the land."

And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

10"When you get there, the people will not expect you. The land is wide, and God has handed it to you. Nothing that grows on earth is missing there."

When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.

11So six hundred men of Dan set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. They carried weapons for war.

And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

12They went up and camped at Kirjath-jearim in Judah. That is why people still call that place Mahaneh-dan. It is just west of Kirjath-jearim.

And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

NoteMahaneh-dan means "the camp of Dan." Places were often named after something that happened there.

13From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim. They came to Micah's house.

And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

14The five men who had gone to see Laish spoke to their brothers. "Did you know one of these houses has an ephod and small house gods? It also has a carved idol and one made of melted metal. Now think about what you should do."

Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

NoteAn ephod was a special vest a priest wore. People used it when asking God a question. House gods were small statues families kept at home. An idol is a statue that people treat like a god. Some were carved from wood and some were made of melted metal poured into a mold.

15So they turned in at the house of the young Levite, which was Micah's house. They greeted him.

And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

16The six hundred men of Dan stood at the gate. They were holding their weapons for war.

And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

17The five spies went inside and took the carved idol, the ephod, the small house gods, and the metal idol. The priest was standing at the gate with the six hundred armed men.

And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

18The men went into Micah's house and carried all those things out. Then the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

19They said, "Be quiet. Put your hand over your mouth. Come with us and be our priest, like a father to us. Is it better to be priest for one man's house, or for a whole tribe in Israel?"

And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

NoteCalling a man "a father" meant they wanted him to guide them. It did not mean he was really their dad.

20This made the priest glad. He picked up the ephod, the house gods, and the carved idol. Then he walked along with the people.

And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

21They turned and went on their way. They put their little children, their animals, and their goods in front of them.

So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

NoteThey put the children and animals ahead of them on the road. That way the fighting men walked last and could guard from behind.

22They had gone a good way from Micah's house. Then the men who lived near Micah came together. They chased the men of Dan and caught up with them.

And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

23They shouted after them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, "What is wrong? Why did you come after us with all these men?"

And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

24He said, "You took the gods I made. You took my priest, and then you left. What do I have left? How can you ask me what is wrong?"

And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

25The men of Dan said, "Do not raise your voice at us. Angry men might attack you. Then you and your family would lose your lives."

And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

26So the men of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were too strong for him. He turned and went back home.

And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

27They took the things Micah had made and took his priest too. Then they came to Laish, where the people lived quietly and felt safe. They killed the people with their swords. They burned the city down.

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

28No one came to save the town. It was far from Sidon and had no friends to help. It sat in a valley near Beth-rehob. The men of Dan built the city again and lived there.

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

29They named the city Dan, after Dan, one of the sons of Israel. Before that, the city was called Laish.

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.

NoteIsrael here means Jacob. Jacob was also called Israel, and Dan was one of his sons. The whole nation was named after him.

30The men of Dan set up the carved idol there. Jonathan was the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh. He and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan. They kept doing this until the people were taken away from the land.

And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

NoteGershom was a son of Moses. Some very old copies of this book say Moses here instead of Manasseh. "Taken away from the land" means enemy soldiers carried the people off to another country.

31They kept Micah's carved idol standing there. It stayed the whole time that God's house was at Shiloh.

And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

NoteShiloh was a town where God's special tent stood. People traveled there to worship.