1In those days, there was no King in Israel, and in those days the tribe of Dan had sought for itself a division to inhabit, because it was not divided an inheritance until that day among the tribes of Israel 2And the children of Dan sent five men from their tribe, from Tsada and from Eshtwayel, to spy the land and to explore it, and they were saying to them: “Go explore the land.” And they came to the Mountain of Aphreim unto the house of Mikah and they lodged there 3Those were in the house of Mikah and recognized the voice of the young man, Levi, and they turned aside to him there, and they said to him: “Why have you come here and what are you doing here?” 4He said to them: “Thus and so Mikah has done for me, and he hired me and I have been a Priest to him” 5They said to him: “Inquire with God for us and we shall know if the road is prosperous upon which we travel” 6The Priest said to them: “Go in peace, and LORD JEHOVAH will order your way that you will go upon it”

7And the five men went to Lish, and they saw the people who were dwelling within it dwelling in quietness, according to the law of the Tsidonians, that they were calm also among themselves, and there was no one molesting in the land, neither anyone oppressing or anyone distressing, and they removed themselves from the Tsidonians, and they had no communication with a man 8And they came to their brethren at Tsada and at Eshtwayel, and they were saying to their brethren: “From where have you come?” 9And they were saying: “From Lish; arise now, we will go up against them, because we have seen the land, and it is very good, and you shall not be still, neither falter to go and to enter and to possess the land! 10At their entrance, you are entering against a rich people and a land enlarged round about before you, because God has delivered it into your hands, that you would not lack a thing in the land!”

11And the tribe of Dan picked up from there from Tsada and from Eshtwayel, six hundred men armed with armaments of war 12And they came up and they camped in the town of Narayn of Yehuda; because of this they called that region the Camp of Dan until today; behold it is behind Quryath Narayn 13And they crossed from there to the Mountain of Aphreim and they went unto the house of Mikah

14And the five men who went to spy the land of Lish answered, and they said to their brothers: “Do you know that there is in these hills an ephod and a breastplate and a carved image and a smelted one? And now do you know what you are doing?” 15And they turned aside and they entered the house of the young man Levi at the house of Mikah, and they invoked his peace 16And six hundred men from the sons of Dan armed with armaments of war stood in the entrance of the gate 17And the five men that went to spy the land came up and they entered there and they took the image and the ephod and the breastplate and the carved image, and the Priest stood in the entrance of the gate, and those six hundred men who were armed with armaments of war 18They entered the house of Mikah and they took the image and the ephod and the breastplate and the carved image. The Priest said to them: “What are you doing?” 19They said to him: “Be quiet! Lay your hand on your mouth and come with us and be a Father and Priest to us! Which is better for you: that you would be a Priest for the house of one man or that you would be a Priest for a race and for a tribe of the house of Israel?” 20And the heart of the Priest was pleased and he took the image and the ephod and the breastplate and he went on with the people

21And they turned and they departed and they went, and the ewe lambs and the goods and the animals went before them 22They had gone far from the house of Mikah, and a man that was in the house on the side of the house of Mikah called out and pursued after the sons of Dan 23And he called to the sons of Dan and they turned and they said to Mikah: “What is with you, that you shout?” 24He said to them: “The god that I have made you have taken, also you have taken away the Priest and you have gone, and what more do I have, that you say to me, “What is with you?” 25And the sons of Dan said to him: “You will not make your voice heard in our presence, lest a man of a hard soul will meet with you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your sons!” 26And the sons of Dan went their way, and when Mikah saw that they were stronger than he, he returned and came to his house

27And those took the thing that Mikah made and they took the Priest who was his, and they entered Lish against the rich and quiet people and they struck them with the mouth of the sword, and the city they burned in fire 28And there was no one to deliver, because it was far from Tsidon, and there was no communication for them with any son of man, and this was in the valley of Bayth Rakhub, and they built the city and they stayed in it 29And they called the name of the city Dan, for the name of Dan their father who was begotten by Israel, however Luz was the name of the city from former time 30And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the image, and Yonathan, son of Gershun, son of Manasheh, he and his children were Priests of the tribe of Dan unto the day when the land was captured 31And they set for themselves the image of Mikah that he had made, all the days that the house of God was in Shilo