Judges
Judges 18
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Judges 18 — Scripture text (King James Version)
In those days there was no king in : and in those days the tribe of the sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of . And the children of sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from , and from , to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount , to the house of , they lodged there. When they were by the house of , they knew the voice of the young man the : 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? And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. 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. And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. Then the five men departed, and came to , and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the , quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the , and had no business with any man. And they came unto their brethren to and : and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 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. 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. And there went from thence of the family of the , out of and out of , six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. And they went up, and pitched in -jearim, in : wherefore they called that place - unto this day: behold, it is behind -jearim. And they passed thence unto mount , and came unto the house of . Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of , and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an , and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the , even unto the house of , and saluted him. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of , stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the , 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. And these went into ’s house, and fetched the carved image, the , and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? 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 ? And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the , and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. So they turned and departed, and the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. And when they were a good way from the house of , the men that were in the houses near to ’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of . And they cried unto the children of . And they turned their faces, and said unto , What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 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? And the children of 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. And the children of went their way: and when saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. And they took the things which had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto , unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the , and burnt the city with fire. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from , and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by -rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. And they called the name of the city , after the name of their father, who was born unto : howbeit the name of the city was at the first. And the children of set up the graven image: and , the son of , the son of , he and his sons were priests to the tribe of until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set them up ’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in .