18. and entered the house of Micah with the priest standing there. They took the idol, the ephod, the teraphim and the metal image. When the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19. they said to him, “Be still! Put your hand over your mouth! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be priest for the family of one man or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?”
20. The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the troops.
21. As they turned to depart, they placed their little ones, their livestock, and their goods at the head of the column.
22. When the Danites had gone some distance from the house of Micah, Micah and the men in the houses nearby mustered and overtook them.
23. They called to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, “What do you want that you have called this muster?”
24. “You have taken my god, which I made for myself, and you have gone off with my priest as well,” he answered. “What is left for me? How, then, can you ask me, ‘What do you want?’”
25. The Danites said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard near us, or aggravated men will attack you, and you will have forfeited your life and the lives of your family!”
26. Then the Danites went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned back and went home.
27. Having taken what Micah had made and his priest, they marched against Laish, a quiet and trusting people; they put them to the sword and destroyed the city by fire.
28. No one came to their aid, since the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with the Arameans; the city was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. The Danites then rebuilt the city and occupied it.
29. They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. But Laish was the name of the city formerly.
30. The Danites set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.
31. They maintained the idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.