Judges 18:14-23

¹⁴The five men who had explored the land near Laish said to their fellow Israelis, “Do you know that in one of these houses there is a sacred vest, several idols, and a statue? We think that you know what you should do.” RHQ

¹⁵So they went to the house where the man from the tribe of Levi lived, which was the house where Micah lived, and they greeted the young man from the tribe of Levi who had become Micah's priest.

¹⁶The six hundred men of the tribe of Dan stood outside the gate of the house, carrying their weapons.

¹⁷The five men who had explored the land went into Micah's house, and took all the idols, the sacred vest, and the statue. While they did that, the six hundred men stood outside the gate, talking with the priest.

¹⁸When the priest saw them bringing out the idols and the sacred vest and the statue, he said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹They replied, “Be quiet! Do not say anything! You come with us and be like a father to us and a priest for us. Is it better for you to stay here and be a priest for the people in the house of one man, or to be a priest for a clan, and a priest for a whole tribe of Israelis?” RHQ

²⁰The priest liked what they were suggesting. So he took the sacred vest and the idols, and he prepared to go with the men from the tribe of Dan.

²¹They all put their little children and their animals and everything else that they owned in front of them.

²²After they had gone a little distance from Micah's house, Micah saw what was happening. He quickly summoned the men who lived near him, and they ran and caught up with the men from the tribe of Dan.

²³They shouted at them. The men of the tribe of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What is the problem? Why have you gathered these men to pursue us?”