Judges 18

1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [their lot] had not fallen to them for inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

Pada masa itu di Israel tidak ada raja. Suku Dan masih mencari-cari daerah untuk menjadi wilayah mereka, sebab mereka belum juga mendapat tanah bersama suku-suku lainnya di dalam bangsa Israel.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men of their whole number, men of valour, from Zoreah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to examine it; and they said to them, Go, examine the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

Karena itu mereka memilih lima orang yang gagah dari antara semua kaum dalam suku mereka yang tinggal di Zora dan Esytaol, lalu memberi tugas kepada kelima orang itu untuk menyelidiki negeri itu. Maka berangkatlah orang-orang itu, dan tiba di daerah pegunungan di wilayah Efraim. Di sana mereka menginap di rumah Mikha.

3 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 to him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this [place]? and what hast thou here?

Ketika hendak memasuki rumah itu mereka mendengar pemuda Lewi itu berbicara, dan mereka mengenali logatnya. Jadi, mereka mendatangi dia dan bertanya, "Mengapa kau di sini? Apa urusanmu? Siapa yang membawamu?"

4 And he said to them, Thus and thus has Micah done to me; and he has hired me, and I am his priest.

Orang muda itu menjawab, "Saya di sini karena Mikha. Dialah yang mengangkat saya menjadi imamnya, dan memberi gaji kepada saya."

5 And they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way on which we go shall be prosperous.

Lalu kata mereka kepadanya, "Kalau begitu, tolong tanyakan kepada Allah apakah perjalanan kami ini akan berhasil atau tidak."

6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way on which ye go.

Jawab imam itu, "Jangan khawatir. TUHAN telah merestui perjalanan kalian ini."

7 And the five men departed, and came to Laish; and they saw the people that were therein, dwelling securely, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and no one was in the land who possessed authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had nothing to do with [any] man.

Setelah itu berangkatlah kelima orang itu lalu pergi ke Lais. Di situ mereka memperhatikan penduduknya. Nyatalah bahwa cara hidup penduduk Lais itu seperti cara hidup bangsa Sidon. Walaupun mereka terpencil, dan jauh dari bangsa Sidon, mereka hidup aman dan tentram, tidak mempunyai musuh, makmur, serta tidak kurang sesuatu apa pun.

8 — And they came to their brethren at Zoreah and Eshtaol. And their brethren said to them, What [say] ye?

Ketika kelima orang itu kembali kepada orang-orang sesukunya di Zora dan Esytaol, mereka diminta memberikan laporan.

9 And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and ye are still! Be not slothful to go, to enter to take possession of the land.

Mereka pun berkata, "Mari kita menyerang Lais. Kami sudah ke sana, dan melihat bahwa tanahnya baik, luas dan makmur, segalanya ada. Jangan tetap saja di sini dan tidak berbuat apa-apa. Cepatlah ke sana dan merebut negeri itu. Kalian akan mendapati bahwa penduduknya sama sekali tidak menyangka akan diserang. Kami yakin Allah telah memberikan negeri itu kepada kalian."

10 When ye go in, ye shall come to a people secure, and the land is spacious in every direction; for God has given it into your hands; [it is] a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth.

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

Karena itu, berangkatlah dari Zora dan Esytaol 600 orang suku Dan. Dengan senjata lengkap,

12 And they went up and encamped in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah; therefore they call that place Mahaneh-Dan to this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim.

mereka pergi ke bagian barat Kiryat-Yearim di wilayah Yehuda lalu berkemah di situ. Itulah sebabnya tempat itu masih dinamakan Perkemahan Dan.

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

Dari sana mereka berjalan terus ke daerah pegunungan Efraim sampai ke rumah Mikha.

14 Then the five men that had gone to spy out the country of Laish spoke and said to their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? And now ye know what to do.

Kelima orang mata-mata yang dahulu diutus itu berkata kepada kawan-kawannya, "Tahukah kalian bahwa di salah satu rumah ini ada patung yang berlapis perak? Ada juga patung-patung lain dan efod. Coba pikirkan apa yang harus kita buat."

15 And they turned thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and inquired after his welfare.

Lalu mereka pergi ke rumah Mikha, tempat pemuda Lewi itu tinggal, dan menanyakan keadaannya.

16 And the six hundred men of the children of Dan, girded with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.

Pada waktu itu keenam ratus prajurit suku Dan, yang bersenjata lengkap itu, sedang berdiri di depan pintu gerbang.

17 And the five men that had gone to spy out the land went up, entered in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were girded with weapons of war.

Kelima mata-mata itu langsung masuk ke dalam rumah, lalu mengambil patung kayu yang berlapis perak itu bersama dengan patung-patung lainnya, dan efod. Pemuda Lewi itu sedang berdiri dengan keenam ratus prajurit itu di pintu gerbang.

18 And these came into Micah's house, and took the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest said to them, What do ye?

Ketika kelima orang itu masuk ke rumah Mikha dan mengambil efod serta patung-patung berhala itu, pemuda Lewi itu bertanya, "Apa ini yang kalian lakukan?"

19 And they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy 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 for the house of one man, or to be priest for a tribe and a family in Israel?

Mereka menjawab, "Diam! Jangan bertanya. Ikut saja dengan kami, nanti engkau menjadi imam dan penasihat kami. Daripada menjadi imam untuk satu keluarga saja, lebih baik menjadi imam untuk satu suku!"

20 Then 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.

Pemuda Lewi itu senang dengan saran itu. Jadi, ia mengambil efod dan patung-patung berhala itu lalu ikut dengan mereka.

21 And they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the baggage before them.

Kemudian rombongan itu meneruskan perjalanan mereka, didahului oleh anak-anak, ternak dan barang-barang mereka.

22 They were already far from the house of Micah, when the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

Ketika mereka sudah jauh, Mikha memanggil tetangga-tetangganya lalu bersama-sama mengejar orang-orang suku Dan itu. Setelah dekat dengan mereka,

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

Mikha dan orang-orangnya itu berteriak-teriak kepada mereka. Orang-orang suku Dan itu menoleh dan bertanya kepada Mikha, "Ada apa? Mengapa datang dengan begitu banyak orang?"

24 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 to me, What aileth thee?

Mikha menjawab, "Kamu melarikan patung-patung saya dan imamnya, sehingga saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa lagi, lalu kamu berkata, 'Ada apa!'"

25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest men of exasperated spirit run upon you, and thou lose thy life and the lives of thy household.

Kata orang-orang suku Dan itu, "Lebih baik tutup mulut; jangan sampai orang-orang ini menjadi marah lalu menyerang engkau. Nanti engkau dan seluruh keluargamu mati."

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

Setelah mengatakan demikian, orang-orang suku Dan itu meneruskan perjalanan mereka. Mikha melihat bahwa mereka jauh lebih kuat dari dia, karena itu ia membalik lalu pulang.

27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest that he had had, and came upon Laish, upon a people quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire.

Sesudah orang-orang suku Dan itu melarikan imam itu serta barang-barang ibadat buatan Mikha itu, mereka pergi menyerang Lais, kota yang penduduknya hidup aman dan tentram. (Kota itu berada dalam satu lembah dengan kota Bet-Rehob). Orang-orang Dan itu membunuh seluruh penduduk Lais lalu membakar kota itu. Tidak ada yang datang menolong orang-orang Lais itu karena tempat mereka terpencil dan jauh dari Sidon. Setelah itu orang-orang Dan membangun kembali kota itu kemudian tinggal di sana.

28 And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Zidon, and they had nothing to do with [any] man; and it [lay] in the valley that is by Beth-rehob. And they built the city and dwelt therein.

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

Nama kota itu mereka ganti menjadi Dan, menurut nama bapak leluhur mereka, yaitu Dan, anak Yakub.

30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and Jehonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses; he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Patung berhala yang mereka bawa itu, mereka dirikan di kota itu lalu mengangkat Yonatan, anak Gersom, cucu Musa, menjadi imam mereka. Keturunan Gersom ini tetap menjadi imam suku Dan itu sampai masa umat Israel diangkut dan dibuang ke negeri lain.

31 And they set up for themselves Micah's graven image, which he had made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Patung berhala buatan Mikha itu tetap di Lais selama Kemah Tuhan berada di Silo.