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 all their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

In tho daies was no kyng in Israel; and the lynage of Dan souyte possessioun to it silf, to dwelle ther ynne; for `til to that dai it hadde not take eritage among other lynagis.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their land, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

Therfor the sones of Dan senten fyue the strongeste men of her generacioun and meynee fro Saraa and Escahol, that thei schulden aspie the lond, and biholde diligentli. And thei seiden to hem, Go ye, and biholde the lond. And whanne thei goynge hadden come in to the hil of Effraym, and hadden entrid in to the hows of Mycha, thei restiden there.

3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in there, and said to him, Who brought thee here? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

And thei knewen the voys of the yong wexynge dekene; and thei restiden in `the yn of hym, and seiden to hym, Who brouyte thee hidur? What doist thou here? For what cause woldist thou come hidur?

4 And he said to them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

Which answeride `to hem, Mychas yaf to me these and these thingis, and hiride me for meede, that Y be preest to hym.

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

Forsothe thei preieden hym, that he schulde counsele the Lord, and thei myyten wite, whether thei yeden in weie of prosperite, and the thing schulde haue effect.

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

Which answeride to hem, Go ye with pees, the Lord biholdith youre weie, and the iourney whidur ye goon.

7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were in it, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

Therfor the fyue men yeden, and camen to Lachys; and thei siyen the puple dwellynge ther ynne with outen ony drede, bi the custom of Sidonyis, sikur and resteful, for no man outirli ayenstood hem, and `of grete richessis, and fer fro Sidon, and departid fro alle men.

8 And they came to their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said to them, What say ye?

And thei turneden ayen to her britheren in Saraa and Escahol; and thei answeriden to `britheren axynge what thei hadden do,

9 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.

Rise ye, and stie we to hem, for we siyen the lond ful riche and plenteuous; nyle ye be necgligent, nil ye ceesse, go we, and haue it in possessioun;

10 When ye go, ye shall come to 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 on the earth.

no trauel schal be; we schulen entre to sikir men, in to a largeste cuntrey; and the Lord schal bitake to vs a place, wher ynne is not pouert of ony thing of tho that ben brouyt forth in erthe.

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

Therfor sixe hundrid men gird with armeris of batel yeden forth `of the kynrede of Dan, that is, fro Saraa and Escahol.

12 And they went up, and encamped in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahanehdan to this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

And thei stieden, and dwelliden in Cariathiarym of Juda, which place took fro that tyme the name of Castels of Dan, and is bihyndis the bak of Cariathiarym.

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

Fro thennus thei passiden in to the hil of Effraym; and whanne thei hadden come to the hows of Mychas, the fyue men,

14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, 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? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

that weren sent bifore to biholde the lond of Lachis, seiden to her other britheren, Ye knowen, that ephod, and theraphyn, and a grauun ymage and yotun is in these housis; se ye what plesith you.

15 And they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and greeted him.

And whanne thei hadden bowid a litil, thei entriden in to the hows of the yong dekene, that was in the hows of Mychas, and thei gretten hym with pesible wordis.

16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

Forsothe sixe hundrid men stoden bifore the dore, so as thei weren armed. And thei, that entriden in to the `hows of the yong man, enforsiden to take awey the grauun ymage, and the ephod, and theraphin, and the yotun ymage; and the preest stood bifore the dore,

17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

while sixe hundrid strongeste men abideden not fer.

18 And these went into Micah’s house, and brought the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest to them, What do ye?

Therfor thei that entriden token the grauun ymage, ephod, and idols, and the yotun ymage; to whiche the preest seide, What doen ye?

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 to the house of one man, or that thou shouldest be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

To whom thei answeriden, Be thou stille, and putte the fyngur on thi mouth, and come with vs, that we haue thee fadir and preest. What is betere to thee, that thou be preest in the hows of o man, whether in o lynage and meynee in Israel?

20 And 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.

And whanne he hadde herd this, he assentide to `the wordis of hem, and he took the ephod, and ydols, and the grauun ymage, and yede forth with hem.

21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the possessions before them.

And whanne thei yeden, and hadden maad the litle children, and werk beestis, and al thing that was preciouse, to go bifor hem;

22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

and whanne thei weren now fer fro `the hows of Mychas, men that dwelliden in the housis of Mychas, crieden togidere, and sueden,

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?

and bigunnun to crye `aftir the bak. Whiche whanne thei hadden biholde, seiden to Mychas, What wolt thou to thee? whi criest thou?

24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye have gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say to me, What aileth thee?

Which answeride, Ye han take awey my goddis whiche Y made to me, and the preest, and alle thingis whiche Y haue; and ye seien, What is to thee?

25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows rush upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

And the sones of Dan seiden to hym, Be war, lest thou speke more to vs, and men styrid in soule come to thee, and thou perische with al thin hows.

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

And so thei yeden forth in the iourney bigunnun. Forsothe Mychas siy, that thei weren strongere than he, and turnede ayen in to his hows.

27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came to Laish, to a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

Forsothe sixe hundrid men token the preest, and the thingis whiche we biforseiden, and camen in to Lachis to the puple restynge and sikur; and thei smytiden hem bi the scharpnesse of swerd, and bitoken the citee to brennyng,

28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt in it.

while no man outirli yaf help, for thei dwelliden fer fro Sydon, and hadden not ony thing of felouschipe and cause with ony of men. Forsothe the citee was set in the cuntrei of Roob; which citee thei bildiden eft, and dwelliden ther ynne;

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

while the name of the citee was clepid Dan, bi the name of her fadir, whom Israel hadde gendrid, which citee was seid Lachis bifore.

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

And `thei settiden there the grauun ymage, and Jonathas, sone of Jerson, sone of Moises, and `Jonathas sones, preestis, in the lynage of Dan, til in to the dai of her caitifte.

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

And the idol of Mychas dwellide at hem, in al the tyme `in which the hows of God was in Silo. In tho daies was no kyng in Israel.