Day 115 of 730

¹In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was looking for an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

²The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, explore the land!" They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed there.

³When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned in that direction, and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? And what is your business here?"

⁴He said to them, "Thus and so has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest."

⁵They said to him, "Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."

⁶The priest said to them, "Go in peace. The Lord will watch over you on your journey."

⁷Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were there, and how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority that might trouble them in anyway, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.

⁸They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"

⁹They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go and to enter in to possess the land.

¹⁰When you go, you shall come to a secure people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth."

¹¹Then the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war, set forth from there.

¹²They went up, and encamped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.

¹³They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do."

¹⁵They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

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

¹⁷The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸When these went into Micah's house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

¹⁹They said to him, "Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"

²⁰The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.

²²When they were some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

²³They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, "What's wrong with you, that you come with such a company?"

²⁴He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, 'What's wrong with you?'"

²⁵The children of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or angry men will attack you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household."

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

²⁷They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.

²⁸There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived there.

²⁹They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However the name of the city was originally Laish.

³⁰The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile from the land.

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

¹It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem Judah.

²His concubine was unfaithful to him and went away from him to her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, and was there about four months.

³Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

⁴His father-in-law, the young lady's father, welcomed him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there.

⁵It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with a piece of bread, and after that you may go."

⁶So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together. Then the young lady's father said to the man, "Please agree to stay the night, and enjoy yourself."

⁷The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he stayed there again.

⁸He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, "Please refresh yourself and stay until the day declines." And they both ate.

⁹When the man rose up with his concubine and his servant to leave, his father-in-law, the young lady's father, said to him, "Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay the night. Behold, the day grows to an end, stay here, and enjoy yourself; and tomorrow you can get up early for your journey so that you may go home."

¹⁰But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was also with him.

¹¹When they were by Jebus, the day was almost gone, and the servant said to his master, "Please come and let us stop at this city of the Jebusites, and spend the night in it."

¹²His master said to him, "We won't go into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel, but we will pass over to Gibeah."

¹³He said to his servant, "Come and let us try to reach one of those places and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah."

¹⁴So they passed on and went their way; and the sun set on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

¹⁵They turned that way to go in to spend the night in Gibeah. And he went in and they sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who would take them into their house to spend the night.

¹⁶Behold, there came an old man from his work out in the field at evening. Now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he was residing in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.

¹⁷He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?"

¹⁸He said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. I am going to the house of the Lord; and there is no man who will take me into his home.

¹⁹Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything."

²⁰And the old man said, "Peace be to you. I will take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the square."

²¹So he brought him into his house, and fed the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

²²As they were enjoying themselves, behold, the men of the city, some wicked men of the city surrounded the house, beating at the door. And they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may have sex with him!"

²³The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, "No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house. Do not do this folly.

²⁴Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Ravish them and do with them what seems good to you; but do not do any such a disgraceful thing to this man."

²⁵But the men wouldn't listen to him: so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them. And they raped her and abused her all night until the morning, and when the day began to dawn they let her go.

²⁶Then at daybreak the woman arrived and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until daylight.

²⁷Her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

²⁸He said to her, "Get up, and let us go!" But no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.

²⁹When he had come into his house, he took a knife, and took hold of his concubine and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

³⁰It was so, that all who saw it said, "There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Consider it, take counsel, and speak."

¹Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth's sake.

²Why should the nations say, "Where is their God, now?"

³But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

⁵They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see.

⁶They have ears, but they do not hear. They have noses, but they do not smell.

⁷They have hands, but they do not feel. They have feet, but they do not walk, neither do they speak through their throat.

⁸Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.

⁹Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

¹⁰House of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

¹¹You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord remembers us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron.

¹³He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.

¹⁴May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children.

¹⁵Blessed are you by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth has he given to the children of men.

¹⁷The dead do not praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence;

¹⁸But we will bless Yah, from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common: The Lord is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

⁴The result of humility and the fear of the Lord is wealth, honor, and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king's friend.

¹²The eyes of the Lord watch over knowledge; but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!"

¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit: he who is under the Lord's wrath will fall into it.

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child: the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

¹⁶Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.

¹⁷Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching.

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹That your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.

²⁰Haven't I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge,

²¹To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?

²²Do not exploit the poor, because he is poor; and do not crush the needy in court;

²³for the Lord will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.

²⁴Do not befriend a hot-tempered man, and do not associate with one who harbors anger:

²⁵lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.

²⁷If you do not have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.

²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won't serve obscure men.