Online Bible

Book of Judges, Chapter 18

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Judges 18 NWT - New World TranslationJudges 18 NWT - New World Translation

Chapter 18 of Judges—New World Translation (NWT)

  1. ¶ In those days there was no king in Israel.1 And in those days the tribe of the Danʹites2 was looking for an inheritance for itself to dwell there; because up to that day an inheritance had not fallen to them in the midst of the tribes of Israel.3
  2. ¶ Eventually the sons of Dan sent five men of their family, men from among them, men who were valiant fellows, out from Zoʹrah4 and Eshʹta·ol,5 to spy6 out the land and to explore it. So they said to them: “Go, explore the land.” In time they came into the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im7 as far as the house of Miʹcah8 and got to spend the night there.
  3. While they were close by the house of Miʹcah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite, so that they turned aside there. And they proceeded to say to him: “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place, and what interest do you have here?”
  4. In turn he said to them: “Thus and so Miʹcah did for me that he might hire me,9 and that I might serve as priest10 for him.”
  5. Then they said to him: “Inquire,11 please, of God12 that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.”
  6. So the priest said to them: “Go in peace. It is before Jehovah that YOUR way is in which YOU go.”
  7. ¶ Accordingly the five men went on and came to Laʹish13 and saw how the people that were within it were dwelling in self-reliance according to the custom of the Si·doʹni·ans, quiet and unsuspecting,14 and there was no oppressive conqueror[a] that was molesting a thing in the land, while they were far off from the Si·doʹni·ans15 and they had nothing to do with mankind.[b]
  8. ¶ At length they came to their brothers at Zoʹrah16 and Eshʹta·ol,17 and their brothers began to say to them: “How was it with YOU?”
  9. At this they said: “Do get up, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and, look! it is very good.18 And YOU are hesitant. Do not be sluggish about walking to come in to take possession of the land.19
  10. When YOU come in, YOU will come to an unsuspecting people,20 and the land is quite wide;[c] for God[d] has given it into YOUR hand,21 a place where there is no lack of any sort of thing that is in the earth.”22
  11. ¶ Then six hundred men girded with weapons of war, out of the family of the Danʹites,23 departed from there, that is, from Zoʹrah and Eshʹta·ol.24
  12. And they got on their way up and went camping at Kirʹi·ath-jeʹa·rim25 in Judah. That is why they have called that place Maʹha·neh-dan[e]26 down to this day. Look! It is west[f] of Kirʹi·ath-jeʹa·rim.
  13. After that they passed along from there to the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im and came as far as the house of Miʹcah.27
  14. ¶ Then the five men that had gone to spy out28 the land of Laʹish29 answered and said to their brothers: “Did YOU know that there are in these houses an ephʹod and teraphim30 and a carved image31 and a molten statue?32 And now have in mind what YOU ought to do.”33
  15. So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite,34 at the house of Miʹcah, and began to ask how he was getting35 along.
  16. All the while the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war,36 who were of the sons of Dan,37 were standing at the entrance of the gate.
  17. The five men that had gone to spy out the land38 now went on up, that they might enter in there to take[g] the carved image39 and the ephʹod40 and the teraphim41 and the molten image.42 (And the priest43 was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war.)[h]
  18. And these went into the house of Miʹcah and proceeded to take the carved image, the ephʹod and the teraphim and the molten image.44 At that the priest45 said to them: “What are YOU doing?”
  19. But they said to him: “Be quiet. Put your hand over your mouth, and go with us and become a father46 and a priest47 for us. Which is better, for you to continue a priest to the house of one48 man or for you to become a priest to a tribe and family in Israel?”49
  20. At this the heart of the priest was pleased,50 and he now took the ephʹod and the teraphim and the carved image51 and came into the midst of the people.
  21. ¶ Then they turned and went their way and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuable things ahead of them.52
  22. They themselves had got a distance away from the house of Miʹcah when the men who were in the houses that were close by the house of Miʹcah53 were called together and tried to catch up with the sons of Dan.
  23. When they kept crying out to the sons of Dan, then they turned their faces and said to Miʹcah: “What is the matter with you54 that you have been called together?”
  24. So he said: “My gods55 that I made56 YOU have taken, the priest57 too, and YOU go YOUR way, and what do I have anymore?58 How, then, is it that YOU can say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
  25. At this the sons of Dan said to him: “Do not let your voice be heard close to us, for fear that men bitter of soul59 may assault YOU people, and you have to forfeit your own soul[i] and the soul of your household.”
  26. And the sons of Dan kept going on their way; and Miʹcah got to see that they were stronger than he was,60 and so he turned and went back to his house.
  27. ¶ As for them, they took what Miʹcah had made and the priest61 that had become his, and they kept going toward Laʹish,62 against a people quiet and unsuspecting.63 And they proceeded to strike them with the edge of the sword,64 and the city they burned with fire.65
  28. And there was no deliverer, for it was far away from Siʹdon,66 and they had nothing at all to do with mankind; and it was in the low plain that belonged to Beth-reʹhob.67 Then they built the city and took up dwelling in it.68
  29. Furthermore, they called the name of the city Dan by the name of their father, Dan,69 who had been born to Israel.70 Nevertheless, Laʹish was the city’s name at first.71
  30. After that the sons of Dan stood up the carved image72 for themselves; and Jonʹa·than[j]73 the son of Gerʹshom,74 Moses’[k] son, he and his sons became priests to the tribe of the Danʹites until the day of the land’s[l] being taken into exile.75
  31. And they kept the carved image of Miʹcah, which he had made, set up for themselves all the days that the house76 of the [true] God continued in Shiʹloh.77

FOOTNOTES

  1. ^ Or, “oppressive dispossessor.” Lit., “dispossessor (occupier) of oppression.” See VT, Vol. II, 1952, pp. 67-69.
  2. ^ “With Syria,” LXXASymSyHexapla.
  3. ^ Lit., “wide on both sides,” that is, spacious.
  4. ^ “God,” MLXXSy; TVg, “Jehovah.”
  5. ^ Meaning “Camp of Dan.”
  6. ^ Lit., “to the rear,” that is, when one faces east.
  7. ^ Lit., “went on up, they entered in there, they took.”
  8. ^ Or, “and the molten image and the priest, while the six hundred men girded with weapons of war were standing at the entrance of the gate.”
  9. ^ “Your own soul (life).” Heb., naph·shekhaʹ; LXXA(Gr.), psy·khenʹ sou; Syr., naph·shakh.
  10. ^ Lit., “Jehonathan,” meaning “Jehovah Gave.”
  11. ^ “Moses’,” LXXAVg; MLXXBSy, “Manasseh’s.” Out of regard for Moses the scribes inserted the suspended Heb. letter Nun, “n,” in the original name in M, making it read “Manasseh’s.”
  12. ^ “The land’s.” Heb., ha·ʼaʹrets. Some contend that this should read “ark’s” (ארון, ʼarohnʹ) instead of “land’s” (ארץ, ʼaʹrets), referring to 1Sa 4:3–7:2.

REFERENCES

  1. ^ Ge 36:31; De 33:5; Jg 8:23; 17:6; 19:1; 21:25
  2. ^ Jos 19:40
  3. ^ Nu 33:55; Jos 19:47; Jg 1:34
  4. ^ Jos 19:41; Jg 13:2, 25
  5. ^ Jg 16:31
  6. ^ Nu 13:17; Jos 2:1; 7:2; Jg 1:23; 1Sa 26:4
  7. ^ Jos 17:15; Jg 19:1
  8. ^ Jg 17:1
  9. ^ Jg 17:10; Mc 3:11
  10. ^ Jg 17:5; 18:27; 1Ki 13:33; 2Ch 13:9
  11. ^ 1Ki 22:5
  12. ^ Jg 17:13
  13. ^ Jos 19:47; Jg 18:29
  14. ^ Jg 18:27
  15. ^ Jos 13:4; 19:28; Jg 3:3; 10:12
  16. ^ Jg 13:2; 16:31
  17. ^ Jos 15:33; Jg 18:2
  18. ^ Nu 14:7; De 8:7
  19. ^ Ex 23:30; Nu 13:30; Jos 18:3
  20. ^ Jg 18:7, 27
  21. ^ De 4:1; Ps 81:14
  22. ^ Ex 3:8; De 8:9; Eze 20:6
  23. ^ Jos 19:40
  24. ^ Jg 16:31; 18:2
  25. ^ Jos 15:60; 1Sa 7:1; 2Ch 1:4
  26. ^ Jg 13:25
  27. ^ Jg 17:1
  28. ^ Jg 18:2
  29. ^ Jg 18:7, 29
  30. ^ Jg 17:5
  31. ^ De 5:8; Jg 17:4
  32. ^ De 27:15; 1Jo 5:21
  33. ^ Jg 18:18
  34. ^ Jg 17:7, 12; 18:30
  35. ^ Ge 29:6; 43:27
  36. ^ 1Sa 17:5; 2Ch 26:14
  37. ^ Jg 18:11
  38. ^ Jg 18:2
  39. ^ Ex 20:4; Le 26:1; Jg 17:4; Ps 115:4
  40. ^ Ex 28:6; Jg 8:27
  41. ^ Ge 31:19, 30; Jg 17:5; Ho 3:4
  42. ^ Le 19:4; De 27:15; Jg 17:3; 1Jo 5:21
  43. ^ Jg 17:12
  44. ^ Jg 17:4; 18:30
  45. ^ Jg 17:12; 18:4
  46. ^ Jg 17:10
  47. ^ Jg 18:4, 27; Mc 3:11
  48. ^ Jg 17:12
  49. ^ Jg 18:30
  50. ^ Ps 10:3; Is 56:11; Heb 5:4
  51. ^ Jg 17:4, 5; 18:14, 18
  52. ^ Ge 33:2; De 25:18
  53. ^ Jg 17:1
  54. ^ Ge 21:17; 2Sa 14:5; 2Ki 6:28
  55. ^ Jg 17:4, 5
  56. ^ Ps 115:8; 135:18; Is 44:17; Je 51:17
  57. ^ Jg 17:12
  58. ^ Jg 17:5
  59. ^ 1Sa 22:2
  60. ^ Lu 14:31
  61. ^ Jg 17:12; 18:19
  62. ^ Jos 19:47; Jg 18:7
  63. ^ Jg 18:10
  64. ^ Jos 19:47
  65. ^ Jos 11:13
  66. ^ Ge 10:15; 49:13; Jos 11:8; Jg 10:12; 18:7
  67. ^ Nu 13:21; 2Sa 10:6
  68. ^ Nu 33:53
  69. ^ Ge 14:14; De 34:1; Jos 19:47; Jg 20:1; 2Sa 17:11; 1Ki 12:29
  70. ^ Ge 30:6; 32:28
  71. ^ Jos 19:47; Jg 18:7
  72. ^ Ex 20:4; Le 26:1; De 17:3; 27:15; Jg 17:4; 18:18
  73. ^ Jg 17:12
  74. ^ Ex 2:22; 18:3
  75. ^ 1Sa 4:11, 22; Ps 78:61
  76. ^ Ex 40:2; Jos 18:1
  77. ^ 1Sa 1:3; 4:3; Ps 78:60; Je 7:12

Read Judges Chapter 18 in other Bible versions:

Comments

  1. David yakubuDavid yakubu
    Oct 29, 2022 08:05 GMT

    When i do read some comments and seeing that its the same people that are supposed to be called believers but are talking ill of other denominations, it hurts. Let us all remember that We should judge not

    1. jonas smithjonas smith
      Apr 23, 2023 02:57 GMT

      The bible tells us to test the spirits. Satan disguises himself as angel of light. So yes some denomination are not teaching the truth. You are responsible for judging which ones are not. You have to judge the truth at all times. this is what the bible teaches

  2. THTH
    Apr 7, 2021 00:20 GMT

    The NWT is a very good translation. Dr. Jason David BeDuhn PhD attests to that in his book Truth in Translation. drive.google.com/...5p16melHzg8/view

    1. James LernerJames Lerner
      Jul 20, 2024 09:48 GMT

      The NWT is Satanic filth to its very core.

      The JW Cult is Satanic to its very core.

      Praise Yahweh I will never be a victim of JW brainwashing. If I burn in Hell for eternity or I am ultimately annihilated so be it

      May Yahweh's curse rest on the Watchtower Society and its Satanic leadership

    2. jim mcleodjim mcleod
      Aug 22, 2021 06:16 GMT

      NWT is a false translation that takes away from the deity of Jesus !

  3. SlightlyChaoticSlightlyChaotic
    Jan 30, 2021 16:33 GMT

    Thank you for taking the time to provide this service. I like seeing the NASB on your web page in the same format as I read on paper. On other sites, the text area is smaller, and so I have to keep scrolling down to read and sometimes I lose the context. So I really appreciate the format.

    As far as the NWT, you are certainly free to do whatever you think best with your own web pages. I'd suggest that you make a note anytime you have a translation that is associated with only one denomination or church, for example:
    New World Translation (Jehovah's Witness version).

    In Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares. the main idea seems to be that you can't easily distinguish between God's people and not-God's people on this earth, so our Lord's response is to wait until they are shown to be the kind of people they are inside. But the NWT seems like false teaching to me. So I think the warning passages from Jesus' apostles are more applicable, as in 2 Peter 3:15-16, when he talks about Paul's writings:
    "There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures."
    And we also have the positive exhortations, as in 2 Timothy 2:15:
    "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

    1. BroderickBroderick
      Jan 31, 2021 00:57 GMT

      Your suggestion regarding the denominational flagging is duly noted. But I can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t a Catholic also want “Protestant versions” marked as well?

      As for the parable, I’m pretty sure the slaves were convinced in their own minds that they could tell the tares from the wheat. After all, aren’t they the ones who identified the problem in the first place? But the master obviously thought otherwise.

      Furthermore, even at the time when Jesus himself was walking the earth, not everybody who claimed fellowship actually followed him causing John to inquire at Mark 9:39, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him . . . for he who is not against us is for us.”

  4. Joshua HarderJoshua Harder
    Dec 11, 2020 17:48 GMT

    Hello, question.. why have you included the NWT with other legitimate bible translations? Or why have you not atleast included a warning to readers? Don't you fear that someone could be influenced by the Watchtower's intentional heresies? Thank you.

    1. KevinKevin
      Jul 11, 2021 17:45 GMT

      en.m.wikipedia.org/..._Holy_Scriptures

      See the section critical review

    2. ChrisChris
      Jan 8, 2021 07:15 GMT

      Please site these intentional heresies. I am well versed in the watch tower outline and agree they are in many ways incorrect but i also bet i can point many out from EVERY established or main denomination. There is much to learn from them all as one who drinks milk?

      Judge not lest ye be judged, that is not to pass judgement on you either brother.

      I debate with scripture. I don't hold it to be true that Michael is Y'Shua HaMeshiach but I also firmly hold it to be true that our G-d and Heavenly Father are not the word encarnate and only begotten son.

      I love not seeing "lord" which i relate to baal. I feel the catholic church is a satanic establishment and I am aware a freemason started the hovies but there are evil in high places and our fight is also with principalities.

      What i'm saying is that in my darkest hours, those two were some of if not the only ones who would bring a Bible and eucharist and pray with me.

      We all fall short of the glory of G-d.

      Don't forget the NWT was recognized as the most accurate translation on Jeopardy.

      Lastly, this is different I noted than the NWT i have read and am very familiar with. Pull up the watchtower page and compare. I truly look forward to getting this one!

  5. julietjuliet
    Aug 17, 2022 09:36 GMT

    the sky is blue

  6. mercymercy
    Aug 12, 2022 21:23 GMT

    i am Mercy, the sky is blue what else do you need

    1. mercymercy
      Aug 12, 2022 21:25 GMT

      i am so sorry, it was a big mistake

  7. God is able to do all thingsGod is able to do all things
    May 17, 2021 17:59 GMT

    Jesus how much love calling yo name

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