Danites Take the Levite and the Idol

1 ^jIn those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days ^kthe tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, ^lfrom Zorah and from Eshtaol, ^mto spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came ⁿto the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: ^ohe has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, ^p“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, ^q“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

7 Then the five men departed and came to ^rLaish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, ^squiet and unsuspecting, lacking¹ nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how ^tthey were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at ^uZorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, ^v“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. ^wAnd will you do nothing? ^xDo not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an ^yunsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, ^za place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, ^aarmed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called ^bMahaneh-dan² to this day; behold, it is west of ^cKiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to ^dthe hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that ^ein these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and ^fasked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, ^garmed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And ^hthe five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took ⁱthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took ⁱthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; ^jput your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us ^ka 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 clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and ^lthe goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, ^m“You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people ⁿquiet and unsuspecting, and ^ostruck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was ^pfar from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to ^qBeth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city ^rDan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but ^sthe name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, ^tson of Moses,^{3 u}and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day ^vof the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, ^was long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Submission to the Authorities

1 Let every person ^pbe subject to the governing authorities. For ^qthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^rwill receive his approval, 4 for ^she is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^tan avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also ^ufor the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 ^vPay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 ^wOwe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^xthe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, ^y“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^z“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^alove is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^bto wake from sleep. ^cFor salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 ^dThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^ecast off ^fthe works of darkness and ^gput on the armor of light. 13 ^hLet us walk properly as in the daytime, ⁱnot in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^jnot in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But ^kput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^lto gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

1 As for ^mthe one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 ⁿOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^olet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 ^pWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master¹ that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 ^qOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^rEach one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^she gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For ^tnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^uwhether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ ^vdied and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^wof the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^wwe will all stand before ^xthe judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

12 So then ^zeach of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

13 ^aTherefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^bnever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^cthat nothing is unclean in itself, ^dbut it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^eyou are no longer walking in love. ^fBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 ^gSo do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 ^hFor the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ⁱof righteousness and ^jpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is ^kacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us ^lpursue what makes for peace and for ^mmutual upbuilding.

20 ⁿDo not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^oEverything is indeed clean, but ^pit is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 ^qIt is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.³ 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^rBlessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.⁴

The Example of Christ

1 ^sWe who are strong ^thave an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 ^uLet each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For ^vChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, ^w“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For ^xwhatever was written in former days was written for our ^yinstruction, that through endurance and through ^zthe encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^ato live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify ^bthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

8 For I tell you that Christ ^cbecame a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order ^dto confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order ^ethat the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

10 And again it says,

11 And again,

12 And again Isaiah says,

13 May the God of hope fill you with all ^ljoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 ^mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,⁵ that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ⁿall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be ^pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^sreason to be proud of ^tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^uwhat Christ has accomplished through me ^vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 ^wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around ^yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why ^bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go ^dto Spain, and ^eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, ^fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For ^gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,⁶ I will leave ⁱfor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing⁷ of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^jthe love of the Spirit, ^kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 ^lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and ⁿbe refreshed in your company. 33 May ^othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant⁸ of the church at ^pCenchreae, 2 that you ^qmay welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet ^rPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also ^sthe church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^tthe first convert⁹ to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,¹⁰ my kinsmen and my ^ufellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,¹¹ and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^vwho belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers¹² who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 ^wGreet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^xcontrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^yavoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^ztheir own appetites,¹³ and ^aby smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For ^byour obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^cto be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 ^dThe God of peace ^ewill soon crush Satan under your feet. ^fThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 ^gTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, ^hwho wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 ⁱGaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.¹⁴

Doxology

25 ^jNow to him who is able to strengthen you ^kaccording to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^laccording to the revelation of the mystery ^mthat was kept secret for ⁿlong ages 26 but ^ohas now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^pto bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to ^qthe only wise God ^rbe glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.