And Micah said, “Stay here with me, and take the service in my little church, and be a father and a priest to me and my family, and I will give you a salary. Every year you shall have ten pieces of silver and your board and clothes.” That satisfied Jonathan, and he became the minister of Micah’s church.
Now Jonathan, in his wanderings, had become acquainted with the tribe of Dan, so that the five men who were looking for a new country knew him well. And they came to the house of Micah just at church time, and heard the priest saying the service. And they said one to another, “That is a familiar voice. It sounds like the voice of Jonathan.” So they went in and found Jonathan. And they said, “Jonathan, who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? How much wages do you get?” And Jonathan answered all their questions. And the spies said, “Pray for us, that we may have a prosperous journey.”
Then on they went, and presently they came to a little town called Laish. It stood beside the sources of the Jordan, and all around was a fair and fertile country. Moreover, the people were so far away from any neighbors that they had no walls, but lived quiet and secure, and never thought of danger. The five spies agreed that this was the very spot for which they were looking. So they went back to the tribe of Dan and said, “We have found the very place. It is a wide and beautiful land, with woods and water, and the people know nothing about war. Come, let us go, and take the place away from them.” For this, you remember, was so long ago that people thought that some things were right which we now know to be wrong.
So six hundred bold men of the tribe of Dan took weapons of war in their hands and started on the march for Laish. And as they went, they passed the house of Micah. And the five spies said, “Do you know what is here? This man has images of gods, made of gold and silver. Might they not be useful for us?” So the six hundred stood at Micah’s gate, and the five went quietly into Micah’s church, and brought the images.
But Jonathan saw them, and he cried out and said, “What are you doing?”
And they said, “Hold your peace, lay your hand upon your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it not better to be the minister of a tribe than the minister of one man?”
And Jonathan, when he heard that, was very glad. He let the spies steal Micah’s images, and he himself went with them. So they all went upon the way to Laish.
Now when they had gone a good way, they heard a noise of shouting; and they looked back, and who should come running along the road but Micah and his neighbors. And they turned and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you? Why do you follow us and make all this noise?”
And Micah cried, “You have stolen both my priest and my gods, and away you go. And you say, ‘What is the matter with you?’ ”
And the men of Dan said, “Micah, take our advice: don’t talk so loud. Some of us might possibly get mad and hurt you!” So they went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too many for him, he turned and went back to his house. Then the men of Dan took Laish and settled in that country; and they built a church for Micah’s images, and Jonathan became their priest.