¹Zvino namazuva iwayo kwakanga kusina mambo pakati pavaIsiraeri; namazuva iwayo vaDhani vakazvitsvakira nhaka yokugaramo, nekuti kusvikira panguva iyo vakanga vachigere kupiwa nhaka pakati pamarudzi avaIsiraeri.

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

²Zvino pakati pavo vose vana vaDhani vakatuma varume vashanu veimba yavo, varume voumhare, vakabva Zora neEshitaori, kuzoshora nyika, nokuitarisisa; vakati kwavari, Endai, mundotarisisa nyika; ivo vakasvika kunyika yamakomo yaEfuremu, kuimba yaMika, vakavatapo.

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 lodged there.

³Zvino vakati vari paimba yaMika, vakaziva inzwi rejaya muRevhi; vakatsaukirako, vakati kwaari, Ndianiko wakakusvitsa pano? Unobatei pano? Unotsvakei pano?

³When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”

⁴Iye akati kwavari, Mika wakandiitira zvokuti nezvokuti, akandiripira, ndikava mupristi wake.

⁴He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest.”

⁵Vakati kwaari, Zvino chitibvunzira hako Mwari, tizive kana tichafamba zvakanaka panzira yedu yatinofamba nayo.

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

⁶mupristi akati kwavari, Endai norugare, nzira yenyu yamunofamba nayo inofadza Jehovha.

⁶The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Yahweh.”

⁷Zvino varume vashanu vakaenda, vakasvika Raishi, vakaona vanhu vakanga varimo, kuti vagere pasine njodzi nomutowo wavaZidhoni, vakagarika, vane rugare; kwakanga kusina munhu waiva nesimba rokuraira, waimanikidza vanhu pachinhu chipi nechipi; vakanga vagere kure navaZidhoni, vasingafambidzani navamwe vanhu.

⁷Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.

⁸Vakasvika kuhama dzavo paZora napaEshitaori; hama dzavo dzikati kwavari, Munoreveiko?

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

⁹Vakati, Simukai, tikwire, tindorwa navo; nekuti takatarira nyika, tikaona kuti yakanaka kwazvo; munogara seiko musingaiti chinhu? Musava nousimbe hwokupinda, kuti nyika ive yenyu.

⁹They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

¹⁰Kana muchienda muchandosvika kuvanhu vagere pasine njodzi, uye nyika ihuru; nekuti Mwari wakakupai iyo mumaoko enyu; apo hapashaikwi chinhu chiri panyika.

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 in the earth.”

¹¹Ipapo varume vana mazana matanhatu veimba yavaDhani vakanga vakashonga nhumbi dzokurwa, vakaendako, vachibva Zora neEshitaori.

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

¹²Vakakwira, vakandodzika matende avo paKiriati-jearimi, paJudha; naizvozvo vakatumidza nzvimbo iyo Mahane-dhani kusvikira zuva ranhasi; tarirai, riri shure kweKiriati-jearimi.

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.

¹³Vakabvapo, vakapfuura kusvikira panyika yamakomo yaEfuremu, vakasvika paimba yaMika.

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

¹⁴Zvino varume vashanu, vakanga vandoshora nyika yeRaishi, vakapindura, vakati kuhama dzavo, Munoziva here kuti mudzimba idzi mune efodhi, neterafimi, nomufananidzo wakavezwa nomufananidzo wakaumbwa? Saka zvino fungai zvakanaka zvamunofanira kuita.

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.”

¹⁵Ipapo vakatsaukirako, vakasvika paimba yejaya muRevhi, iyo imba yaMika, vakabvunza mufaro.

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.

¹⁶Zvino varume vana mazana matanhatu vakanga vakashonga nhumbi dzavo dzokurwa nadzo, vaiva vavana vaDhani, vakamira panopindwa napo pasuwo,

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

¹⁷varume vashanu vakanga vandoshora nyika vakakwira, vakapindamo, vakatora mufananidzo wakavezwa, neefodhi, neterafimi, nomufananidzo wakaumbwa; mupristi akamira panopindwa napo pasuwo kuvarume vana mazana matanhatu vakanga vakashonga nhumbi dzokurwa nadzo.

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 girt with weapons of war.

¹⁸Zvino ivo vakati vapinda mumba maMika, vakatora mufananidzo wakavezwa, neefodhi, neterafimi, nomufananidzo wakaumbwa, mupristi akati kwavari, Munoiteiko?

¹⁸When these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹Vakati kwaari, Nyarara, bata muromo wako, uende nesu, uve baba vedu nomupristi wedu; zviri nani kwauri ndezvipi, kuti uve mupristi paimba yomunhu mumwe chete, kana kuva mupristi worudzi rwose neimba yose yavaIsiraeri here?

¹⁹They said to him, “Hold your peace, put 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?”

²⁰Zvino moyo womupristi ukafara, akatora efodhi, neterafimi nomufananidzo wakavezwa, akapinda napakati pavanhu.

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.

²¹Vakatsauka, ndokuenda, vakatungamidza vana vaduku, nezvipfuwo nenhumbi.

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

²²Zvino vakati vafamba runhambo kubva paimba yaMika, varume vakanga vagere padzimba dzaiva pedo neimba yaMika vakaunganidzwa, vakatevera vaDhani, vakavabata.

²²When they were a good way 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.

²³Vakadanidzira kuvana vaDhani. Ivo vakacheuka, vakati kuna Mika, Unotsvakeiko, zvawauya neboka rakadai?

²³They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

²⁴Iye akati, Manditorera vamwari vangu vandakanga ndaita, nomupristi wangu, mukaenda navo, zvino ini ndasarirwa neiko? Mungataura sei kwandiri, muchiti, Unotsvakeiko?

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 ails you?’”

²⁵Vana vaDhani vakati kwaari, inzwi rako ngarirege kunzwika pakati pedu, kuti varume vane shungu varege kukuwira, ukarashikirwa noupenyu hwako pamwechete noupenyu hwevamwe veimba yako.

²⁵The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

²⁶Ipapo vana vaDhani vakaenda havo; zvino Mika wakati achiona kuti simba ravo rinokunda rake, akadzokera kumba kwake.

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.

²⁷Ivo vakatora zvakanga zvakaitwa naMika, nomupristi waakanga anaye, vakasvika Raishi, kuvanhu vakanga vakagarika, vagere pasine njodzi, vakavauraya neminondo inopinza, vakapisa guta ravo nomoto.

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.

²⁸Vakashaiwa unovarwira, nekuti vakanga vari kure neZidhoni; vakanga vasingafambidzani navamwe vanhu; guta rakanga riri mumupata uri paBheti-rehobhi. Vakavaka guta, vakagaramo.

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

²⁹Vakatumidza guta zita rinonzi Dhani, nezita rababa vavo Dhani, wakange akaberekerwa Isiraeri; asi zita reguta raiva Raishi pakutanga.

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 Laish at the first.

³⁰Vana vaDhani vakazvimisira mufananidzo uyo wakavezwa; Jonatani, mwanakomana waGerishomi, mwanakomana waMozisi, iye navana vake vakava vapristi vorudzi rwavaDhani, kusvikira pazuva rokutapwa kwavanhu venyika iyo.

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

³¹Vakazvimisira mufananidzo wakavezwa naMika, waakanga aita, ukavapo nguva yose yokugara kweimba yaMwari paShiro.

³¹So they set them up Micah’s engraved image which he made, all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.