17 There was a man who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, ‘I know about the 1,100 pieces of silver that somebody took from you. You cursed the person who had robbed you and I heard you. Look! Here are the pieces of silver. I took them myself. But now I am giving them back to you.’
His mother said, ‘Thank you, my son. I pray that the Lord will bless you.’
3 When Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother, she said, ‘I will now give this silver to the Lord . We will use it to make an image and a metal idol. In that way, I will give it back to you, my son.’
4 So Micah's mother took 200 pieces of silver. She gave them to a man who used silver to make things. He made an image and an idol for her. She put them in Micah's house.
5 Micah had a special room to worship his gods. He made an ephod and some more idols for it. He chose one of his sons to be a priest to serve his gods.
6 At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. Everyone did what they thought was right.
7 There was a young man who lived in Bethlehem, a town in Judah. He was a Levite. 8 He left Bethlehem to look for another place to live. As he travelled in the hill country of Ephraim, he arrived at Micah's house.
9 Micah asked him, ‘Where have you come from?’ The man replied, ‘I am a Levite who was living in Bethlehem in Judah. Now I am looking for a new place to live.’ 10 Micah said, ‘Stay here with me. You will be my advisor and my priest. I will pay you ten pieces of silver each year, as well as your clothes and food.’
11 So the Levite agreed to stay with Micah. He became like a son for Micah. 12 Micah gave the young man what he needed. The Levite became Micah's priest and he lived in Micah's home. 13 Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will bless me, because I have this Levite as my own priest.’
17 There was a man named Micah who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 Micah said to his mother, “Do you remember that someone stole 28 pounds [ a ] of silver from you? I heard you say a curse about that. Well, I have the silver. I took it.”
His mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son.”
3 Micah gave the 28 pounds of silver back to his mother. Then she said, “I will give this silver as a special gift to the Lord . I will give it to my son so that he can make a statue and cover it with the silver. So now, son, I give the silver back to you.”
4 But Micah gave the silver back to his mother. So she took about 5 pounds [ b ] of the silver and gave them to a silversmith. [ c ] He used the silver to make a statue covered with silver. The statue was put in Micah’s house. 5 Micah had a temple for worshiping idols. He made an ephod [ d ] and some house idols. Then Micah chose one of his sons to be his priest. 6 (At that time the Israelites did not have a king, so everyone did what they thought was right.)
7 There was a young man who was a Levite from the city of Bethlehem in Judah. He had been living among the tribe of Judah. 8 He left Bethlehem to look for another place to live. As he was traveling, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of the land of Ephraim. 9 Micah asked him, “Where have you come from?”
The young man answered, “I am a Levite from the city of Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a place to live.”
10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me. Be my father and my priest. I will give you 4 ounces [ e ] of silver each year. I will also give you clothes and food.”
The Levite did what Micah asked. 11 The young Levite agreed to live with Micah. He became like one of Micah’s own sons. 12 Micah chose him to be his priest. So the young man became a priest and lived in Micah’s house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. I know this because I have a man from the tribe of Levi to be my priest.”
17 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord , my son.
3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
17 Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and also spoke it in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord .” 3 He then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son ( A ) to make a carved image and a cast metal image; so now I will return [ a ] them to you.” 4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made [ b ] them into a carved image and a cast metal image, and [ c ] they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a [ d ] ( B ) shrine and he made an ( C ) ephod and [ e ] ( D ) household idols, and [ f ] consecrated one of his sons, ( E ) so that he might become his priest. 6 In those days ( F ) there was no king in Israel; ( G ) everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from ( H ) Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was [ g ] staying there. 8 Then the man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to [ h ] stay wherever he would find a place ; and as he made his journey, he came to the ( I ) hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to [ i ] stay wherever I may find a place .” 10 Micah then said to him, “Stay with me and be ( J ) a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in . 11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah [ j ] consecrated the Levite, and the young man ( K ) became his priest and [ k ] lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as a priest.”
17 Now a man named Micah ( A ) from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels [ a ] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”
Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you, ( B ) my son!”
3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. ( C ) I will give it back to you.”
4 So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels [ b ] of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. ( D ) And it was put in Micah’s house.
5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, ( E ) and he made an ephod ( F ) and some household gods ( G ) and installed ( H ) one of his sons as his priest. ( I ) 6 In those days Israel had no king; ( J ) everyone did as they saw fit. ( K )
7 A young Levite ( L ) from Bethlehem in Judah, ( M ) who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way [ c ] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”
“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, ( N ) ” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”
10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father ( O ) and priest, ( P ) and I’ll give you ten shekels [ d ] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed ( Q ) the Levite, and the young man became his priest ( R ) and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.” ( S )
