Judges 17

1And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2And 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.

3And 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.

4Yet 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.

5And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.footnote a

6In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

8And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.footnote b

9And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

10And 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.footnote c

11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

12And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

13Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

Micah’s Idolatry

1Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silverfootnote a that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.”
Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

3And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”

4So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silverfootnote b and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.

5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordainedfootnote c one of his sons as his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

7And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. 8This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9“Where are you from?” Micah asked him.
“I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”

10“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silverfootnote d per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.”
So the Levite went in 11and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.

12Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”