Judges 17

1 And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son from Jehovah.

3 And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver to Jehovah from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to thee.

4 And when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it a graven image and a molten image. And it was in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he 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. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

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

8 And the man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find a place. And he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

9 And Micah said to him, From where come thou? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy food. So the Levite went in.

11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was to 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 Micah said, Now I know that Jehovah will do me good, seeing I have a Levite for my priest.