Judges 17

1 Now there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim named Micah.

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

2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath and said in my hearing, I have given this silver to the Lord from my hand for myself, to make a pictured image and a metal image: see, I have the silver, for I took it: so now I will give it back to you. And his mother said, May the blessing of the Lord be on my son.

And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred silver-pieces that were taken from thee, and about which thou didst curse and speak of in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah!

3 And he gave back the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, and his mother said, I have made the silver holy to the Lord from me for my son, to make a pictured image and a metal image.

And he restored the eleven hundred silver-pieces to his mother; and his mother said, I had dedicated the silver to Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image; and now I will restore it to thee.

4 So he gave the silver back to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a metal-worker who made a pictured image and a metal image from them: and it was in the house of Micah.

Now he restored the silver to his mother; and his mother took two hundred silver-pieces and gave them to the founder, and he made of them a graven image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.

And the man Micah had a 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: every man did as seemed right to him.

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man living in Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah and a Levite, who was not a townsman of the place.

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 he went away from the town of Beth-lehem-judah, looking for somewhere to make his living-place; and on his journey he came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah.

And the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem-Judah, to sojourn where he might find [a place]. And as he journeyed, he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah.

9 And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Beth-lehem-judah, and I am looking for a living-place.

And Micah said to him, Whence comest 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 Then Micah said to him, Make your living-place with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and your clothing and food.

And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee yearly ten silver-pieces, and a suit of garments, and thy victuals. And the Levite went in.

11 And the Levite said he would make his living-place with the man, and he became to him as one of his sons.

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 gave the position to the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

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 am certain that the Lord will do me good, seeing that the Levite has become my priest.

Then said Micah, Now I know that Jehovah will do me good, because I have the Levite for priest.