Judges 17

1 And there was a man of the mountain of Ephraim, whose name was Michayhu.

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

2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spokest of also in my ears, —behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son unto the Lord.

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.

3 And he restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand, for my son, to make a graven and molten image; and now I will give it back unto thee.

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.

4 Yet he gave the money back unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the silversmith, who made thereof a graven and molten image; and it was in the house of Micah.

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.

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

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.

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

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did as seemed right to him.

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

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.

8 And the man departed from the city, from Beth-lechem-judah, to sojourn where he could find [a place]; and he came to the mountain of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he was pursuing his journey.

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.

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

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.

10 And Micah said unto him, Remain with me, and become unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver for the year, and suitable apparel, and thy victuals. And the Levite went in.

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.

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

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

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

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

13 Then said Micah, Now I know that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have obtained a Levite for priest.

Then Micah said, Now I am certain that the Lord will do me good, seeing that the Levite has become my priest.